For 15 years, the Catskills storytelling show Yarnslingers has been building something simple and increasingly rare: a space where people stand up in front of a live audience and tell true stories from their own lives.
Now, those stories are moving from stage to page.
The new anthology, This Happened: Yarnslingers Book One, gathers memoir-based writing from 25 regional contributors whose work first emerged in live performances across the Catskills and Northeastern Pennsylvania. For the series’ producer and director, Greg Triggs, the book represents both a natural extension of the project—and an unexpected one.
“I am lucky enough to have a publisher,” Triggs said. “When they heard about Yarnslingers, they pitched the idea of an anthology to me.”
That publisher is Red Hawk Publications, which Triggs credits with originating the project.
“I mean how much easier could it be to put together a book than having the publisher reach out to you,” he said.
A storytelling stage that became a book
Yarnslingers has been running for 15 years, originally created by Ramona Jan. About three years ago, Triggs stepped in to help organize and expand the series, which brings together writers performing personal, nonfiction stories in venues across Sullivan County and Pennsylvania.
“It’s a storytelling show, personal real life stories told by writers from around the region,” he said. “Right now we have a group of about 40 writers that contribute to monthly Yarnslingers shows. They’re always free.”
The anthology draws from that same community. According to Triggs, writers were invited to submit favorite pieces developed over the years. A reading group—designed to reflect a broad range of perspectives—then helped evaluate submissions for clarity, impact, and readiness for publication.
From stage voice to printed page
Triggs described the transition from live performance to edited anthology as both practical and philosophical: how to preserve the immediacy of spoken storytelling while shaping it for readers.
The result is a collection of roughly 85 essays drawn from the original submissions, reflecting what he called a “transparent” and collaborative selection process.
At its core, he said, the series values expression over agreement.
“I always say the first priority or unifying belief of Yarnslingers is freedom of speech,” Triggs said. “So, if you are expressing an idea that is not necessarily my thinking, I have no control over that.”
What matters most, he said, is not whether the audience agrees with a story—but whether it is told with clarity and craft.
“What I am interested in is whether or not you express your idea well,” he said.
Why people listen
Part of the appeal of Yarnslingers, Triggs suggested, lies in the emotional honesty of memoir storytelling—its ability to pull audiences into unfamiliar lives and experiences.
“Honesty,” he said, when asked what connects audiences to these stories. “I could read a story about a Quaker missionary in Australia and with emotional sophistication and truth I’m going to be drawn in.”
He also pointed to what he sees as a shift in how audiences relate to storytellers. In Yarnslingers events, the emphasis is not on personality or performance, but on shared human experience.
“It’s about the story not the person telling the story,” he said, recalling a conversation with a listener. “Yarnslingers is there for the audience before it’s there for themselves or each individual’s self.”
Community storytelling in a divided time
Beyond literature and performance, Triggs sees the project as part of a broader cultural function in rural communities: maintaining connection through shared narrative.
“I think it’s critical in a rural community,” he said. “We are not anonymous to each other.”
He suggested that face-to-face storytelling helps counter the distance and polarization of modern life.
“It’s very hard to do when you have FaceTime with someone you know and care about,” he said. “Our communities and honestly expressing our opinions and allowing that to become a dialogue is the only way these knots are going to start loosening.”
What comes next
A book launch is scheduled for August 2 at The Blue Fox, where contributing writers will gather for readings and signed copies.
With This Happened: Yarnslingers Book One now in print, Triggs is already looking ahead to future publications.
“I’m shooting for triple digits,” he said.
Image: Author Bill Fellenberg reading from his memoir Sayonara Cowboy at a Yarnslingers event. (Yarnslingers.com)