Sacramento, Ep. 1

April 15, 2023 — In a debut for the history books, Literary Death Match teamed with the geniuses at Stories on Stage Sacramento and the wonderful Chills at Will podcast for a night to remember at The Auditorium at CLARA that saw Naomi J. Williams outduel Clare Frank in a One-Star Wonder finale, winning Williams the LDM Sacramento, Ep. 1 crown, and literary immortality to boot. 

Here's the full lineup from the night:

JUDGES:
Literary Merit: Robert S. Nelsen, President of Sacramento State University, Pushcart Prize-winning writer, Literacy Champion Award from the South Texas Literacy Coalition, was named the 2022 Champion of the Year by the Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce

Performance: Vicki Gonzalez, award-winning journalist, the host of Insight on Capital Public Radio, and she's and won two Regional Emmys, and a Regional Edward R. Murrow for the documentary Return to Paradise 

Intangibles: Neketia Henry, Reporter/Spokesmodel at Sac Cultural Hub and Event Emcee

READERS:
Round 1:
* Clare Frank, author of the memoir Burnt: A Memoir of Fighting Fire, she started firefighting in California at 17 and was promoted up the ranks to become the state’s first and only female Chief of Fire Protection

* Anthony D’Juan, Sacramento-based director and playwright

Round 2:
* Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, author of Children of the Land (a NPR Best Book of the Year, and a 2020 International Latino Book Award Finalist) and Cenzontle (Winner of the 2019 GLCA New Writers Award, and an NPR Best Book of 2018)

* Naomi J. Williams, author of Landfalls, long-listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Award, she's won a Pushcart Prize, was a Best American Short Stories Honorable Mention and has appeared in Zoetrope: All-Story, One Story and The Gettysburg Review

Hosted by LDM creator Adrian Todd Zuniga (author of the award-nominated novel Collision Theory)

Produced by p joshua laskey, Jessica Laskey & Peter Riehl

Where: The Auditorium at CLARA, 1425 24th Street, Sacramento
When: April 15, 7pm start, 8:45pm finish
Cost: $20 (click to preorder now!)