City of Wichita Arts Grant Backs 2026 Listening Events for ‘The Real Education of TJ Crowley’
WICHITA, Kan. — The City of Wichita has announced that The Real Education Project, a Wichita-based nonprofit that promotes listening-centered education and community storytelling, is among 17 local arts organizations selected to receive new Cultural Funding Activation Grants for 2026.
The grant will support a community listening series built around The Real Education of TJ Crowley: Coming of Age on the Redline—a Wichita-born story that went on to win the highest honors in the $2 billion audiobook industry.
Released worldwide on June 11, 2024, the audio drama is based on Overstake’s novel, with script adaptation by Overstake and May Wuthrich. The new scriptbook companion premiers Jan. 20th.
Approved by the Wichita City Council in December, the Activation Grants are part of a restructured public-arts program designed to support creative projects that serve Wichita residents. The city’s 11-member Cultural Funding Committee reviewed more than 80 applications, selecting The Real Education Project for its plan to expand public access to an award-winning Wichita story through a yearlong series of listening-centered events.
Immersive Experience Begins Jan. 22
The first event, Thursday, Jan. 22, at Watermark Books & Café, launches the new Scriptbook + Full-Cast Audio Edition. Guests will hear selected scenes from the acclaimed audio drama while following along in the printed scriptbook, and they’ll explore how Wichita’s neighborhoods and history shaped the story.
Author Grant Overstake will be joined by his daughter, Jillian Overstake Forsberg—public historian, novelist, and Wichita State University alumna—for an evening of story, sound, and reflection. The event includes a live read-along segment and guided conversation, creating a unique “read-and-listen” experience that blends the intimacy of literature with the power of performance.
The new scriptbook will be available for purchase at the Watermark event. Attendees may choose to read along or simply listen and immerse themselves in the production.
Advance registration is encouraged, as seating is limited.
RSVP at Watermark Books Website
Celebrated as the "Oscars of Audiobooks," the Audie Awards celebration honored the industry’s finest in spoken-word storytelling. Captured on the red carpet: Claire Overstake, Dion Graham, Grant Overstake, Dani Martineck, Kevin R. Free, May Wuthrich, Graham Halstead, Thérèse Plummer, Tavia Gilbert, Brittany Pressley, and Michael Crouch. Cast members not pictured, Johnny Heller, Shayna Small, Ari Fliakos, Peter Berkrot, John Wright, and Sheila Brown Kinnard.
Wichita Roots, National Reach
Set in the summer of 1968, just months after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., The Real Education of TJ Crowley unfolds along Wichita’s 25th and Hillside corridor at a pivotal moment in both local and national history. Drawing on his experiences growing up in northeast Wichita, Overstake spent nearly a decade researching Wichita’s neighborhoods, interviewing residents who lived along the city’s dividing lines, and gathering firsthand accounts from educators, clergy, and families. From that work emerged an award-winning novel and, later, a full-cast audio drama rooted in authenticity and shaped by Wichita’s distinctive voice.
Released worldwide on June 11, 2024, the audio drama is based on Overstake’s novel, with script adaptation by Overstake and May Wuthrich. Presented by Grain Valley Publishing and released by Blackstone Publishing, the production features a 15-member ensemble led by Dion Graham, Tavia Gilbert, Johnny Heller, and Dani Martineck, alongside Wichita voices Sheila Brown Kinnard and John Wright.
The city’s ARISE Ensemble performs the negro spirituals that form the story’s emotional core, grounding the nationally recognized production in Wichita’s musical traditions.
The city’s ARISE Ensemble performs the negro spirituals that form the story’s emotional core, grounding the nationally recognized production in Wichita’s musical traditions.
AudioFile Magazine praised ARISE’s contribution, noting that its “rich harmonies give the story its soul.” Wichita State historian Dr. Jay M. Price called the work “an entry into a discussion—a starting point to a discussion,” adding that “fiction can give you a sense of tone, connection, identity, and place—and this novel meets all of those criteria.”
A Movement to “Listen Together”
Author and Executive Producer Grant Overstake with members of the diverse audience who attended the listening event held at Holy Savior Academy, which is located where the story is set. (Courtesy photo.)
Since its 2024 release, The Real Education of TJ Crowley has been featured in Wichita Public Schools classrooms, Wichita State University courses, and “Bridges Over Fences” community listening programs. The 2026 series marks the next phase of The Real Education Project’s mission to “build a culture of listening.”
The grant program is administered by the City of Wichita’s Division of Arts and Cultural Services, which invests in creative initiatives that strengthen Wichita’s cultural life and connect residents through the arts.
Through The Real Education Project, the program supports a growing national movement toward story-based civic learning, where reading and listening together foster empathy, dialogue, and community pride.
About The Real Education Project
The Real Education Project operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit initiative, fiscally sponsored by Nonprofit GO, a Kansas-based organization supporting mission-driven projects in education, arts, and community development.
Founded by author and executive producer Grant Overstake, the Project has received support from the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, United Way of the Plains, and the City of Wichita’s Division of Arts and Cultural Services through the 2026 Cultural Funding Activation Grant.
Publication Day: Jan. 20, 2026
Premiere Event: Jan. 22, 2026 — Watermark Books
Admission: Free • Approx. 1 hour
RSVP and information
Register for the premier listening event at Watermark Books. ADVISORY: The performance contains historically accurate language and references consistent with its 1968 setting. It is recommended for mature young-adult and adult audiences.
Content Advisory
The performance contains historically accurate language and references consistent with its 1968 setting. It is recommended for mature young-adult and adult audiences.
You can purchase the audio drama through retailers like Libro.fm, which supports independent bookstores including Watermark Books & Café. and through major audiobook platforms, including Audible, Barnes & Noble, Spotify, and other retailers where audiobooks are sold.