AudioFile Magazine Features TJ Crowley Audio Drama

Dani Martineck's portrayal of TJ Crowley earned high praise from AudioFile, earning a coveted Earphones Award. The audio is featured in the current issue of AudioFile Magazine.

The Real Education of TJ Crowley: Coming of Age on the Redline, the newly released audio drama based on Grant Overstake's award-winning young adult historical novel, adapted, produced, and directed by May Wuthrich, has earned more national recognition.

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Their audio drama has already been highlighted on AudioFile’s Behind the Mic podcast, received the coveted Earphones Award, and is now featured in the August-September issue of AudioFile Magazine through a Q&A interview with the co-authors. These accolades underscore its exceptional quality in the billion-dollar audiobook industry.

The two-page spread praises the audio drama for its authenticity and emotional depth. It highlights the cast’s ability to bring a complex and layered story to life and calls attention to the talent of the entire cast, particularly the performances of Dani Martineck, Dion Graham, and Tavia Gilbert, as well as the impactful contribution of the ARISE Ensemble’s soul-stirring Negro Spirituals.

May Wuthrich discussed the commitment of the 15 actors and John Marshall Media, who became a producer with her in the second phase of recording this unique long-term project. Grant Overstake shared his inspiration for the story, drawing from his experiences growing up in Wichita during a time of racial strife and community upheaval.

For Overstake and Grain Valley Publishing, this national acclaim marks a significant first. For Wuthrich, her cast, and the production team at John Marshall Media, it is another accolade among many, highlighting their status as recognized leaders in the audiobook industry.

A Story Rooted in History

Set in 1968 during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, school integration, and the Vietnam War, The Real Education of TJ Crowley uses the passage of the federal Fair Housing Act as the catalyst for a suspenseful coming-of-age story. The drama highlights the courageous efforts of Black families in Wichita and across the country who, determined to improve their lives and secure better education for their children, faced significant challenges, hostility, and opposition as they crossed the persistent Redline to buy homes in white neighborhoods.

The glowing two-page spread adds another national accolade for the new TJ Crowley Audio Drama.

The Real Education of TJ Crowley represents a significant milestone for Wichita, a city that has been actively confronting its own history of racial segregation through awareness initiatives like the Redline 101 Exhibit and a recent community listening event and panel discussion about the audio drama, moderated by award-winning broadcast journalist Carla Eckels of KMUW, Wichita’s NPR station. The panelists included Sheila Brown Kinnard, Andy Bias, Dr. Michael Birzer, and author Grant Overstake, who provided their unique perspectives and firsthand experiences into the historical and cultural context of the story.

Eckels, who grew up in northeast Wichita, moderated the listening event at Holy Savior Academy and expressed her appreciation for the story’s accuracy, which reflects real events and people from one of the nation’s most historically segregated cities. Bias, former Sedgwick County Commissioner, faced challenges attending school with white students after moving from an all-Black school in North Carolina to northeast Wichita in the late 1960s. He inspired the character of Andy (Birmingham) Campfield in the drama.

Kinnard, a key figure in local arts and theater education and a soloist in the ARISE Ensemble, plays the role of Mrs. Lorraine Washington, a character inspired by her mother, Josephine Pace Brown. Kinnard discussed the significance of the Negro spirituals embedded in the story. As TJ and Dr. Washington listen to traditional music in his converted garage den, the ARISE Ensemble gives voice to the Fisk Jubilee Singers, who introduced this soul-stirring music to the world.

Carla Eckels, left, moderated the TJ Crowley Audio Drama premier listening event at Holy Savior Academy, with panelists Grant Overstake, Dr. Michael Birzer, Andy Bias, and Sheila Brown Kinnard.

Birzer, a professor of criminal justice at Wichita State University, incorporates the book and audio drama in his racial profiling course to stimulate introspection and dialogue among future law enforcement officers and social workers. He underscored the story’s value in fostering meaningful discussions in classrooms and book clubs.

Overstake, a Wichita native and former journalist, talked about growing up along the city’s Redline during the peak of the Civil Rights movement. His personal experiences, woven with historic events that shaped a city and the nation, inspired his novel, named 2019 “Book of the Year” by the Kansas Authors Club and National Book of the Month by Bookclubs.com. Bookclubs.com.

Led by Dani Marteneck, upper left, the TJ Crowley Audio Drama features 15 actors voicing 24 roles, with Dion Graham, Tavia Gilbert, Johnny Heller, Kevin R. Free, Shayna Small, Ari Fliakos, Michael Crouch, Kirby Heyborne, Graham Halstead, Peter Berkrot, Thérèse Plummer, Brittany Pressley, John Wright, and Sheila Brown Kinnard.

The audio drama debuted on June 11, 2024, as the #1 New Release in the Historical Fiction for Teens category on Audible.com, signaling its potential to reach a wide audience eager for meaningful and suspenseful content. The audio drama is positioned to make a significant impact in classrooms, community discussions, and book clubs. Its integration into racial literacy programs underscores its relevance in fostering understanding and dialogue about race and social justice.

AudioFile's Mission

AudioFile is the most respected voice in the audiobook industry, reviewing unabridged audiobooks, original audio programs, commentary, and dramatizations in the spoken-word format. Its focus is the audio presentation, not critique of the written material. AudioFile reviewers are listeners in the information, education, and performance fields. All reviews are signed. AudioFile awards Earphones to truly exceptional programs that excel in all the following criteria: narrative voice and style; vocal characterizations; appropriateness for the audio format; and enhancement of the text.

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Listen Now!

Distributed globally by Blackstone Publishing, The Real Education of TJ Crowley: Coming of Age on the Redline is available wherever audiobooks are sold, including Audible, Audiobooks.com, and Watermark Books’ online platform, Libro.fm.