The Houlihan Narratives is being held at the Bookmarked Literary Arts Festival in Lander Sept. 16. The name, Houlihan Narratives, comes from the ranching and climbing community. A houlihan throw is a way to grab and pull two things together. The premise: people go up on stage and tell a ten minute story in front of a live audience of neighbors and peers.

Amy Skinner, Houlihan Narrative founder, said she hopes people listen to those who might be different than themselves.

“One reason is that you might recognize yourself in a story you hear from someone who you thought was very different from you,” she said.

This year’s event theme is origin story. People are invited to tell stories about where they came from and what made them into the person they are today.

Skinner said it’s similar to The Moth Radio Hour. 

“We've always been huge fans of The Moth on Public Radio, because the stories that people tell are transformative. They're there ways that we can recognize each other, listening to the stories that we tell,” she said.

She said they have been at Lander Pride to help tell stories from the LGBTQ perspective as well.

This will be the event's 12th program and the recorded stories will be compiled into a podcast to be released this Fall.