Tag: Heather Quinlan

Look! MBC Anthology Event Program

Thrilled to celebrate the publication anniversary of the No, YOU Tell It! Ten-Year Anthology at the Montclair Book Center today, 9/23, from 2-4.

Take a look at the NYTI producers and contributors participating.

Top to bottom: Heather Quinlan, Tim Lindner, KJ Fitzsimmons, and Tazio Ruffilo

Heather Quinlan is a filmmaker who creates unique short- and long-form content. Her first film, a short titled “O Brooklyn! My Brooklyn!” was called “Charming … an endearing way of making an old poem more relevant” by The New York Times, and her feature-length documentary on the New York accent, “If These Knishes Could Talk,” screened at the Library of Congress. She followed that up with “SPOKE: A Short Film About NYC Bikes,” which premiered at the Williamsburg Film Festival. Most recently, Heather was Production Manager for “American River,” which debuted at the 2021 Montclair Film Festival. She is currently directing “Staten Island Graveyard,” about a historically Black cemetery on Staten Island that was turned into a parking lot.

Grab a copy here of Heather’s Plagues, Pandemics, and Viruses: From the Plague of Athens to COVID-19, which was published in 2021 by Visible Ink Press.

Tim Lindner is a course developer, poet, and college writing instructor. He’s published poems in 300 Days of Sun, The Citron Review, The Northern Virginia Review, Awakenings Review, the forthcoming edition of Artemis Journal, and more. He also owns a small business, Revisionary Writing and Editing LLC, where he helps people write their resumes, college essays, books, and more.

Grab a copy here of the anthology Tim edited, The Book of Life After Death, a collection of stories and poems about death and grieving to be published by Tolsun Books, with an official release date of 9/26/2023.

Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons is a writer, educator, and storyteller. Her recent work has appeared in HiLoBrow, Marie Claire, Hippocampus Magazine, and numerous anthologies. She is the creator and producer of No, YOU Tell It!, a nonfiction series that brings storytellers together to trade tales, speak each other’s words, and empower voices on the page and stage. Kelly Jean is also the editor of the No, YOU Tell It! Ten-Year Anthology, available from Palm Circle Press. Follow @noyoutellit for more.

Tazio Ruffilo is a born and bred product of Paterson, New Jersey, where he was raised by his undefeatable mom, jack-of-all-arts dad, and desperado big sister. The different hats he’s worn and the cast of characters in his hometown are major influences on his writing. On most weekends, you can find him chasing his kids around a public space, trying to convince them to get down from there. Tazio teaches writing and communications at Hudson County Community College.

Grab a copy here of Taz’s first collection of short stories, Got That Fire, which was released by Tolsun Books in 2023.

Episode 56 – Precious (Part 1)

The top five answers are on the board – name something that is Precious. Our first story delivers us right into the mind of its author. But this seemingly humorous daydream leads her to recollect lost lives and haunting memories that have shaped the way she lives and copes.

Written by Heather Quinlan and read by Sokunthary Svay, here is, “Survey Says”

As you will hear, we asked each of our storytellers to draw and present three grocery items (other than toilet paper) that have become precious to them since we last rehearsed in March when we had to postpone our original show as COVID-19 cases surged in NYC.

What became clear is how much we all have gained a new appreciation for basic necessities.

Top: Sokunthary Svay; Bottom: Heather Quinlan

Switching it up, we’re headed down to the Paradise City where two Cambodian refugee adolescents stumble upon Guns’n’Roses and experience a means of catharsis from Axl’s screeching voice.

Whether searching the library or recording cassettes, the discovery and pursuit of music lead the narrator to find her own voice, even if it takes a lifetime.

Here is “I Heard Some Chords” written by Sokunthary Svay and read for us by Heather Quinlan.

Huge thanks to our friend Amanda Sisk who directed the brush-up rehearsals for our virtual story swaps!

No, YOU Tell It! “Precious” is made possible (in part) by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. 

“Precious” Program

Dec 10 2020 @ 7:00PM

Tonight! Our storytellers first met in person back in March to turn out true tales inspired by the theme “Precious” on the page. Join us these many months later as they swap stories on the virtual stage.

Click here at 7 pm to join directly or “Join a Meeting” on Zoom with the Meeting ID: 973 9881 8640

Passcode: storyswap

Take a look at our “Precious” storytellers who will be trading their true-life tales.

For optimal viewing and listening experience, be sure to keep your video off, your mic muted and your non-video participants hidden. See instructions below for how to do this. When ready, verify you are in ‘Speaker View’ and enjoy the readings.
Hiding non-video participants: Click on the ^ symbol near the video icon in the lower-left and navigate to video settings. Verify the box next to Hide non-video participants is checked. 

Tonight’s Stories!

Survey Says written by Heather Quinlan and read by Sokunthary Svay

I Heard Some Chords written by Sokunthary Svay, read by Heather Quinlan

Home written by Gail Thomas, read by Nita Noveno

Gathering (1973) written by Nita Noveno, read by Gail Thomas

Listen carefully because we’ll be doing story trivia for a chance to win storyteller Heather Quinlan’s new book, Plagues, Pandemics and Viruses: From the Plague of Athens to Covid-19. Click here to order the book now from our friends at The Astoria Bookshop!

At the end of the evening, everyone is invited to unmute and turn on their cameras to congratulate our storytellers and ask questions.

$10 suggested donation for tonight’s show to the Woodside/Sunnyside Community Covid-19 Food Relief Group.

Click here to donate directly. When donating use the dropdown to indicate Covid 19 Sunnyside/Woodside Food Distribution (or Venmo @KellyJean-Fitzsimmons who will collect and donate)

Huge thanks to our friends at The Astoria Bookshop and Queens Council on the Arts!

No, YOU Tell It! “Precious” is made possible (in part) by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. 

Event Information

Dec 10 2020 @ 7:00PM

ZOOM Meeting ID: 973 9881 8640 Passcode: storyswap

No, YOU Tell It! “Precious” is ON

Dec 10 2020 @ 7:00PM

In March, we postponed our No, YOU Tell It! “Precious” show as COVID-19 cases surged in NYC. It’s been a long nine months for all of us, and we’re grateful the four storytellers are ready to swap tales virtually on December 10th.

Inspired by the theme, “Precious,” the storytellers wrote, workshopped, and rehearsed their story swaps back in March. Now they are brushing up and readying to trade true tales on the Zoom stage. Click here to RSVP via Facebook.

Top left: Sokunthary Svay; Top right: Gail Thomas; Bottom left: Heather Quinlan; Bottom right: Nita Noveno

Join us for this special Queens edition of No, YOU Tell It! Bonus: Audience members will have a chance to win storyteller Heather Quinlan’s new book, Plagues, Pandemics and Viruses: From the Plague of Athens to Covid-19. Can’t wait? Click here to order the book now from our friends at The Astoria Bookshop!

Storytellers include:

Nita Noveno

Heather Quinlan

Sokunthary Svay

Gail Thomas

$10 suggested donation to benefit the Woodside/Sunnyside Community COVID-19 Food Relief Group

Click here to donate directly. When donating use the dropdown to indicate Covid 19 Sunnyside/Woodside Food Distribution (or Venmo @KellyJean-Fitzsimmons who will collect and donate).

No, YOU Tell It! “Precious” is made possible (in part) by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Event Information

Dec 10 2020 @ 7:00PM

ZOOM Meeting ID: 973 9881 8640 Passcode: storyswap

Meet “Precious” Storyteller Heather Quinlan

Dec 10 2020 @ 7:00PM

Meet our next No, YOU Tell It! “Precious” storyteller Heather Quinlan!

Audience members will have a chance to answer trivia questions and win storyteller Heather Quinlan’s new book, Plagues, Pandemics and Viruses: From the Plague of Athens to Covid-19. Can’t wait? Click here to order the book now from our friends at The Astoria Bookshop!

Heather Quinlan is a documentary producer and director whose first short film, “O Brooklyn! My Brooklyn!” was called “Charming … an endearing way of making an old poem more relevant” by The New York Times, and her feature-length documentary on the New York accent, “If These Knishes Could Talk,” has been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times, WSJ, NPR, and the BBC. It recently screened at the Library of Congress.

Heather is currently writing a book about the history of plagues and pandemics tentatively titled, “You’re Gonna Die”; she’s also writing a screenplay about her stepmother called “DIE BITCH DIE”; and is planning her fall wedding to writer Adam McGovern.

Update! Since the postponement of our “Precious” show, Heather and Adam were married in May via ZOOM. Click here to read about their virtual wedding.

Event Information

Dec 10 2020 @ 7:00PM

ZOOM Meeting ID: 973 9881 8640 Passcode: storyswap

2020 QAF Grant and First Show of 2020!

Mar 12 2020 @ 7:00PM

Proud to share that No, YOU Tell It! is a recipient of a 2020 Queens Arts Fund Arts Access Grant. Our first show of 2020 No, YOU Tell It! “Precious” is coming up soon.

Join us on March 12th at Sunnyside Plays at 7 pm. For this special Queens edition, four storytellers have come together to develop their own stories inspired by the theme “Precious” on the page. They will then trade tales to present each other’s story on stage.

top left: Sokunthary Svay, top right: Gail Thomas, bottom left: Heather Quinlan, bottom right: Nita Noveno

Storytellers include:

Nita Noveno (co-host, Sunday Salon)

Heather Quinlan (documentary producer and director, If These Knishes Could Talk)

Sokunthary Svay (poetry editor, Newtown Literary)

Gail Thomas (storytelling instructor, The Story Studio, Legal Outreach)

One drink minimum (beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages available)
$10 suggested donation

No, YOU Tell It! “Precious” is made possible (in part) by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Event Information

Mar 12 2020 @ 7:00PM

Sunnyside Plays (43-09 48th Avenue, Queens, NYC)