SSE, ASN, ESEB, and SSB are teaming up with The Story Collider [1] for a science storytelling show on July 28th as part of the in-person portion of the 2024 Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology [2] (Evolution 2024)! The theme for this event is “Throughout the Distribution," and it will feature 5 stories from 5 different viewpoints that represent the diversity of experiences in evolutionary biology.

Requirements:

The only requirement is that the story must be about you. We’re seeking true stories about your personal experiences with science to be included in the show. These must be stories—not lectures—with a beginning, middle, and end in which you undergo a change. 

All you need at this point is the seed of an idea for your story. It can be about almost anything:

- Perseverance and obstacles overcome (whether professional or scientific)
- Expectations upended
- Finding community, belonging, or acceptance in biology
- Adventure and danger
- Having your perspective changed 
- Being in over your head or a rough day in the field
- Conquering fears
- Finding work/life balance
- Being inspired
- Standing up for yourself
- An important experiment
- Misadventure, love, or loss
- How you first fell in love with science
- How your work has affected your personal life 

Primarily, the producers will look for a strong story arc – a change that takes place in the storyteller from beginning to the end. The Story Collider producers will help you develop this idea into an eight-to ten-minute-long story. For further inspiration, you can listen to examples of our last Story Collider Event in 2019 on SoundCloud [3]. 

How to apply:

If you’re interested, please email the Story Collider producers at stories@storycollider.org by May 17th, 2024 and include a short (1-2 paragraphs) summary of your story and “Evolution 2024" in the subject line. 

Deadline: May 17th, 2024

If selected, the Story Collider producers will help you develop this idea into an eight-to ten-minute-long story in the weeks leading up to the show. The storytellers will perform their stories at the Story Collider event at 7:00 pm on July 28th at the in-person portion of the Evolution 2024 meeting in Montreal.

This event is organized by the SSE Diversity Committee, the ESEB Equal Opportunities Committee, the ASN Diversity Committee, and the SSB DEI Committee. Email the SSE Diversity Committee (diversity [at] evolutionsociety.org) or Misha Gajewski, Story Collider Managing Producer (mishagajewski [at] storycollider.org) with any questions. We look forward to hearing your stories at Evolution 2024!