Patron: “Do you have any books on vampires?”
Me: “This is the Southern History Department. I can see what they have in other departments.”
Patron [after a pause] “Do you have any history books on Southern Vampires?” *

Funny things can happen when working in an archives... or weird, wonderful, wise or unforgettable. Tell us about it during NEA’s first StorySLAM: Moths in the Archives: Stories from the Stacks. Based on the StorySLAM competitions developed by NYC non-profit literary society The Moth, there are only four ground rules to the NEA competition at the Spring 2016 Meeting:

-- First rule is all stories must be true
-- Second rule is all stories must be told, not read.
-- Third rule is there is a 5-minute time limit.
-- And fourth rule is to keep it anonymous -- don’t betray confidentiality restrictions

Bring your wit and wisdom to the masses of New England archivists who are just waiting to hear a good story. And at the end of the evening scores will be tallied, a winner announced, and a PRIZE will be given. Submit an outline of your story to be considered eligible for the NEA competition.

Questions? Contact Matt Spry (sprymatt@gmail.com) for more information.

* Story from “I work at a public library” blog [http://iworkatapubliclibrary.com/]