Our stories today were recorded live in person in front of a packed house on January 20th, 2026, at The George and Jane Dennison Theatre. The theme was “Self-Evident”.

In our first story, Francis Davis is an aspiring novelist who receives a letter that promised to change everything: he had won a prestigious $50,000 arts grant. As he celebrates the windfall with his fellow dreamers and artists in the South Philly arts scene, a strange coincidence involving a famous jazz writer and a second piece of mail begins to cast a shadow over his sudden fortune. Francis calls his story “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”.

Francis Davis was born and raised in Philadelphia and has lived most of his adult life in the West. He has an M.F.A. in fiction from the University of Montana and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Nebraska. Francis loves American working-class literature and teaches college writing, creative writing, and literature at Gallatin College in Bozeman. He’s also a certified hot yoga instructor and teachers at Headwaters Hot Yoga in Missoula and Vibrant Lives in Dillon, Montana. Francis published a collection of short stories, West of Love, and his stories have appeared in Story, Natural Bridge, and Weber: The Contemporary West, among many other publications. Francis Davis has also worked as a journalist throughout the state of Montana and has earned a variety of writing fellowships from around the country. He is married to Sally Cobau and the father of three children. He splits his time between Dillon and Missoula, Montana.

Adria L. Jawort spent years as a functional alcoholic in order to bury her true identity. Adria finds herself in an intensive treatment center where the ultimate lesson is learning to love yourself enough to survive. Her journey toward recovery leads her to confront a childhood memory in a Kmart clothing aisle and a deep-seated fear of being, quote, an “abomination,” leading to an act of truth-telling that accidentally goes viral on a global scale. Adria calls her story “Prestigious Education”.

Adria L. Jawort is a Northern Cheyenne fiction writer and transgender/2 Spirit journalist. Her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Electric Literature, and Indian Country-Today, among other publications. She is the Executive Director of the nonprofit Indigenous Transilience. You can also find her on Substack and Instagram.

Mark Matthews is a freelance journalist assigned by The Washington Post to cover a high-profile assassination attempt at the U.S. Capitol, he thinks he’s found the scoop of a lifetime in a small Montana mining town. After tracking down the shooter’s best friend and securing what he thinks of as a “bag of gold”, in the form of a delusional, handwritten manifesto, Mark discovers that in the world of big-city journalism, landing the story is only half the battle. Mark calls his story “Front Page News”.

Mark Matthews was born in 1951 in Lynn Massachusetts. During the 1980s he lived in a fishing shack perched on a dock at South Freeport Harbor in Maine. In 1989 he moved to Montana. Mark has spent the last 50 years of his life sculpting, painting, writing, making music and teaching people of all ages, the community inspiring patterns of American folk dances.

Christian Bazzano is hoping for clarity and a “Deadliest Catch” style adventure. He heads to Bristol Bay, Alaska, to work on a fishing boat. Between 20-hour workdays, stinging jellyfish, and the relentless, melancholic gray of the ocean, Christian discovers that the intellectual endeavor he planned is quickly dissolving into a battle to keep his own sanity from cracking. Christian calls his story “Lessons from The Last Frontier”.

Christian Bazzano moved to Montana almost six years ago from his home in Tennessee. He spent many years of his life doing seasonal work in various roles across the northwest; from whitewater guide to sawyer to ski operations to Alaskan commercial fisherman. Christian has his master’s degree in philosophy and works for an environmental education non-profit.

In our first story, Land Tawney seizes the chance for an epic backpacking trip into the Frank Church Wilderness, made even better by the inclusion of his nine-year-old daughter and support llamas. When the intense summer heat and rugged trail push the young girl to the brink of giving up, he must trust her to make the decision to push forward or turn back. Land calls his story “Young Grit”.

Land Tawney is a 5th generation Montanan prone to wandering & good times. Land earned his Bachelor of Science focused in Wildlife Biology from The University of Montana and has been working his entire adult life to conserve public lands and water and access to them at the local, state, and federal levels. From testifying in front of Congress in Washington DC to organizing grassroots volunteers all across North America, Land walks the walk. He now co-chairs a new non-profit, American Hunters and Anglers Action Network, and works tirelessly to protect our public lands for present and future generations.

Hayley Glassic was driven by a childhood dream of couture and must abandon fashion for a seemingly stable career path, only to have a single brochure unexpectedly reroute her life. A misunderstanding at a job interview for a job in “Cordova, AK” plunges her into the grueling world of salmon hatcheries, where she finds her true calling in the remote wilderness. Hayley calls her story “Origin Story”.

Hayley Glassic migrated from her birthplace in Pennsylvania to Georgia (the state not the country) and eventually to Montana where she has lived for 8 years. Landing in Missoula has been a blessing for friendship, love, heartbreak, growth, and community. After seeing tell us something in 2022, she has been waiting for a prompt that would fit for her to share a story. Hayley was given lots of cheeky feedback from high school friends of how poor of a storyteller she is. By sharing this story, she hopes to break that streak.

Bryan Dalpes hopes to turn his Alaskan summer fling into a real relationship, but ignores food safety for a giant steak, leading to a disastrous morning ritual right outside his would-be love’s A-frame door. When his partner abruptly ends things after returning from a grueling trip, he must navigate gossip and miscommunication to save the relationship. Brian calls his story “The Rile”.

Growing up on the mean streets of suburban Colorado, Bryan found refuge in the punk rock and skateboarding communities. While voyaging on the courageous journey from child to man-child his life course changed when he discovered the moving meditation that is rock climbing. After honing his climbing and alpine skills he spent summers in Alaska guiding ice climbing, glacier exploration, and backcountry trips. Since those years he has continued on to be a guide, instructor, coach, firefighter/EMT, Covid task force specialist, seedling nursery crew lead, mobile beer canner, freelance video editor, graphic artist, handyman, landscaper, ski patroller, house sitter, marketplace hustler…the list goes on. He is the proud dad of a floppy eared, special needs dog named Ron who is regularly recognized on the trail and pined over by complete strangers

Feeling overwhelmed by her spinning “plates” of responsibility, Betsy Funk receives an unexpected invitation to join the Peace Corps in Africa. She risks leaving her daughter and draining her finances to chase a desperate call for help, embarking on a journey that will test her limits and change her perspective on what it means to keep life together. Betsy calls her story “Mother”.

After 40 years of teaching through story, Betsy loves to share stories with folks she encounters. Either listening to or telling them she frames her world around ” what’s your story?” She finds her moments of shared joy and tears continue to make her a better person. She hopes her adventures inspire some wonder and joy in you. The goal is always to make the world a better place. Be kind…you got this.