Nabbed

In 1996, Derek Powazek launched Fray, a Web site that allowed ordinary people an outlet to tell their stories. Ten years later, everyone on the planet is using the Web to tell their stories. Coincidence? We think not. Anyway, after a few years Fray morphed into live storytelling, open mike, and anything-goes events, which ran for years and jumped around the word — it was here local author Beth Lisick told a tale about running around Justin Herman Plaza in a banana costume. Now Fray is tackling the last and oldest storytelling frontier: print. Powazek is morphing Fray into a quarterly series of books, starting with Busted! True Stories of Getting Caught in the Act, which promises tales of theft, drugs, fish, rope swinging, and sex, and also an interview with the guy behind the Never Get Busted Again DVDs, a former cop who used to arrest people for drugs and had a change of heart. Tonight's launch party features readings by contributors and noted storytellers such as Joe Loya, Jack Boulware, Steve Silberman, Kevin Smokler, and Kate Kotler. In honor of former bank robber Loya, subscribers to Fray get the issue in a canvas money bag.
Fri., Jan. 18, 7 p.m., 2008