Award-Winning Audio Drama Inspires New Civic Engagement Series in Wichita

An acclaimed Kansas story is getting a powerful new chapter.

The new scriptbook edition contains the actual performance script, inviting readers to read along and follow every line as they experience the audio drama.

Watermark Books & Café will host author Grant Overstake on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, at 6 p.m. for a launch-and-listen event celebrating The Real Education of TJ Crowley: Coming of Age on the Redline. The evening marks the release of the new Scriptbook Edition and invites the community into a shared experience of story, history, and reflection.

For the first time, Wichita audiences can experience the acclaimed full-cast audio drama paired with the new scriptbook debuting Jan. 20, the event offers an immersive evening of story, sound, and community conversation on Wichita’s past and present.

Overstake will be joined by his daughter, Jillian (Overstake) Forsberg—a public historian, novelist, and Wichita State alum. This one-hour program invites readers, educators, historians, and listeners into a story that feels both historic and urgent. Through performance and conversation, it brings Wichita’s past to life while sparking empathy and dialogue across generations.

The new scriptbook edition features the full performance script, allowing readers to follow every line as they listen. This dual-format experience blends the cinematic power of audio with the intimacy of literature. Produced by John Marshall Media and directed by co-author May Wuthrich, the 15-member cast voices 24 characters in what critics call “a movie for the ears.” With the script in hand, audiences can fully engage with every word as it’s heard.

The Real Education Project is supported by a 2026 Cultural Funding Activation Grant from the City of Wichita’s Division of Arts and Cultural Services.

The production also highlights Wichita voices and heritage. Veteran broadcaster John Wright brings authenticity as a 1968 radio announcer, while Sheila Brown Kinnard—daughter of civil-rights leader Josephine “Mama Jo” Brown—portrays a character inspired by her family’s legacy.

Wichita’s ARISE Ensemble adds emotional depth with stirring spirituals. AudioFile Magazine praised their “rich harmonies [that] give the story its soul,” a sentiment echoed by audiences who’ve called the soundscape “Wichita’s heart, set to music.” Even a snippet from the prelude—Wright’s vintage broadcast over the Ensemble’s vocals—evokes history with cinematic clarity.

Wichita’s ARISE Ensemble delivers the rich harmonies that give The Real Education of TJ Crowley its spiritual heart.

This dual-format launch marks a milestone for Kansas arts and storytelling. Supported by the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, the major humanitarian arts project shows how public funding can help preserve local history. The result is both a powerful work of fiction and a cultural artifact that documents Wichita’s redlined neighborhoods and the lives shaped by them.

Set in 1968–69 Wichita, The Real Education of TJ Crowley follows a white seventh-grader raised in prejudice who begins to see differently when a Black family moves in next door. Rooted in the author’s northeast side upbringing and enriched by lived accounts from that era, the story explores conscience, courage, and belonging. Its candid portrayal of Wichita’s racial history has earned praise from scholars who see it as a vital reflection on the city’s past.

Gifted students at Horace Mann Dual Language Magnet pose with author Grant Overstake, teacher Amanda Harcus, and the 2025 Audie Award for Best Young Adult Audiobook.

That spirit of shared listening came to life in an early classroom experience at Horace Mann Middle School, where students didn’t just read The Real Education of TJ Crowley—they listened, together. As the full-cast audio played alongside the script, students leaned in, attending not just to the story, but to each other. What followed was an honest, respectful conversation shaped by curiosity and care. Teacher Amanda Harcus noted how quickly the room shifted: students slowed down, paid closer attention, and connected the story’s moral questions to their own lives. In that moment, the classroom became a civic space—where listening itself was the bridge.

“It reminded me how important it is to trust students — to trust that, when given the space and the right material, they’re capable of having these conversations.” — Amanda Harcus, Horace Mann Dual Language Magnet.

The creative team—including Overstake, May Wuthrich, and acclaimed voice actors like Dion Graham and Tavia Gilbert—celebrated the win together on the Audie Awards red carpet, highlighting the collaborative effort behind this powerful narrative.

Wichita State historian Dr. Jay M. Price, who teaches the novel in his History of Wichita class, observes that fiction often offers the clearest lens into local history—capturing “tone, connection, identity, and place” in ways traditional accounts cannot. He praises The Real Education of TJ Crowley for meeting those standards, calling it a story that “will resonate with Wichita” and should be “a starting point to a discussion.” The project becomes a form of inclusive public storytelling—grounded in scholarship and open to community reflection on memory and justice.

“In local history, fiction can give you tone, connection, identity, and place—and this novel meets all of those criteria,” said Dr. Jay M. Price, chair of the history department at Wichita State University. “It should be an entry into a discussion, a starting point to a broader conversation.” — Dr. Jay Price, History Chair, Wichita State University

In 2025, the audio adaptation of TJ Crowley earned top industry honors, including the Audie Award for Best Young Adult Audiobook, an IPPY Gold Medal, and AudioFile’s Earphones Award. Often called the “Oscars of Audiobooks,” the Audie highlights the production’s national impact and storytelling excellence.

Event Details

What: Scriptbook Launch & Community Listening Event
When: Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026 – 6:00 p.m.
Where: Watermark Books & Café, 4701 E. Douglas Ave., Wichita, Kan.
Admission: Free

Advisory: Contains some violent content and racist language. Best suited for mature YA readers and adults.

Seating is limited, and advance reservations are recommended.

RSVP: RESERVE YOUR SEAT

About Grant Overstake

Grant Overstake is an award-winning Wichita-born author and former Miami Herald journalist whose novels explore personal growth, social justice, and emotional resilience. The Real Education of TJ Crowley was named Book of the Year by the Kansas Authors Club before its audio adaptation swept the 2025 Audie, IPPY Gold, and AudioFile Earphones awards. Overstake drew on his 1968 childhood in northeast Wichita to craft a story grounded in place and purpose.

About Jillian Forsberg

Jillian (Overstake) Forsberg is a public historian and novelist whose work explores empathy and moral imagination in historical fiction. Her debut novel, The Rhino Keeper, was honored as a 2025 Kansas Notable Book, and her new companion novel, The Porcelain Menagerie, continues that exploration of inclusive storytelling. She holds a master’s degree in public history from Wichita State University and brings a community-focused historical perspective to The Real Education Project.

About The Real Education Project

The Real Education Project is a Wichita-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit initiative that uses story-based civic learning to build bridges and foster empathy. Through its innovative “read-and-listen” programming, it brings people together to listen—on the page, in the room, and to each other.