2026 STORY SLAM
Theme: FIREWORKS!
STORY SWAP (11:15—12:00)
This year’s Story Swap will not be a competition. We’ll tell simply for the pleasure of telling—and be rewarded by the applause of our listeners. Your story must be Five Minutes or less (of course—no reading/notes.) Anyone present is invited to tell, but a spot to tell is not guaranteed. Folks will be invited to put their names in a hat. If your name is picked, you tell.
The Theme: FIREWORKS!
Fireworks can be loud or quiet, dazzling or fleeting, planned or completely unexpected. For this Story Swap, we invite you to take the theme in any direction: a moment that exploded with possibility, a relationship that sparked, a long-held secret that finally burst into the open, a celebration, a confrontation, a creative breakthrough, or even something that went spectacularly wrong. Bring us a true story about the moments that light up our lives—or leave us picking up the pieces afterward. What are your Fireworks?
2017 CONTESTANTS
Pictured previous Contestants, from left to right, Jared Flesher, Judy England-McCarthy, Robin Reichert, Mike Agranoff, Joey Novick, Ken Karnas, Elizabeth, and Farmer Rob, with MC Denise McCormack
Previous SLAM WINNER FARMER ROB
Many thanks to our esteemed judges Carol Titus, Helen Wise, and Oni Lasana with MC Denise McCormack
Previous Theme: The Last Straw!
The Annual NJ Storytelling Festival is a hallmark of the NJ Storytelling Network.