The Willamette Radio Workshop in conjunction with Forest Avenue Press and Re-Imagined Radio is proud to present THE CITY OF WEIRD From Forest Avenue Press‘ best selling story collection edited by Gigi Little and adapted by Cynthia J. McGean for the radio. Produced and directed by Sam A. Mowry.
Two shows: April 26th at 7pm at the historic Kiggins Theater 1011 Main St, Vancouver, WA 98660 with a $5 suggested donation and May 20th at McMenamins’ Hotel Oregon 310 N. E. Evans Street McMinnville, OR 97128 as a part of the 18th annual UFO Festival, 3pm in Maddie’s Room (admission free).
We were meeting with Laura Stanfill about producing one of the stories from her recent anthology City of Weird. Well as we talked Cindy had the wonderful idea that this collection could offer several stories for radio adaptation. The more we talked the stronger the idea became and of course the UFO Festival would be the perfect spot for this collection of NW weird. The hard part was choosing only 5 stories to include, but I think you’ll love them.
“How Do You Say Gentrification in Martian” by Jonathan Hill – a short, graphic-novel/comic style story whose artwork will be featured in our Magic Lantern Show.
Transformation, by Dan DeWeese – What does existential angst look like for killer slime molds from outer
space and their nurturing spore-filled mothership when they touch down in Portland?
The Fixer: a Serial – 1 – The Duchess, by Sean Davis -a noire-style piece featuring a Sasquatch with a pot 
dispensary, a local dyed-in-the-wool prophet and a Russian water ghost, plus the classic hard-boiled detective and a femme fatale with a twist.
A Code for Everything, by Andrew Stark – the poignant tale of a boy and his robot dog in Portland circa 2025
Letters to The Oregonian in the Year 30,000 BC, by Mark Russell – ancient Portlanders Crolak, Chaka, Grub and Bill grapple with the trendy new invention of fire and its impact on life in the Yak Village and beyond.
As an added bonus we will be presenting our UFO show at the Kiggins theater in Vancouver on the 26th of April. That show will have the fabulous Magic Lantern work of Joe Medina, which, sadly we can’t use in McMinnville. So if you’ve missed the UFO fest before and wanted it a little closer to home, this is your lucky year. For you UFO fanatics, the parade, the music and the speakers will make your trek to wine country well worth it.
A little more about City of Weird, the book.
Pacific Northwest Independent Bookseller bestseller
#1 Powell’s Books bestseller
#1 Powell’s Books holiday bestseller, 2016
Powell’s Pick of the Month and Pick of the Season
#1 Annie Bloom’s Bestseller
Powell’s Staff Top 5s
City of Weird conjures what we fear: death, darkness, ghosts. Hungry sea monsters and alien slime molds. Blood drinkers and game show hosts. Set in Portland, Oregon, these thirty original stories blend imagination, literary writing, and pop culture into a cohesive weirdness that honors the city’s personality, its bookstores and bridges and solo volcano, as well as the tradition of sci-fi pulp magazines. Including such authors as Rene Denfeld, Justin Hocking, Leni Zumas, and Kevin Sampsell, editor Gigi Little has curated a collection that is quirky, often chilling, at times surprisingly profound—and always perfectly weird.
Contributors: Stevan Allred, Jonah Barrett, Doug Chase, Sean Davis, Susan DeFreitas, Rene Denfeld, Dan DeWeese, Art Edwards, Stefanie Freele, Jonathan Hill, Justin Hocking, Jeff Johnson, Leigh Anne Kranz, Kirsten Larson, B. Frayn Masters, Kevin Meyer, Karen Munro, Linda Rand, Brian Reid, Bradley K. Rosen, Nicole Rosevear, Mark Russell, Kevin Sampsell, Jason Squamata, Andrew Stark, Adam Strong, Suzy Vitello, Leslie What, Brigitte Winter, and Leni Zumas.
This will be an epic show and you can get your own copy of City of Weird when you’re done with the radio show. You won’t be able to help yourself.
Special thanks to Washington State University in Vancouver, the Creative Media and Digital Communication Program, The Historic Kiggins Theater, The CougParents Fund and Re-Imagined Radio for their support of our work in Vancouver. Spreading the gospel of live radio throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Dene Grigar, John Barber, Dan Wyatt, Claudine Hemmingway and Lori Hughes Killen
for their unwavering support of the Workshop.
Until next time, we remain, obediently yours.
http://www.forestavenuepress.com/catalog/city-of-weird/
http://ufofest.com/schedule/