First-Year Read

We are pleased to announce the first year read for fall 2019 is, The Moth Presents Occasional Magic edited by Catherine Burns: 

"From storytelling phenomenon and hit podcast The Moth—and featuring contributions from Meg Wolitzer, Adam Gopnik, Krista Tippett, Andrew Solomon, Rosanne Cash, Ophira Eisenberg, Wang Ping, and more—a new collection of unforgettable true stories about finding the strength to face the impossible, drawn from the very best ever told on its stages.

Carefully selected by the creative minds at storytelling phenomenon The Moth, and adapted to the page to preserve the raw energy of stories told live, onstage and without notes, Occasional Magic features voices familiar and new. Inside, storytellers from around the world share times when, in the face of seemingly impossible situations, they found moments of beauty, wonder, and clarity that shed light on their lives and helped them find a path forward.

From a fifteen-year-old saving a life in Chicago to a mother of triplets trekking to the North Pole to a ninety-year-old Russian man recalling his standoff with the KGB, these storytellers attest to the variety and richness of the human experience, and the shared threads that connect us all. With honesty and humor, they stare down their fear, embrace uncertainty, and encourage us all to be more authentic, vulnerable, and alive."

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Previous first-year reads:

2018 - 2019
The Moth Presents All These Wonders
Edited by: Catherine Burns

2017 - 2018
A Step Toward Falling
Cammie McGovern

2016 - 2017
One Amazing Thing
Chitra Divakaruni

2015 - 2016
A Tale for the Time Being
Ruth Ozeki

 

2014 - 2015
Three Little Words 
Ashley Rhodes-Courter

2013 - 2014
Do It Anyway
Courtney E. Martin

 

2012 - 2013
The Namesake
Jhumpa Lahiri

 

2011 - 2012
I Am an Emotional Creature
Eve Ensler