Would you like to tell a story at our monthly gathering? Or be a listener? We welcome both! This month’s theme is: small victories.

For TELLERS:

We welcome your folktale, original writing, personal story, or family history piece. Please sign up to be a teller by noon Thursday before the Friday event. You do that by emailing us at info@blacksburgbooks.com.

Here are your rules:

1) No story will ever demean any group or individual using race, ethnicity, economic class, geographic region, political affiliation, religion, gender, etc.

2) Your story will be spoken; while we welcome original stories, if you wrote it, we want you to tell it rather than read it. Poems and songs are perfectly acceptable formats for telling a story.

3) Each month has a theme, which can be interpreted as you choose.The theme for next month will be given the month before at the event and available on the website.

4) Your story will be no more than 8 minutes long. At seven minutes, a staff member will hold up an object at the back of the group. She will repeat this at 7:30. At 8 minutes, she will hold up the object continuously. Please don't make us tell you what happens if you get to 8:30.

For LISTENERS:

1) Please avoid foods that rustle loudly in bags or result in messy crummy bits flying all over the store.

2) The stories you hear at the gathering might be sacred, funny, thought-provoking, or about difficult topics. They may contain words that would be bleeped out on the radio. They won't have trigger warnings. We hold space for each other as we honor the vulnerability and courage it takes to share.

3) Silence your cell phones.

4) Only stand up and move around during a story if it's an emergency.

Thanks! We look forward to having you!

BYO snacks and the gathering will run about an hour and fifteen minutes each month.

Storytelling begins promptly at 7:30 - please arrive prior to that time so that you can be seated and ready!