Good to Know

We welcome your work! You can read most kinds of prose, including
  • Flash Fiction
  • Short Stories
  • Memoir
  • Biography
  • Passages from Novels or Novellas
  • Scripts and Screenplays
  • Creative Non-fiction

Submissions
  • "The Storytellers" is a rehearsed, scripted show, not an informal drop-in, open mic performance. Stories are carefully curated for each edition. Submissions must be received via e-mail a minimum of four weeks in advance of the show on which you wish to read. Submit only final draft, polished works, with title, via e-mail to The Storytellers. Format your manuscript as you would any generic submission, double spaced with 12 point type and appropriate margins. Be sure to number your pages. It's a good idea to read your piece aloud before submitting it to catch any editing mistakes you might have missed.
  • The primary goal of "The Storytellers" is to entertain, rather than inform or persuade. Your piece may do all of these (see below) but if it is not entertaining, it will probably not meet our requirements. "The Storytellers" does not air pieces primarily intended to persuade or proselytize, no matter how "reasonable" or well researched. Submissions in this category might include political pieces designed to persuade listeners to vote in a certain manner, support a candidate for office, or support a particular position.
  • Your work should generally be about 8-10 minutes long when you read at an appropriate pace for listening. That's roughly 4-5 pages of double-spaced 12-point copy. Your mileage may vary. If you have a longer piece, we may be able to accommodate it. Please keep longer pieces under 15 minutes since reader attention may flag. If your piece is too long, consider excerpting it or abridging it to fit our time constraints. You are also welcome to submit much shorter "flash" pieces. In some cases, you may wish to submit two or more pieces of "flash" for the same program.
  • If we invite you to read your story, we will be iin touch to request biographical information for the website and the reading itself. It's perfectly acceptable to submit information about where to buy your work or your personal web site. Please see the "Meet Our Writers" page for ideas.

You should keep in mind
  • "The Storytellers" is a regular feature of "Art Beat," hosted by DJ La La on KZCT Radio, 89.5 FM Vallejo, CA.
  • The work you read must be your own unless we have agreed you may read someone else's original work for them.
  • You must hold copyright or have permission to read/perform your work. You warrant that your work does not infringe on copyright or other legal rights of others.
  • Mrs. Grundy doesn't work here but keep in mind we broadcast to a general audience. Please use good judgment about profanity, erotic content and subject matter. If you have a question about the suitability of your work, submit it anyway. We'll let you know if modifications might be appropriate.
  • Reading on the radio is a public performance, generally considered to constitute publication. Thus, you grant us one-time publication rights. Thereafter, full publication rights revert to you. Feel free to brag about being a published writer in your bio or resume!
  • Your performance may become part of an audio archive accessible through this website. By reading your work on "The Storytellers," you are granting us the right to archive audio of your work here, unless we agree otherwise.
  • You will be broadcasting your work over the airwaves at KZCT (OZCAT Community Radio) 89.5 FM in Vallejo, CA and streaming live on the internet.
  • Individual listeners can be inventive. They may record directly from the broadcast or the live stream regardless of whether you grant them any rights. Bootleg lives! Just so you know.

Logistics
  • The show is broadcast on the third Thursday of each month from the KZCT studios at 1026 Georgia Street in Vallejo. Readers assemble in the Green Room at 9:45 a. m. for last minute preparations before the show begins at 10:00 a. m. Your friends and family members are welcome to join us in the Green Room to listen to the broadcast and cheer you on.
  • A rehearsal for timing and other logistics is held approximately one week from air date, generally the second Wednesday of every month from 10 a. m. - 12:00 noon. Further details about the rehearsal are provided when your piece is accepted for reading. The rehearsal is mandatory since many details need to be considered in putting together publicity for the show, as well as the show itself. Readers often benefit from the comments and suggestions of others who will read on the same show and may wish to make minor changes before going live. We encourage you to do so because we want you to be able to read the story you really want to read.
  • If you can't attend the rehearsal we may be able to arrange for someone to read your piece on your behalf or we may suggest that you hold your piece for a subsequent show.
  • We will consider broadcasting an audio recording of you reading your submission if you can't attend the broadcast in person. Files recorded in a quiet space on your hand-held phone are generally fine. Please touch base before submitting an audio file. You must first have submitted a story by e-mail that has been accepted for a particular show before submitting an audio file.