StoryStereo: The Official Logo

As you know, The Writer's Center will be kicking off a great new event on September 18th: the Emerging Writers' Fellowship reading called StoryStereo. That event brings together emerging poet Suzanne Frischkorn (Lit Windowpane), fiction writer Neil Smith (Bang Crunch: Stories), and hot local band the Roofwalkers (who'll officially release a self-titled album that very evening, right here at The Writer's Center). Yeah, already a little buzz on that over on Ventvox.

StoryStereo logo revealed:



Thanks to the amazing graphic designer John Foster, the owner of Bad People Good Things LLC, we've now got a super-great logo to go along with the event. If you want to see the work of a seriously incredible designer, click on the Bad People Good Thinks link above. It'll blow your mind. For The Writer's Center, it's an honor to work with such talent.

Here's the press release for the event:

Emerging Writers & Local Musicians Join Forces in New Reading Series at The Writer’s Center

StoryStereo to Offer a Blend of Music and Literature

BETHESDA, MD (August 26, 2008)—Where do DC area residents go to see emerging writers share a stage with the region’s best bands? Until recently, the answer was nowhere. Now, as part of its efforts to invigorate the local literary scene, The Writer’s Center in Bethesda has created a forum to bring these two groups of artists together—StoryStereo.

StoryStereo is the new headline event for The Writer’s Center’s Emerging Writers Fellowships, which recognize up-and-coming authors. The inaugural StoryStereo will feature poet Suzanne Frischkorn (Lit Windowpane), Canadian fiction writer Neil Smith (Bang Crunch), and local band the Roofwalkers—who will launch a new, self-titled album at the event.

Event Title: StoryStereo: A Night of Words & Music
When: Friday, September 18, 7:30 P.M.
Where: The Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, MD 20815
Admission: FREE and open to the public
Contact: For information, call 301.654.8664 or visit www.writer.org

Charles Jensen, The Writer’s Center’s Director, was instrumental in creating the Emerging Writer Fellowships and StoryStereo. For Jensen, giving space to emerging writers “gives our community a chance to encounter the next generation of writers for free. And it gives emerging writers an opportunity to have meaningful interaction with an audience.”

But what does this kind of collaboration mean for area musicians? Matt Byars, a member of DC band The Caribbean and one of the driving forces behind the musical component of StoryStereo, calls it “a chance to reach audiences that might very much appreciate what they do, but are not inclined to seek out bands in the same way they do novels or other forms of literature.”

Ben Licciardi, the lead singer of The Roofwalkers, agrees. He adds, “I think StoryStereo will provide music fans and area musicians the opportunity to enjoy the common ground between poetry, prose, and music."

Together for one night only, the emerging writers and local musicians will forge a lasting bridge between two art forms. Indeed, each StoryStereo—the Writer’s Center will host 6 StoryStereos per year—will be recorded and a “best of” compilation disc will be released later next year through West Main Development. With each StoryStereo, “an ever-expanding circle of artists from various disciplines,” says Matt Byars, “will realize they share a lot of common ground, and—perhaps even more importantly—audiences recognizing the overlap between music and literature.”