NARROWSBURG, NY — For fifteen years, Yarnslingers has invited audiences throughout New York's Catskills and northeastern Pennsylvania to gather around one timeless tradition: people telling true stories from their own lives.

Now, in celebration of its fifteenth anniversary, Yarnslingers is preserving that legacy through two companion projects sharing the same name and purpose—This Happened, a free podcast produced in partnership with Radio Catskill, and This Happened: Yarnslingers Book One, a new anthology featuring memoir-based stories from 25 regional writers.

Together, the podcast and the book extend Yarnslingers' mission beyond the stage, ensuring that the stories which have moved live audiences for more than a decade can continue reaching new listeners and readers for years to come.

The This Happened podcast features recordings of unforgettable performances from the long-running storytelling series founded in 2011 by Ramona Jan. Each episode presents true, first-person stories inspired by a common theme, celebrating the humor, heartbreak, resilience, family, identity, and unexpected moments that connect us all.

Listeners can stream or download the podcast at: tinyurl.com/YarnslingersPodcast.

The first episode of the podcast entitled, The Origin Story, features host Greg Triggs interviewing founder, Ramona Jan, who also shares a story from the group’s new book.

The companion anthology, This Happened: Yarnslingers Book One, captures many of those same voices in print. Every story in the collection was first performed before a live Yarnslingers audience, reflecting the belief that authentic storytelling creates empathy, strengthens community, and reminds us that extraordinary experiences often emerge from ordinary lives. 

For more than a decade, Yarnslingers has welcomed thousands of audience members to free performances while providing a stage for hundreds of storytellers—from first-time performers to nationally published writers. Among them are authors whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, McSweeney's, Vulture, and numerous other respected publications. Yet the organization's heart remains the same: creating a welcoming space where every voice has value and every story has the potential to resonate.

“Every month, people walk onto the Yarnslingers stage and trust us with stories that are funny, heartbreaking, surprising, and totally human,” said producer/editor/host Greg Triggs. “As we celebrate fifteen years, we wanted to preserve those voices in two lasting forms. The podcast lets listeners hear the emotion of a live performance, while the book invites readers to spend more time with the stories. Together, they're a celebration of what Yarnslingers has always been about—bringing people together through storytelling.”

Founded in 2011, Yarnslingers is a nonprofit storytelling organization dedicated to celebrating true personal stories through free public performances, workshops, publications, and now podcasting.