Writers Read

Writers Read creates and promotes performance opportunities for writers through curated live and digital programs.

We’re a high-quality platform for true, personal stories—650 words, five minutes long—read aloud before an audience by the writer in our highly popular live shows in New York City, the Hudson Valley, the Capital District, and elsewhere.

The best of our live shows can be heard in the Writers Read Podcast, streaming on every major podcast outlet.

In the digital arena, people are drawn to spoken word programming more than ever before. And in a publishing world with shrinking opportunities for new voices, Writers Read is a welcomed channel for aspiring and established writers alike.

We place a strong emphasis on the craft of writing—word choices, sentence structures, the arc of the narrative. If you love language and craft and enjoy a good story, you’ve come to the right place.

Since 2014, Writer Read has created performance opportunities for writers with curated live events on broad themes like “High School,” “Money,” or “Marriage.”

Submissions can be original or previously published, and are limited to 650 words, which translate to five-minute spoken performances. Recordings have additional exposure via our YouTube Channel and popular Writers Read Podcast.

Presentation partners include Carnegie Hall, Bryant Park, The National Arts Club, City Winery, and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.

Founder Edward McCann is an award-winning former television producer. With support from a volunteer team of media professionals, he presents curated programs of a dozen writers in two acts, followed by an hour-long wine reception.

In addition to college students and grandparents presenting their work publicly for the first time, featured writers have included New York Times bestselling authors as well as winners of Pushcart, Pulitzer, Tony, Emmy, and O Henry prizes. A partial list of well-known writers includes Lynn Aherns, Laura Shaine Cunningham, Manuela Hoelterhoff, Malachy McCourt, Annabel Monaghan, and John Pielmeier.