The Short Story Project creates free, live theatrical performances from short stories by exciting writers. These bookstore-based community events are the perfect prescription for these tumultuous times. The Short Story Project was created by Zachary Desmond and Olivia Facini.
Coming Up Next!
September 27th @ 7:00 PM
The Short Story Project returns to P&T Knitwear for another great show! More details and instructions to register for tickets will be made available soon. Shows are always free to attend, but a reserved ticket is always recommended to ensure your seat is saved!
See Your Story on Stage!
Whether your story has won awards or it has sat in a drawer for years, unseen by anyone but you, we want to read it!
We’re the Short Story Project, and we create low-tech, high-creativity theatrical stagings of short stories. Our performances provide a fun, free way for audiences to get to know an author’s work and to experience short fiction through a new lens.
We host our events at independent bookstores around New York City to bring communities together in familiar, welcoming surroundings and to encourage further exchange between theater and literature, between avid theatergoers and devoted book lovers.
If you’d like your work to be considered for a future event, please submit it! We look forward to reading it!
Past Productions
Stylites Anonymous - April 24th, 2026
The Short Story Project brought to life Maureen McGranaghan’s short story “Stylites Anonymous,” a hilarious, continually-surprising portrait of a large family trying to get their patriarch back on solid ground—literally. “Stylites Anonymous” won The Cincinnati Review’s Schiff Award for Fiction.
Directed by Olivia Facini
Cast: Natasha Partnoy, Benny Salerno, and Zachary Desmond
Taos - January 15th, 2026
The first production of the Short Story Project featured Sally Helm’s unpublished short story “Taos,” a tender, funny portrait of a teenaged girl and her father facing a turning point in their lives.
Directed by Olivia Facini
Cast: Zachary Desmond, Layan Elwazani and Nile Assata Harris