I’m happy to say that the story I delivered at The Monti in Carrboro, NC, in September has been nominated for the ridiculously prestigious and coveted Hippo Award as a finalist in the Best Overall Story category. The competition is steep, so I’m thrilled to be among the final four (my book-related story about my Uncle Tony and his search for his Aunt Maria in Italy during WWII was a Hippo finalist last year).

To check out all the finalists, click here. To vote, click here.

The ArtsCenter in Carrboro posted on its blog some photos of The Monti on Saturday night. It really was a wonderful evening. Audio recordings of the stories will be posted here before too long.

I’d like folks to know that I will be one of the storytellers at The Monti in Carrboro, N.C., on Saturday night. The event takes place at the Arts Center near Cats Cradle and starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are available. Promises to be a really entertaining evening. Details are here.

Tuesday night at The Monti in Durham, N.C., program creator Jeff Polish will award what he calls the 1st Annual Hippo Awards. Each month, The Monti features a half-dozen regular folks invited to tell a true story in 15 minutes or less to a live (always packed) audience. No notes or scripts are allowed. Last July 22, Jeff invited me to share the story of “Uncle Tony and the First Miracle,” which I adapted from my book. Jeff liked it well enough to make it one of three nominees in the Best Overall story category.

Details are here. I’ll let you know how who won.

UPDATE: I didn’t win, but I hear the voting was really close!

Tomorrow night, a new and unique Triangle entertainment event comes to Greensboro — The Monti, an evening of storytelling. I was lucky enough to be part last month’s event in Chapel Hill, and will take part again. There’s a wonderful lineup of storytellers, including Greensboro singer songwriter Molly McGinn (fresh off her success in Triad Stage’s “Bloody Blackbeard“), Greensboro fiction writer Quinn Dalton, as well as Jeff Polish, founder of The Monti.

Starts at 7:30 p.m. at The Underground, 1720 Battleground Ave. Tickets are $7. Details here. We’ll be done before Biden’s speech, promise!

UPDATE: News & Record praise for The Monti is here.

The Monti is a new organization in the Triangle region of North Carolina that “brings personal narratives and good old-fashioned storytelling to lives audiences.” This organization is the brain child of Jeff Polish of Durham. His first two events have been SRO, attracting more than 100 paying customers.

His third event is next Tuesday, July 22, at Spice Street in Chapel Hill. Tickets, $7 apiece, went on sale today. I’m lucky enough to be among the storytellers next week. Details are here. Jeff predicts another sell out.