# Literary Death Match

Literary Death Match is a reading series co-created in 2006 by Todd Zuniga, Elizabeth Koch, and Dennis DiClaudio. Each event features four readers who read their own writing for seven minutes or less, and are then critiqued by three judges (often actors, comedians, authors, musicians or dancers) in the categories of literary merit, performance and intangibles. The winner is then decided by a literary-skewed, game show-type finale to decide who wins the Literary Death Match crown.

## Locations

The Literary Death Match has occurred regularly in New York City, San Francisco and London, and has been produced in a total of 37 cities around the world, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Miami and Dallas in the United States, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal in Canada, as well as Dublin, Paris, Edinburgh, Beijing, Vilnius and Shanghai. On September 7, 2011, the event presented its 1,000th participant in Glasgow (Cargo Publishing's Allan Wilson).

### United States

In the United States, the event has featured readers Tom Perrotta (author of Election, Little Children), Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket) and The Believer editor Heidi Julavits and judges like Pulitzer Prize winners Richard Russo and Jennifer Egan, 24's Mary Lynn Rajskub, supermodel Paulina Porizkova, and the musician Moby.

### Europe

In Europe, the event has featured readers Joe Dunthorne (author of Submarine), Esther Freud (Hideous Kinky), Nikesh Shukla (C4 Comedy Labs' Kabadasses creator), comedy writers David Quantick and Robert Popper, and judges Rich Fulcher (The Mighty Boosh), model-turned-author Sara J. Stockbridge, comedian Josie Long, Sichuan chef Fuchsia Dunlop, Kaiser Chiefs drummer Nick Hodgson and Irish musician Cathy Davey.

## Accolades

In 2008, Literary Death Match was named "Best Scribbler Smackdown" by the San Francisco Bay Guardian "Best of the Bay" awards. In 2010, Interview said "Events like Literary Death Match are helping to revitalize the coolitude of the printed word."

## History

| Name | Date | Location | Judges | Participants | Winner |
| Blindfolded Stabbing | March 6, 2006 | New York City | Ben Greenman (The New Yorker), Moby, and comedian Jack Kukoda | Bryan Charles (Open City), Deb Olin Unferth (Noon), Geoff Wolinetz (Yankee Pot Roast), Mike Sacks (as read by Ted Travelstead) reading for Sweet Fancy Moses | Ted Travelstead |
| Mathematical Rumble | April 10, 2006 | New York City | Ben Greenman (The New Yorker), comedian Jack Kukoda and Ted Travelstead (Sweet Fancy Moses, LDM Champ) | Shya Scanlon (elimae), Kristin McGonigle (Pindeldyboz), Manuel Munoz (Swink), Pauls Toutonghi (One Story) | Manuel Munoz |
| Geographical Violence | May 22, 2006 | New York City | Adrian Todd Zuniga (founding editor, Opium Magazine), Ben Greenman (The New Yorker) and David Goodwillie (Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time) | Sean Casey (McSweeney's), Tyler Gore (MeThree), Andy Horwitz (Nerve), Thomas Hopkins (Quick Fiction) | Sean Casey |
| Running for Their Lives | June 7, 2006 | Washington Square Park, NYC | Ben Greenman (The New Yorker), Dennis DiClaudio (Comedy Central) and Opium's soccer pundit, Ben Mainwaring. | Opium's own Adrian Todd Zuniga, Elizabeth Koch, associate editor Heather Kelley and two-time Opium print writer, Shya Scanlon | Adrian Todd Zuniga |
| Rumble in the Bay | July 17, 2007 | Harlot, San Francisco | Jon Wolanske (Killing My Lobster), Beth Lisick (author of Everyone into the Pool), and ZYZZYVA editor Howard Junker | Stephen Elliott (McSweeney's, Canteen), Joyce Maynard (Canteen), Michelle Richmond (Fiction Attic Press) and Sam Hurwitt (Kitchen Sink) | Sam Hurwitt |
| Hara-Kari Haiku at Harlot | August 21, 2007 | San Francisco | SF Chronicle's Oscar Villalon judging literary merit, Kasper Hauser's Rob Baedeker on performance, and Levine Greenburg literary agent Danielle Svetcov on intangibles | Matt Herlihy (Sweet Fancy Moses), Andy Raskin (Big Ugly Review), Kirk Read (Instant City), Andrew O. Dugas (edifice WRECKED) | Kirk Read |
| Cyrillic Battle to the Death | September 19, 2007 | The Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco | Jesse McKinley (New York Times), Anika Streitfeld (Random House) and Matt Herlihy (Sweet Fancy Moses) | Bucky Sinister (Progressive Reading Series), Regina Louise (Inside Story Time), Carol Queen (Writer's With Drinks), Kelly Beardsley (Porchlight Entertainment) | Bucky Sinister |
| Litquake Hoop-a-Lot | October 12, 2007 | Swedish American Hall, San Francisco | literary merit judge Ben Greenman, performance judge Shaun Landry (Oui Be Negroes) and Oscar Villalon (SF Chronicle) speaking to intangibles | Evany Thomas (McSweeney's), Wesley Stace (Swink), Daniel Handler, Gary Kamiya (Salon.com) | Daniel Handler |
| NYC Cyrillithon | October 23, 2007 | The Kitchen, New York City | Ben Greenman (The New Yorker), Amanda Stern (host of the Happy Ending Reading Series) and Joshua Furst (Short People) | Giancarlo DiTrapano (New York Tyrant), Susan Buttenwieser (failbetter), Pedro Ponce (Quick Fiction and Thomas Cooper (Opium Magazine) | Giancarlo DiTrapano |
| Death Matching Thy Lobster | November 6, 2007 | Harlot, San Francisco | Michelle Richmond (The Year of the Fog), Kurt Bodden (Talk Show Live) and Sean Finney (Canteen) | Four actors from the legendary Killing My Lobster comedy troupe stormed the stage and read from past print issues of Opium Magazine: Jon Wolanske, Eric Schniewinde, Joel Dovev and Todd Brotze | Jon Wolanske |
| Naming that Tune | March 12, 2008 | Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco | Larry Gallagher, Helena Echlin and Laura Lee Mattingly | Daphne Gottlieb (Soft Skull Press), Jon Longhi (Manic D Press), Eric B. Martin (MacAdam/Cage) and Andrew Lam (Heyday Books) | Andrew Lam |
| Poets Doubling as Madmen | April 9, 2008 | Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco | Jane Ganahl (Litquake co-founder), Mia Lipman (Canteen) and Alan Black | Clive Matson (publisher of the Crazy Child Scribbler), Andrew O. Dugas (Unlikely Stories), Rupert Estanislao (Suicide Kings) and Justin Chin (Manic D Press) | Rupert Estanislao |
| Pin the Body on the Head! | May 10, 2008 | Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco | Stephen Elliott (Happy Baby), Kurt Bodden (Talk Show Live), Michelle Richmond (The Year of the Fog), Jon Wolanske (Killing My Lobster), Sean Finney (Canteen) and Todd Zuniga (LDM's co-creator) | Kirk Read (episode 2's winner), Andrew Lam (episode 7's winner), Tony DuShane (episode 6 winner) and Sam Hurwitt (episode 1 Winner) | Andrew Lam |
| Recyclement Extravaganza | May 29, 2008 | Housing Works, New York City | Ben Greenman of The New Yorker, comedian Joel Dovev and the first-ever mute judges in LDM history, Street Performers Gill and Jill Bumby | Aaron Garretson (representing Opium), Bob Powers (Lost Magazine), Cole Kazdin (Smith Magazine) and Garth Hallberg (Canteen Magazine) | Aaron Garreston |
| Urban Sack Race Antics | June 26, 2008 | Sara D. Roosevelt Park, New York City | Ben Greenman (The New Yorker), writer/comedian Julie Klausner and Jeff Gordinier (X Saves the World) | John Williams (Titlepage.tv), Debbie Kuan (Wigleaf), Gabrielle Mitchell-Marell (Anderbo.com) and Amy Shearn (Brick Magazine's representative and the author of How Far is the Ocean from Here) | John Williams |
| Mathematizing and Literacy | July 24, 2008 | Amnesia, San Francisco | Damion Searls, Litquake's Elise Proulx and Tony DuShane. | Matt Rohrer (Watchword Press), Lisa K. Buchanan (Missouri Review), Alan Black (Redroom.com) and Evan Rehill (Instant City). | Alan Black |
| Literary Scavengry | September 19, 2008 | Amnesia, San Francisco | Gravity Goldberg of Instant City, Jack Boulware of Litquake and Ian Lendler | Kim Addonizio (Litquake), Rhea DeRose-Weiss (Whore Magazine), Damion Searls (n+1) and Tom Barbash (One Story) | Kim Addonizio |
| Lightnin' & Rasslin' (part of Lit Crawl NYC) | September 27, 2008 | Supreme Trading, Brooklyn NY | The New Yorker's Ben Greenman, Opium's .com editor Cicily Janus and Aussie scribe Lee Bob Black | Timmy Waldron (Word Riot), Jensen Whelan (Hobart), Christina Kallery (Failbetter) and Tim Mucci (Slice Magazine) | Timmy Waldron |
| Litquake Duel to the Death | October 6, 2008 | San Francisco | | | |
| Invisible Bullets Near Broadway | October 14, 2008 | The Kitchen, New York City | The New Yorker's Ben Greenman, SF improviser Kurt Bodden and Kansas comediess Jodi Bullock | Dennis DiClaudio (Guerilla Lit Reading Series), Lincoln Michel (L Magazine Literary Upstart), Katherine Taylor (Vermin on the Mount Reading Series) and Thaddeus Rutkowski (Poetry vs. Comedy) | Dennis DiClaudio |
| TV Money Grabstravaganza | November 11, 2008 | Housing Works Bookstore, New York City | Ben Greenman (The New Yorker), Lesley Arfin (Dear Diary) and comedian Todd Levin | Tao Lin (Muumuu House), Amy Sohn (Brooklyn Writers Space), Mishna Wolff (Swink) and Alex Rose | Tao Lin |
| Fowl Language | November 14, 2008 | Amnesia, San Francisco | Jonathon Keats, Leslie Waggoner, and Robin Ekiss | Jeff O’Keefe (Epoch Magazine), Vince Donovan (Fiction Attic), James Hass (Farallon Review) and Joshua Citrak (Slouch Magazine) | Joshua Citrak |
| Shakespeare & Hoops | January 9, 2008 | The Elbo Room, New York City | Andrew Leland (The Believer), Melanie Case (Killing My Lobster) and James Hass (The Farallon Review) | Jaynel Attolini (Six Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak), Katie Crouch (Tin House), Veronica Chater (Memoir) and Rodes Fishburne (Going To See the Elephant) | Veronica Charter |
| Windy City Cartography Gouge | February 11, 2009 | The Hideout, Chicago | Kevin Guilfoile, Matt Herlihy (founder of Sweet Fancy Moses) and Mark Bazer (The Interview Show) | Rachel Yoder (Quick Fiction), Megan Stielstra (Dollar Store Reading Series), Julius Kalamarz (Juked), Gwendolyn Knapp (Hayden's Ferry Review), Holly Wilson (The Southeast Review) and Aaron Burch (Hobart) | Megan Stielstra |
| Democratic Lit Music Off | February 13, 2009 | San Francisco | Jonathan Keats, conceptual artist | Luke Sykora, Melissa Hansen | Luke Sykora |
| Learn How to Draw | February 18, 2009 | The Slipper Room, New York City | Ben Greenman (The New Yorker), Amy Sohn (My Old Man) and Joshua Lyon (Pill Head) | Andrew Sean Greer, Cintra Wilson, Elliott Holt (The Kenyon Review) and Christopher Monks (McSweeney's) | Cintra Wilson |
| Holy City Zoo-Down | March 13, 2009 | San Francisco | Trina Robbins, Lisa Geduldig and Andrew Leland | Bucky Sinister (reading Tao Lin, A Poem Written by a Bear), Candy Churilla (reading John Cheever, Reunion), Will Durst (reading Donald Barthleme, The School) and Paco Romane (reading George Saunders, In Persuasion Nation) | Will Durst |
| Bookworm Festival Brawl | March 14, 2009 | The Bookworm, Beijing | Jen Hyde (Small Anchor Press), Ben Foster (G2 Studios) and John Leary (fiction writer featured in Opium4, Opium1) | James West of Australia(Beijing Blur), Liz Niven of Scotland, Ridley Pearson of the US and Zachary Mexico of the USA (China Underground) | Liz Niven |
| Rebellious Vibrations | April 10, 2009 | The Elbo Room, San Francisco | Michael Layne Heath, Lorelei Lee, Jason Myers and Blag Dahlia | Jonathan Keats, Kimi Recor and Benjamin L. Perez | Lorelei Lee |
| Rocky Mountain Bladebath | April 14, 2009 | Mercury Cafe, Denver | Daniel Grandbois, Laura Pritchett, Teague Bohlen and Kathy Fish | David Hicks, PhD, Jody Reale and Shawn Owen Hazelwood | Daniel Grandbois |
| Baseball Chopstick War | April 23, 2009 | Pianos, New York City | B.C. Edwards (pax Americana), Cheryl Wagner (Five Dials), Amy Lawless (Black Maze Books), Heidi Julavits (The Believer) | Anna deVries (Scribner), Scott Adsit (30 Rock) and Richard Lawson (Gawker) | B.C. Edwards |
| Yo' Mama's So Literary... | May 8, 2009 | The Elbo Room, San Francisco | Ellen Sussman (Word for Word), Peter Orner (A Public Space), Jesse Nathan (Milk Machine) and April Sinclair (Single Woman of a Certain Age) | Andrew Leland (The Believer), Eve Batey (SF Appeal) and Andy Raskin (The Ramen King and I) | April Sinclair |
| Literary Tea Party | May 21, 2009 | The Paradise Lounge, Boston | Jane Roper (Memoirious), Steve Almond (Grub Street), William Giraldi (AGNI) and Jeannie Greeley (Stuff Boston) | Eve Bridburg (Grub Street founder), Tom Perrotta (The Abstinence Teacher and Election) and Christopher Monks (The Game Guide to Your Life) | Jeannie Greeley |
| NYC Poets & Madmen Both | May 27, 2009 | Pianos, New York City | Rivka Galchen (Atmospheric Disturbances), Josh Weil (The New Valley), Anthony Tognazzini (BOA Editions) and Michael Muhammad Knight (Soft Skull Press) | Ben Greenberg, comedian Chelsea Peretti, Chris March | Michael Muhammad Knight |
| LDM University Recycled Hoop-Off! | June 5, 2009 | Syracuse University | Mi Detmar (Stone Canoe), Roy Kesey, Dan Roche (Le Moyne College) and Alex Yates (representing Salt Hill) | Chris Kennedy, Elizabeth Koch and Phil Lamarche | Roy Kesey |
| SF Infinite Jesticulation | June 12, 2009 | Elbo Room, San Francisco | Jim Nelson (Instant City), K.M. Soehnlein (Switchback), Eric Puchner and Katharine Noel (Canteen) and Michelle Richmond | Ayelet Waldman (Bad Mother), playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, and Josh Kornbluth | K.M. Soehnlein |
| NYC Bowery, Poetry, Infinity | June 25, 2009 | Bowery Poetry Club, New York City | Luna Lemus (Like Son), Lisa Carver (Drugs Are Nice), Julie Metz's (Perfection) and Zachary Mexico (China Underground) | Ben Adams, an editor at Bloomsbury, comedian Todd Barry (known for this roles in The Wrestler and Flight of the Conchords), and Vice Magazine co-founder Gavin McInnes | Julie Metz |
| London: episode 1 | – | Old Queen's Head, London | Luke Brown (Tindal Street Press), Laura Dockrill, and Tim Clare (Aisle16) | Amber Marks (Book Club Boutique), Joe Dunthorne (English Writers Football Team), Tim Wells (Pen Pusher Magazine), and Nick Harkaway (BBC Radio 3's The Verb) | Amber Marks |
| New York City: episode 16 | – | New York City, New York | Michael Musto, Brant Rumble (Scribner), and comedian Bob Powers | Abraham Smith (Spinning Jenny), Luke Dempsey (Bloomsbury USA), Donald Breckenridge (Brooklyn Rail), and Gigantic's Yuka Igarashi | Abraham Smith |
| Chicago: episode 3 | – | Chicago, Illinois | Nami Mun (Miles from Nowhere), artist Jay Ryan, and Barry Hite (iO, Second City, Annoyance Theaters). | Spencer Dew (THE2NDHAND), Adam Levin (Ninth Letter), Gabriel Gudding (MAKE), Febronio Zatarain (contratiempo), Simone Muench (POETRY), Kathleen Rooney (Switchback Books), Paul Killebrew (Canarium Books), and Michael Czyzniejewski (Another Chicago Magazine) | Spencer Dew |
| Los Angeles: episode 1 | – | Cinespace, Los Angeles | Mark Sarvas (The Elegant Variation), Sarah Thyre (Strangers with Candy and author of Dark at the Roots) and Alison Becker (Mayne Street) | Rich Ferguson (The Nervous Breakdown), Joshua Lyon (Hyperion), Chris "Whitey" Erickson (Flatmancrooked), Melinda Hill | Rich Ferguson |
| Denver: episode 2 | | Forest Room 5, Denver | Chris Ransick (Denver's Poet Laureate), Curtis Pesman and Tara Anderson (Lijit Networks) | Nick Franciose (Lighthouse Writers), Jessy Randall (Ghost Road), Sharon McGill (Monday Night), Nicky Beer (Copper Nickel) | Nick Franciose |
| Seattle: episode 1 | | Jewel Box Theater, Seattle | Mary Guterson (Gone to the Dogs), Lindy West (The Stranger), and Luke Smith (Bungie) | Ryan Boudinot (Monkeybicycle), Matthew Simmons (HTMLGiant), Matt Briggs (Reading Local: Seattle), Peter Gajdics.(New York Tyrant) | Matthew Simmons |
| The Battle Of The Independent Bookstores | | San Francisco | Andrew Lam, Beth Spotswood, and Scott Sigler (Borderland Books) | Jade Brooks (City Lights), Derek Powazek (The Booksmith), Alvin Orloff (Dog Eared Books), Paul Neilan (Green Apple Books) | Paul Neilan |
| New York City: episode 17 | | New York City | Scott Jacobson (The Daily Show), Ethan Nosowsky (Graywolf Press) and Tony Arcabascio (Alife's co-founder) | Janice Erlbaum (GIRLBOMB), Elisa Albert (The Book of Dahlia), Blaise Allysen Kearsley (How I Learned reading series), David Ellis Dickerson | Elisa Albert |
| San Francisco: episode 21 | | Elbo Room, San Francisco | Elissa Bassist, Dan Klein (Kasper Hauser), Stacey Lewis (City Lights) | Tracy Clark-Flory, Genie Gratto, Jack Boulware (Litquake), Noria Joblanski | Tracy Clark-Flory |
| Raleigh: episode 1 | | Pour House, Raleigh | Rhett and Link, Daniel Wallace, and KGBebe | Jodi Lynn Villers, Scott McClanahan, Billy Warden, Jeff Polish | Jodi Lynn Villers |
| London: episode 2 | | Queen of Hoxton, London | Damian Barr (Get It Together), Fuchsia Dunlop, and Amy Lamé | Ashna Sarkar, Tom Chivers, Musa Okwonga, and Craig Taylor (Five Dials) | Ashna Sarkar |
| New York City: episode 18 | | Bowery Poetry Club, New York | Franklin Bruno (The Mountain Goats), Ben Schafer (DeCapo Press), and Carla Rhodes | Christopher R. Weingarten, James Gavin, Jessica Hopper, and Courtney Gillette | Courtney Gillette |
| Paris: episode 1 | | Le Reservoir, Paris | David Foenkinos, Yorgos Archimandritis, and Bo | Mohamed Razane, Max Monnehay, Philippe Jaenada, and Frédéric Beigbeder | Mohamed Razane |
| LDM: Litquake | October 14, 2009 | Verdi Club, San Francisco | artist Paul Madonna, actress/poet Amber Tamblyn, David Wiegand (San Francisco Chronicle) | Tod Goldberg (Other Resort Cities), Lynka Adams (A Skeleton at the Feast), Frances Dinkelspiel (Towers of Gold), and James Nestor | James Nestor |
| New York City: episode 19 | September 29, 2009 | Bowery Poetry Club | Grove Atlantic's Amy Hundley, The Colbert Report's Peter Grosz (also featured in Sonic commercials), and Gabe Liedman | David Henry Sterry (Hos, Hookers, Call-Girls, and Rent Boys: Prostitutes Writing on Life, Love, Work, Sex, and Money), Sarah Jane Stratford (author of The Midnight Guardian), David Hollander, and Robert Lopez (author of Part of the World) | Robert Lopez |
| LDM: Texas Book Festival | October 31, 2009 | The Sanctuary, Austin | Jane Smiley, Richard Russo, and Owen Egerton | Amelia Gray (author, AM/PM), Kyle Beachy (The Slide), Jeff Martin (editor, The Customer is Always Wrong), and Jason Sheehan (Cooking Dirty: A Story of Life, Sex, Love and Death in the Kitchen) | Amelia Gray |
| London: episode 3 | November 3, 2009 | Old Queen's Head, London | Will Skidelsky (book editor for The Independent), Sara J. Stockbridge, and Molly Parkin | Matthew De Abaitua (The Idler), Ross Sutherland, John Grindrod (representing Faber), and Nathan Jones (Mercy) | Matthew De Abaitua |
| Oxford: episode 1 | November 4, 2009 | Corner Club | poet Kate Clanchy, Dan Kieran (author and editor of The Idler), and musician Ben Walker | George Chopping (author of collections Derailed and Shelf Life), Miranda Ward, Jake Wallis Simons (author of The Exiled Times of a Tibetan Jew) and Megan Kerr | George Chopping |
| Seattle, Ep 2: "Nonsensical Animal Toss" | November 11, 2009 | | Paul Constant (The Stranger), Maria Semple (former writer for Arrested Development, Jonathan Evison (All About Lulu) | Aaron Dietz (KNOCK), Stacey Levine (My Horse and Other Stories), playwright Kelleen Conway Blanchard (Small Town) and Danbert Nobacon (Chumbawamba) | Kelleen Conway Blanchard |
| Portland, Ep 1 | November 2009 | | Chelsea Cain (author, Evil at Heart), Scott Poole (author, Hiding from Salesmen) and Zia McCabe (The Dandy Warhols) | Michael Parker (author, Our Beloved 26th), Jeff Hardison (Back Fence), Arthur Bradford (author, Dogwalker) and Kerry Cohen (author, Loose Girl) | Arthur Bradford |
| San Francisco, episode 23 | November 2009 | | Arline Klatt (Porchlight), cartoonist Michael Capozzola, and Todd Zniga (Opium founder) | Charlie Haas (The Enthusiast), Shanthi Sekaran (The Prayer Room), Seth Harwood (Jack Wakes Up) and D.W. Lichtenberg (The Ancient Book of Hip) | D.W. Lichtenberg |
| New York City, episode 20: Nerf-machine-gun Assault | 2009 | | Terese Svoboda (Weapons Grade), performance artist Joseph Keckler, Mishna Wolf (I'm Down) | Sarah Walker (Really, You've Done Enough), Edith Zimmerman (Esquire, Heeb, others) Teddy Wayne (Kapitoil) and Jon Friedman (The Rejection Show). | Edith Zimmerman |
| San Francisco, episode 24 | December 11, 2009 | Elbo Room | Chicken John, Isaac Fitzgerald (managing editor, The Rumpus), Nina Lesowitz (Spinergy Group, Litquake) | Derek Powazek (founder, Fray Magazine), Lynka Adams, Beth Spotswood (SF Appeal and SFGate) and Elissa Bassist (The Rumpus.net) | Beth Spotswood |
| New York City, episode 21 | December 2009 | | Ben Greenman (The New Yorker), Devorah Rose (Social Life Magazine) and Jared Bloom (Full Ginsburg) | James Yeh (Gigantic), Jason Helm, Terese Svoboda (Weapons Grade) and Elna Baker (The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance) | Elna Baker |
| San Francisco, episode 25: The Bell Jar Charades | January 8, 2010 | Elbo Room | Michelle Tea (author, TransForming Community), Ali Liebegott (The IHOP Papers) and Twitter novelist Matt Stewart (The French Revolution) | Laura Joyce Davis, science comedian Brian Malow, cartoonist Michael Capozzola and Matty Byloos and Josh Atlas | Matty Byloos and Josh Atlas |
| Boston, episode 2: Musical Chairs | January 13, 2010 | | Billy Giraldi (writer, senior fiction editor, AGNI), Audrey Ryan and comedian Lamont Price | Janaka Stucky (Handsome), Michelle Hoover (Night Train), Elisa Gabbert (Open Letters) and Steven Brykman (National Lampoon) | Janaka Stucky |
| Chicago, episode 4: Draw the Judges | January 14, 2010 | Fizz | author Kathleen Rooney, rockstress and critic Jessica Hopper, and Shawn Smith (Shawnimals) | James Kennedy (The Order of Odd-Fish), Rebekah Silverman (Artifice), Andy Farkas (Subito Press) and Davis Schneiderman (&NOW) | James Kennedy |
| Dallas, episode 1: Fling-the-Foamskin | January 15, 2010 | Dallas Museum of Art | Ben Fountain (author, Brief Encounters with Che Guevara), Tina Parker and Owen Egerton (How Best to Avoid Dying) | Katherine Center (author, Everyone is Beautiful), Amelia Gray (author, AM/PM), Will Clarke (author, Lord Vishnu's Love Handles: A Spy Novel, Sort Of) and William Razavi | Will Clarke |
| New York City, episode 22: Awards Acceptance Speech-Off | January 21, 2010 | Bowery Poetry Club | Caitlin Roper (managing editor, The Paris Review), musician Emily Zuzik, writer Jessica Grose | Nelly Reifler (SWEET: Actors Reading Writers), Daniel Nester (author, How To Be Inappropriate), Christopher Kennedy (New York Tyrant) and Michael Atkinson (author, Hemingway Deadlights | Nelly Reifler |
| Baltimore, episode 1: Draw the Judges | January 30, 2010 | Windup Space | Michael Kimball (author, Dear Everybody), Rafael Alvarez (The Wire) and Carolyn Zaikowski (author, A Child Is Being Killed) | Mike Young (author, We Are All Good If They Try Hard Enough), Dave Housley (Barrelhouse), Jen Michalski (jmww) and Michael M. Hughes (CityLit) | Mike Young |
| San Francisco, episode 26: Chocolates and famous love writers | February 12, 2010 | Elbo Room | Douglas McGray (editor-in-chief, Pop-Up Magazine), Peter Finch (KFog Radio), humorist Janine Brito | Dylan Schaffer (Life, Death and Bialys), Michelle Tea (Valencia), Samantha Schoech (The Bigger the Better, the Tighter the Sweater), Joshua Mohr (Some Things that Meant the World to Me) | Dylan Schaffer |
| New York City, episode 23: Faintly Mardi-Gras Themed | February 18, 2010 | Bowery Poetry Club | Rob Spillman (editor, Tin House), Sini Anderson, Cintra Wilson (author, Caligula for President) | Gladstone ("Hate By Numbers"), poet Melissa Broder (When You Say One Thing But Mean Your Mother), Elyssa East (author, Dogtown: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town) and Joanna Rakoff (author, A Fortunate Age) | Wayne Gladstone |
| Washington D.C., episode 1: Capital | February 2, 2011 | The Black Cat | Jennine Capó Crucet (author, How to Leave Hialeah), Delaney Williams, (actor, The Wire), Chris Richards (The Washington Post) | David Wanczyk (The Written Wardrobe), Regie Cabico, Rae Bryant, Matt Bell | David Wanczyk |
| Washington D.C., episode 2: Max Brod | November 8, 2011 | DC9 | Karen Sommer Shalett (editor, DC Magazine), S.M. Shrake, (co-founder, Story League), Justin Purvis | Sean Carman (The Huffington Post), Sacha Scoblic, Vijai Nathan, Jamaal May | Sacha Scoblic |
| Beijing, episode 3 | September 11, 2013 | The Bookworm, Beijing | Alice Xin Liu, Vicky Mohieddeen, Sherwin Jiang | Anthony Tao (Beijing Cream), Leslie-Ann Murray, Tom Carter, Stanley Chan | Leslie-Ann Murray |