The Adirondack Center for Writing (ACW) and North Country Public Radio (NCPR) will celebrate the end of the Howl Story Slam’s seventh season with the Howl Grand Slam, held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, at St. Lawrence University.

The Howl Grand Slam brings together nine winning storytellers from 2023’s Howl Story Slams to go head-to-head to be named the grand champion and receive a trophy. The lineup includes storytellers who were victorious in Plattsburgh, Morristown, Newcomb, Lake Placid, Brant Lake, Ticonderoga, Old Forge, Keene, Keeseville, Potsdam, Saratoga Springs and Tupper Lake. Admission is $15 pre-sale and $20 at the door. Tickets can be purchased now at adirondackcenterforwriting.org/event/the-howl-grand-slam-at-slu.

“The 2023 Howl season was exciting because we went to so many new communities—Morristown, Brant Lake, Ticonderoga, Keene—and each new venue was packed the same way it is at our mainstays like Tupper Lake, Lake Placid and Canton. It’s thrilling to see storytellers who we met in bars in a very casual setting all have their stories honored on a stage as prestigious as the Gulick Theatre at St. Lawrence University,” said Nathalie Thill, Executive Director at Adirondack Center for Writing.

The Grand Slam allows contestants to tell 8-minute stories, as opposed to the 5-minute limit of regular season story slams. The other Howl Story Slam rules remain intact: stories must be true and no notes are allowed. Stories from the Grand Slam will also appear on the Howl podcast, produced and distributed by NCPR. The show’s first season was the fastest-growing and most popular podcast in the station’s history, with nearly 35,000 downloads to date. The Howl Podcast can be streamed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google and Amazon.

“Howl Grand Slams are such special evenings,” said NCPR Station Manager Mitch Teich.  “Having so many people in one place to celebrate storytelling makes for a truly unique experience. In 2023, we launched The Howl Podcast which has become a sort of online extension of the story slams where folks can tune in from anywhere and hear some of the most entertaining and enlightening stories being told around the North Country.”

The Adirondack Center for Writing has been bringing people and words together for 25 years through provocative events and meaningful programs. For more information about ACW, visit adirondackcenterforwriting.org or follow @adkctr4writing on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.