6-minute Stories
465 episodes - English - Latest episode: 17 days ago - ★★★★★ - 24 ratingsTrue, personal stories from new voices and experienced writers resonating with the themes of the Personal Essay/Story Publishing Projects: "Bearing Up" (2018) and "Exploring" (2019).
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Episodes
"From Grief to Gratitude" by Lorraine Martin Bennett
April 27, 2022 09:00 - 8 minutes - 10.9 MB– What now? Heartaches move to a quieter part of the mind ever so slowly.
"Haunted by Hair" by Annie McLeod Jenkins
April 23, 2022 09:00 - 7 minutes - 9.39 MBAnnie McLeod Jenkins lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She is a member of Winston-Salem Writers. She loves to tell stories, but she acknowledges that a firm deadline helps her get those stories from her head onto paper. Her essays have appeared in earlier editions of the Personal Story Publishing Project. In her spare time, Annie enjoys completing crossword puzzles, reading, and eating. And she declares that she regularly frets about the demise of the correct usage of “lie” and “lay.”
"Miss Bernice’s Songbook, 1928" by Janice Luckey
April 20, 2022 09:00 - 8 minutes - 10.4 MBJanice Luckey, who lives in Davidson, North Carolina, is a member of the Write On! writing group sponsored by her local library as well as the online writing group Impromptu. Writing became a rhythm of her life when she scribbled a romance novel in a 3-ring binder in junior high school. This sparked a life-long love of all things writerly—writing, reading, journaling and hoarding office supplies. Janice was a contributor to the 2020 and both 2021 Personal Story Publishing Projects. You can s...
"Laughter Cannot Be Outgrown" by Nikki Campo
April 16, 2022 09:00 - 7 minutes - 8.86 MB– I saw my mistake. A daughter understands how to find her mother, again.
"The Rabbits Are Making Coffee" by John Eller as told to Jane Satchell McAllister
April 13, 2022 09:00 - 8 minutes - 10.8 MBJohn Eller, a native of North Carolina, currently resides in Huntersville with his family. His career has been in social work, human services, and public administration. John prefers to think of himself as a storyteller more than a writer. Over the next few years, he wants to publish his memoir. Jane Satchell McAllister's writings draw inspiration from the wide variety of people and places she encounters, from her home base in Davie County, NC to rich adventures across our country and ab...
"Inheritance" by Doug Morrison
April 09, 2022 09:00 - 8 minutes - 9.69 MBA longtime resident of Charlotte, North Carolina, Doug Morrison has been a freelance business and features writer for The Charlotte Business Journal, The State, Builder Architect, and Charlotte magazine, among others. He was the profiles writer for Charlotte: Nothing Could Be Finer, a hardcover coffee-table book (Towery Publishing, Memphis, Tennessee), 1996. He has been a guest columnist for The Charlotte Observer. His poetry has appeared in Stone Country and NJPM. A professional resume writ...
"My Boots" by Jill Amber Chafin
April 06, 2022 09:00 - 8 minutes - 10.1 MBJill Amber Chafin is a freelance writer, aerial dance teacher, and mother to two small children in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She co-hosts a nation-wide writers’ critique group where she teaches workshops on the craft of writing. She is currently querying agents for her domestic suspense novel. Next up is a young adult novel, her memoir, and a children’s story inspired by her son. This essay is one of many stories about her unique childhood growing up in a log cabin without running water.
"The Ether of Memory" by Lubrina Burton
April 02, 2022 09:00 - 8 minutes - 10.5 MBLubrina Burton lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband and pug dog. She earned both her Psychology degree and post-baccalaureate certificate in Paralegal Science from Eastern Kentucky University. She is an alumnus of the Carnegie Center in Lexington, where she discovered a network of friends and fellow writers. Her work is featured in The Personal Story Publishing Project anthologies, That Southern Thing and Trouble. She is currently writing her memoir about maturing into young adultho...
"Holding Hands with Angels" by Mary Alice Dixon
March 30, 2022 09:00 - 8 minutes - 10.3 MBMary Alice Dixon lives in Charlotte, NC, where she is a hospice volunteer, former professor, and happy member of Charlotte Writers Club and Charlotte Lit. She is a Pushcart nominee, Pinesong Poetry Award winner, and finalist for the Broad River Review Rash Award in Poetry. Her work appears in the PSPP anthologies Trouble and That Southern Thing and the journals Kakalak, Main Street Rag, moonShine review, Gyroscope Review, Northern Appalachia Review, and North Dakota Quarterly. She loves fami...
Introduction to "Curious Stuff" - Welcome to Season 5 of "6-minute Stories"
March 26, 2022 09:00 - 7 minutes - 10.5 MBSeason 5 of “6-minute Stories” begins with the Introduction to “Curious Stuff—mementos, treasures, white elephants, and junk,” Volume 6 from the Personal Story Publishing Project Randell Jones, editor of the Personal Story Publishing Project anthologies, shares insight on the theme “Curious Stuff” and previews some of the stories you will hear this season, stories you can read right now in the sixth release from the PSPP. He is sharing the Introduction from the collection of 45 stories b...
"Thirteen Candles in the Dark" by Arlene Mandell - reprise from Nov. 28
March 23, 2022 09:00 - 8 minutes - 10.2 MBArlene Mandell is an artist living in Linville, North Carolina. Her colorful portraits are displayed year-round at the Carlton Gallery in Banner Elk (www.carltongallery.com/arlenemandell). A native New Yorker, she loved teaching in Manhattan’s Head Start program. Switching gears, she joined a travel magazine in Miami, Florida, where she met Captain Dan. Their permanent relocation to the Blue Ridge Mountains inspired a love of writing. Her memoirs “Eye of the Dolphin,” “Artist Borne,” “Gobsma...
"A Real Doozy" by Tonya Staufer - reprise from Oct. 2021
March 19, 2022 09:00 - 7 minutes - 9.51 MB– revenge of the 6-year-old. A wronged child welcomes home the prodigal parents with a flood of retribution.
"An Encounter Beyond the Boundaries" by Janice Luckey - reprise from Oct. 9, 2021
March 16, 2022 09:00 - 8 minutes - 10.8 MBJanice Luckey, who lives in Davidson, North Carolina, is a member of the Write On! writing group sponsored by her local library as well as the online writing group Impromptu. Writing became a rhythm of her life when she scribbled a romance novel in a 3-ring binder in junior high school. This sparked a life-long love of all things writerly—writing, reading, journaling and hoarding office supplies. Janice was a contributor to the 2020 and 2021 Personal Story Publishing Projects. You can see mo...
"Cappie: the Boomerang Horse" by Janet K. Baxter
March 12, 2022 10:00 - 7 minutes - 10 MB– horseplay. A troublesome horse has lessons to learn—and lessons to teach.
"Drownproofed" by Randell Jones
March 09, 2022 10:00 - 7 minutes - 9.18 MBRandell Jones is an award-winning writer about the pioneer and Revolutionary War eras and North Carolina history. For 13 years, he served as an invited member of the Road Scholars Speakers Bureau of the North Carolina Humanities Council. In 2013, the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution conferred upon him its national History Award Medal. During 25 years, he has written 100+ history-based guest columns for the Winston-Salem Journal. He created the Personal Story Publishing ...
"Water Lessons" by Landis Wade
March 05, 2022 10:00 - 2 seconds - 8.33 MB– some lessons flow all throughout life. Mishaps, mistakes, foolishness, and frolic around water can teach us what is important and enduring.
“Chancing the Buddy System” by Patricia E. Watts
March 02, 2022 10:00 - 7 minutes - 8.71 MBPatricia E. Watts lives in Mountville, South Carolina where the love of local and family history has given her a passion to write stories to pass down to her children. She has found through stories of tragedies, tears, and triumphs and even mysteries that she has a rich heritage worth telling. Her story “A Real Small Town” appeared in 2020 PSPP’s That Southern Thing and her paired stories “Sometimes the Prize Goes to the Wrong Person” and “The Orphan Train” appeared in spring 2021 PSPP’s Lu...
"Moonshine and Medicine" by J. Leonard Greer
February 26, 2022 10:00 - 7 minutes - 8.28 MBJ. Leonard Greer has lived almost 80 years in the North Carolina mountains. His ancestors were among the earliest settlers of Ashe-Watauga counties area. He never expected to write as he usually worked with his hands, but COVID-19 changed that. He had the time and felt that the family's youngsters needed to learn some family history as he had heard it from the family elders. After near 400 pages and still no stopping place in sight, it became Oral History and My Appalachia published through ...
"Beyond the Dark Side of the Moon" by R.V. Kuser
February 23, 2022 10:00 - 7 minutes - 9.97 MBR.V. is an advocate, educator, motivational speaker, consultant and author of two books. He is on a lifelong quest for ways to overcome misperceptions about "diversely abled" individuals. To let everyone know, we CAN do anything. With his wife, Marlene, they both give a greater insight into autism when speaking publicly and advocating. They would love to hear from you-questions, comments or just to say "hello." Contact them at kusertalk.com.
"Bonneville Blues" by Patricia Cooper Baker
February 16, 2022 10:00 - 7 minutes - 9.03 MBPatricia Baker lives in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, where she is a member of the Mountain Writers Coalition. She is a lifetime writer, but after teaching, consulting, and managing online communities, she now writes fulltime. The tribulations of Trish’s Burke County family during the American Revolution are reflected in her Freedom Tavern series. Her current projects include a time-travel series Top Shelf Tales (pre-teen to adult) and a new Sci-fi series, Martian Spring (young adults and u...
"Trick-or-Treat Or Fraud" by Maria Cloninger
February 09, 2022 10:00 - 7 minutes - 8.11 MBMaria Cloninger lives in Shelby, North Carolina, and enjoys participating in local writers’ groups and workshops and attending book signings to meet and talk with the authors. After years of crafting legal briefs for federal court as a disability specialist, Maria decided to pursue writing for pleasure. She enjoys the challenge of writing short essays and stories. She is working on a novel based on the interesting life of a family member.
"Sex Equations" by Mary Clements Fisher
February 05, 2022 10:00 - 8 minutes - 9.56 MBMary Clements Fisher enjoyed her careers as an educator and businesswoman and still celebrates her mother/grandmother status. She lives with her sweetheart of over fifty years in Northern California and takes psychology and writing courses at Stanford University. A member of Taste Life Twice Writers, she writes about women’s and children’s trials and triumphs and is published in Quail Belle Magazine, Adanna Journal’s Fall 2020 Issue, Passager Journal’s Pandemic Diaries, and The Weekly Avocet...
"Bad Boys" by Jane Satchell McAllister
February 02, 2022 10:00 - 8 minutes - 10.8 MBJane Satchell McAllister's writings draw inspiration from the wide variety of people and places she encounters, from her home base in Davie County, North Carolina to rich adventures across our country and abroad. She has co-authored two Images of America books through Arcadia Publishing prior to serving as the director of the county's public library for nine years. Her current main writing project involves compiling her family’s stories so that their descendants can better understand and enj...
"Playing Chicken with a Snowplow" by Sharon Stegall
January 29, 2022 10:00 - 7 minutes - 9.71 MBSharon Stegall has recently relocated from Connecticut to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Without sacrificing fun and adventure, Sharon is trying to lead a less perilous life in her middle years. Her blog, Sharon Space, focuses on a humorous look at breeding and showing Maine Coon cats and living with other creatures, human and non-human. Sharon is a contributing author for the book Maine Coon Cats – The Owners Guide from Kitten to Old Age.
"Resilience" by Regina Lobree
January 26, 2022 10:00 - 7 minutes - 9.27 MBRegina Lobree lives in Clemmons, North Carolina. This is her first written piece of work that she has submitted for publication. Her 43-year teaching career allowed her to share her love of reading and writing with her students. Currently, she enjoys retirement, her grandchildren, and subbing for the local school system.
"Grandma Troubles" by Tanya E.E.E. Schmid
January 22, 2022 10:00 - 8 minutes - 10.3 MBTanya Elizabeth Egeness Epp Schmid of the Taste Life Twice Writers was a Doctor of Oriental Medicine until 2014 when she started a permaculture farm. Her work has appeared in Valparaiso Fiction Review, Sky Island Journal, Canary Literary Magazine, Whistling Shade, Flash Fiction Magazine, and others. Tanya was long-listed in Pulp Literature’s 2021 Flash Fiction Contest. Her work has appeared in Poet’s Choice Global Warming Anthology, and Quillkeeper’s Summer Solstice Anthology 2021. She is a ...
"What Happened to Judah Quinn?" by Lois Elizabeth Hicks
January 19, 2022 10:00 - 7 minutes - 10.4 MBLois Elizabeth Hicks lives in rural Randolph County. Lois—a wife, mother, and grandmother—worked as a high school teacher and school media coordinator for many years while providing hands-on full care for an adult son paralyzed with quadriplegia after a spinal cord injury. During those years she joined a 5-member Winston-Salem writing group and began journal entries of caregiving and respite day’s events. She now writes nonfiction stories based on those journal events. “What Happened to Juda...
"Unexpected Lessons" by Howard Pearre
January 15, 2022 10:00 - 7 minutes - 8.29 MBHoward Pearre received an “early out” from the Army in 1969. He returned to UNC Charlotte for a degree in history and later attended Appalachian State University for a degree in rehabilitation psychology. He is retired after a career with NC Vocational Rehabilitation as a counselor and manager and with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs as a counselor. He received an honorable mention for a short story “September, 1957” at the 2020 International Human Rights Arts Festival and is a member of...
"Unexpected Stories" by Howard Pearre
January 15, 2022 10:00 - 7 minutes - 8.29 MBHoward Pearre received an “early out” from the Army in 1969. He returned to UNC Charlotte for a degree in history and later attended Appalachian State University for a degree in rehabilitation psychology. He is retired after a career with NC Vocational Rehabilitation as a counselor and manager and with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs as a counselor. He received an honorable mention for a short story “September, 1957” at the 2020 International Human Rights Arts Festival and is a member of...
"That Bluetick Hound" by Paula Teem Levi
January 12, 2022 10:00 - 7 minutes - 8.5 MBPaula Teem Levi is a retired Registered Nurse living in Clover, South Carolina. She is a member of several genealogical societies. Her stories, “Broken Branch,” “You Got You Another One,” and “Bury Me with My People,” appeared in 2019, 2020, and 2021 spring anthologies of the Personal Story Publishing Project. Her goal is to preserve as many family stories as possible for future generations so that they will not be at risk of being forgotten or lost forever.
"Mom and Pops" by Beth Bixby Davis
January 08, 2022 10:00 - 7 minutes - 8.36 MBBeth Bixby Davis was born in Northern New York and moved to the Asheville area of North Carolina in the mid-1960s where she reared her family, raised Arabian horses and had a 30-year career in nursing. Enjoying a long-time hobby of writing, she recently published a book of short stories, essays, and poetry, called Patchwork Collection. Her creative nonfiction work has appeared in Bearing Up, Exploring, and Luck and Opportunity. She belongs to Talespinners Writers Group.
"The Hazards of Democracy, 2020" by Julie Davis
January 05, 2022 10:00 - 7 minutes - 8.12 MB– the occasion called for a suit. When voting is that important to you, nothing will stop you.
"Averting an International Incident" by Marie Mitchell
January 01, 2022 10:00 - 8 minutes - 9.64 MB—getting the big picture. A journalist visiting a soviet country gets on the wrong side of the law from behind her camera.
"Trouble Came with the Moonshine" by Phyliss Grady Adcock
December 29, 2021 10:00 - 8 minutes - 8.86 MBAfter teaching for 34 years, Phyliss Grady Adcock, retired in Morehead City, North Carolina. Her writing has appeared in Mailbox Magazine, Teacher’s Helper, That Southern Thing and Luck and Opportunity. Her grant writing netted over $5,000 for classroom projects. For one grant proposal, she was recognized as the first Raychem Educator of the Year. She is listed in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers for 1996 and 2000. She is currently writing humorous stories about the colorful characters in ...
"Fishing Pumpkin Island" by Joe Brown
December 26, 2021 10:00 - 7 minutes - 7.91 MBJoseph Brown is a native of North Carolina, born in Yadkin County and reared in Davie County. He now resides in the Bethania area of Forsyth County and has lived all his life within 40 miles of his birthplace. In February 2020 he retired from 50 years in the construction industry. Most of his previous writing has been daily journals on his mission trips to Kentucky, Canada, and Ecuador. His earlier published stories appeared in 2019, 2020, and spring 2021 Personal Story Publishing Projects.
"A Recipe for a Christmas Story" by Randell Jones - reprise from Dec. 2020
December 22, 2021 10:00 - 8 minutes - 10.3 MB- discovered treasure A serendipitous find at a used book sale offered North Carolina writer Randell Jones the chance to imagine for the holidays how some family's lost treasure came to be. Randell Jones is an award-winning history writer about the pioneer and Revolutionary War eras. Since 2007, he has served as an invited member of the Road Scholars Speakers Bureau of the North Carolina Humanities Council. He created the Personal Story Publishing Project and the companion podcast, “6-...
"In the Form of a Child" by Sarah H. Clarke
December 18, 2021 10:00 - 8 minutes - 10.6 MBSarah H. Clarke lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has privately written non-fiction since her teens. She recently joined the Charlotte Writers Club and looks forward to forging new relationships with fellow writers. Married with two children and five stepchildren, she and her husband live in an 18th century home that they all restored together. International travel and the study of social sciences and metaphysical topics are among her passions, as well as maintaining a strong connecti...
"Family Troubles" by Bill Donohue
December 15, 2021 10:00 - 8 minutes - 10 MB– lessons in caring and caregiving. Across generations, learning to care and to give care both nurture and sustain.
"In Bear Country" by Barbara Houston
December 11, 2021 10:00 - 7 minutes - 8.89 MBBarbara Houston lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. A member of an informal writing group, the Scribblers, she is currently writing her memoirs. After college, Barbara taught English for four years. Later, she served as Director of Human Resources at Discovery Place Museum in Charlotte for over ten years. Now retired, Barbara enjoys her writing project, reading fiction, singing, spending time with family and friends, and traveling with her husband, Jerry.
"In Waves" by Elaine Thomas
December 08, 2021 10:00 - 8 minutes - 10 MB– swells of anxiety and appreciation on the tides of time. A childhood escape from danger resonates with lessons born of the rhythms of life and the ocean.
"Four Angry Men" by Joel Nelson
December 04, 2021 10:00 - 7 minutes - 9.52 MBJoel Nelson lives in Marietta, Georgia. As a 4th-grade schoolboy in 1946, he wrote a two-paragraph essay on the meaning of freedom; a half-dozen of those words ended up being quoted in the Boston Globe. This is his first published work since. After 20 years in the U.S. Army followed by 30 as a physician assistant working in a psychiatric hospital, he’s been retired since 2009.
"Let It Go" by Suzanne Cottrell
December 01, 2021 10:00 - 7 minutes - 9.34 MBSuzanne Cottrell, a member of Creative Voices, Taste Life Twice Writers, and NC Writers’ Network, lives with her husband in Granville County, NC. An outdoor enthusiast and retired teacher, she enjoys reading, writing, knitting, hiking, and Pilates. Her prose has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including the Personal Story Publishing Project, Inwood Indiana Press, Quail Bell Magazine, Parks and Points, and Nailpolish Stories. She’s the author of three poetry chapbooks: Gifts of...
"Thirteen Candles in the Dark" by Arlene Mandell
November 28, 2021 10:00 - 8 minutes - 10.2 MBArlene Mandell is an artist living in Linville, North Carolina. Her colorful portraits are displayed year-round at the Carlton Gallery in Banner Elk (www.carltongallery.com/arlenemandell). A native New Yorker, she loved teaching in Manhattan’s Head Start program. Switching gears, she joined a travel magazine in Miami, Florida, where she met Captain Dan. Their permanent relocation to the Blue Ridge Mountains inspired a love of writing. Her memoirs “Eye of the Dolphin,” “Artist Borne,” “Gobsma...
"Curious Stuff" and "Packable Pieces"
November 26, 2021 10:00 - 9 minutes - 11.6 MBIn this bonus episode, we hope to entice more listeners of “6-minute Stories” to write a story of their own and to submit it for the current Call for Personal Stories open through Dec. 15, 2021. The theme is “Curious Stuff—mementos, treasures, white elephants, and junk.” We all have objects in our possession for one reason or another that have a meaningful story attached to them. Those are the stories we invite you to share by Participating in the Personal Story Publishing Project for our ...
"Fowl Play" by Stanley Winborne
November 24, 2021 10:00 - 7 minutes - 8.82 MBStanley Winborne, III lives near Berea, North Carolina, on the banks of the Tar River. During the past 15 years, he lived in Mexico with his wife, Alice. He returned to North Carolina following her death in 2020. His short stories have appeared in several anthologies, and his current writing project, a novel entitled Confessions of a False Evangelist, is near completion. Stanley writes to discover himself, and he enjoys writing songs, poetry, short stories, and novels. You may reach him via ...
"Seismic Shifts" by Wendy A. Miller
November 20, 2021 10:00 - 8 minutes - 10.3 MBWendy A. Miller lives in Portland, Oregon. She is a member of Taste Life Twice Writers. Her story "Mom Conquers Volcano," appeared in Luck and Opportunity (2021) from the Personal Story Publishing Project and featured in their 6-Minute Stories Podcast. Other work has been in Adelaide Literary Magazine, Quail Bell Magazine, and Grown and Flown, where her essay ranked 14 in their "Parent Best Posts of 2020." Tiny Seed Literary Journal: Anthology Forest (Aug. 3, 2021) and The Weekly Avocet (#45...
"Stranded" by Karen Luke Jackson
November 17, 2021 10:00 - 7 minutes - 7.37 MBKaren Luke Jackson (Flat Rock, NC) draws upon oral history, contemplative practices and nature for inspiration. Her work has appeared in Nobody’s Home, moonShine review, and Emrys Journal; two poetry collections, The View Ever Changing and GRIT; and The Story Mandala: Finding Wholeness in a Divided World. A member of the North Carolina Writers’ Network and the North Carolina Poetry Society, Karen resides in a cottage on a goat pasture. There she writes and companions people on their spiritua...
"Never Underestimate an Old Man" by Carlton Clayton
November 13, 2021 10:00 - 7 minutes - 10 MBCarlton Clayton lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he is a volunteer with the North Carolina Writer’s Network Prison Outreach Program and a member of the Charlotte Writer’s Club. He got his real start in writing at Charlotte Center for Literary Arts where he wrote the story that appears in this issue. He is at work on a memoir about growing up along the Neuse River aptly titled "Along the Banks of the Neuse." Carlton also has work in Pembroke Magazine and the New York Quarterly. About...
"U.S.-German Brew-haha" by Lubrina Burton
November 10, 2021 10:00 - 8 minutes - 9.31 MBLubrina Burton is a veteran of the United States Army. After the service, she earned a degree in Psychology from Eastern Kentucky University. She now lives with her husband and pug dog in Lexington, Kentucky. Her short story, “Why Do Things Have To Be So Hard,” is featured in The Personal Story Publishing Project That Southern Thing. She is currently writing her memoir about coming of age in the military.
"The Terror Inside" by J.P. McGillicuddy
November 06, 2021 09:00 - 8 minutes - 10 MBJP McGillicuddy lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. A former magazine editor, he has authored numerous published articles spanning sports, health care and government. He also created and wrote “The Mecklenburgers,” an award-winning local television program. His poetry received third-place award from Charlotte Writers Club in 2019 and appeared in Mooresville Arts “Beyond Poems and Paintings” exhibit in 2020. His stories “The White Section,” and “Opportunity Named Harry” appeared in 2020 and s...