What happens at Tell All?
Tell All celebrates essays and memoir on the same stage. One special guest, sometimes two, reads a short excerpt from their recently published book. Three or four featured readers join them onstage to read short, unpublished pieces of their own.
How are special guest(s) selected?
Our special guests are generally prominent Boston-area writers sharing a reading from a memoir or essay collection.
Who can submit as a featured reader?
We are looking for talented writers from the Greater Boston and New England area with a unique voice or point of view to share the stage with our special guest authors. Submissions are open to all writers, and we especially encourage underrepresented writers to submit, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disabled writers (our event team typically reviews 50-80 submissions for each Tell-All event). Also, with the return to live shows post-pandemic, we’re looking for readers who can appear on our event stage.
Who can’t submit as a featured reader?
We don’t accept submissions from writers who have read at a Tell-All event in the past year. We also don’t accept submissions from our review committee.
How do I submit?
Submissions are accepted at tellallboston@gmail.com.
What are the guidelines for submission?
- Submit your best writing. Only one submission at a time, please.
- Your submission should be 1,000 words or under. The live reading time is limited to 5 minutes. Practice before you submit.
- Attach your submission as a Word or PDF file. We can’t accept links to Google docs.
- Include a short bio (100 words maximum) in the body of the email.
- If you would like us to share your social media accounts, please also include your social media handles in your bio.
- Also attach a headshot in .jpg or .png format.
Other Questions? Follow us on Twitter @tellallboston or email tellallboston@gmail.com.