Watermark Books Presents: The Real Education of TJ Crowley — Live in Wichita
An intimate, immersive evening of story, sound, and Wichita history – seating is limited
The new edition contains the actual performance script, inviting readers to read along and follow every line as they experience the audio drama.
Watermark Books & Café hosts author Grant Overstake on Thursday, January 22, 2026, at a6 p.m. for a special launch-and-listen event celebrating The Real Education of TJ Crowley: Coming of Age on the Redline—an Audie Award–winning audio drama newly released in a groundbreaking Script-Book Edition.
This one-hour experience invites the community to read and listen together as scenes from the full-cast audio drama are shared alongside the printed performance script. Set in Wichita during 1968–69, TJ Crowley tells a coming-of-age story of conscience, courage, and belonging—rooted in the city’s redlined history and shaped by lived local experience.
Overstake will be joined by his daughter, Jillian Overstake Forsberg, a public historian and novelist, for a guided conversation exploring Wichita’s civil-rights-era past and the power of shared listening to spark reflection and dialogue across generations.
The production, produced and directed by co-author, May Wuthrich, features a nationally acclaimed cast, original performances by Wichita’s ARISE Ensemble, and local actors including Sheila Brown Kinnard, and period radio narration voiced by local broadcaster John Wright. The dual-format release—combining literature and audio—has earned the 2025 Audie Award for Best Young Adult Audiobook, an IPPY Gold Medal, and AudioFile’s Earphones Award.
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.
Developed with support from the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission (with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts) and the City of Wichita Division of Arts and Cultural Services, The Real Education of TJ Crowley exemplifies how public investment in the arts can preserve local history while creating shared civic space.
Admission is free. Seating is limited.
👉 Register now
👉 Learn more about the project
Event Details
When: Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026 |6 p.m.
Where: Watermark Books & Café, Wichita
Advisory: Contains some violent content and racist language. Best suited for mature YA readers and adults.
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 foster empathy and dialogue. Through its innovative read-and-listen programming, it brings people together to listen—on the page, in shared spaces, and to one another.