In “Cubby,” a short story by Christi Nogle, a nameless mother and child (whose gender has not been identified) zip through time, dipping eerily in and out of their relationship with the child’s father. It takes its cues from Octavia Butler’s and invokes the more dystopian facets of George Saunders’ work. There is, of course, a twist — both to the plot and how the story itself is being distributed.
“Cubby” is the second winner of the contest, in which winning submissions are chosen by an established writer to be read by a notable narrator — in this case, — and then made available for download. The series asks for donations in lieu of download fees, which benefit charities including Lava Mae, which repurposes retired transportation buses into showers and toilets on wheels to deliver hygiene and restore dignity among homeless; Classes 4 Classes, which provides a social network that promotes kindness by connecting teachers and students with other classrooms; and Soul River Inc. Runs Wild, which enables U.S. veterans to mentor inner-city youth into becoming leaders.
For Nogle, it’s a break that came rather unexpectedly. “I’m one of those people who has been writing for years but never got around to submitting my stories,” she says. “I was very excited, of course, to win. And when I heard Lili Taylor would narrate the story, I was overjoyed: Her voice is so beautiful and it has a vulnerable tone to it. I think it will be perfect for the story.”
Portable Story Series is the brainchild of Charles de Montebello, the founder of multiple-Grammy Award-winning audio studio CDM Sound Studios in New York City. Since 1998, de Montebello’s studio has helped record, produce, and edit audio for books, podcasts, film, television, and just about any platform where sound plays a role in the narrative development of a story. Clients include everyone from MTV to Vanity Fair to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
The question de Montebello found himself mulling over a couple years ago was how to “expand and do more,” he says. “The idea was to come up with a platform for writers, as well as listeners, and connect them with worthwhile causes. I’ve donated money, and it always feels like throwing it into thin air — you go to a website and give a donation and that’s it.”
“The idea was to come up with a platform for writers, as well as listeners, and connect them with worthwhile causes.”
With the resources he had at CDM, it didn’t take de Montebello long to realize he had the answer right in front of him. “It’s easy to get writers to write and submit,” he says. “It’s easy to get authors to judge something for charity. Narrators and actors want to do what they do. A lot of celebrity narrators come through here all the time. It’s a small leap to image we can entice them with this.”
And so Portable Story Series was born. The first contest was held in January. De Montebello chose a theme — hunger — and tapped PEN/Faulkner award-winning novelist Kate Christensen to judge the entrants. The winning story, “How You Like,” was written by Jari Chevalier and was picked out of a pile of more than 30 submissions. While the theme was hunger, Chevalier’s story is more about a hunger for intimacy. In it, a woman trying to come to terms with a betrayal takes a cathartic journey to India with her teenage son. As the winning selection, it was narrated in a warm, full-bodied voice by January LaVoy, best known for her portrayal of Noelle Ortiz on .
