Greetings and welcome to WORDTheatre Weekly: The Short Story Podcast where great authors and actors meet! I’m your host, Cedering Fox, WORDTheatre’s Founder & Artistic Director.

This week’s story was taken from the third and final Author • Actor Series of 2025 IN MANHATTAN PRESENTED WITH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF JANE OSTER SINISI & SPONSORED BY PHIPHEN STUDIOS| POST NJ. Michael Shannon STEPPED DEFTLY INTO BEN SHATTUCK'S LOVELY AND LYRICAL STORY, “The Auk,” AND IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE proud to share with you.

BUT FIRST, please note that WORDTheatre holds the copyright to these recordings and no portion of anything you hear on WORDTheatre Weekly, our short story podcast, may be reproduced without permission.

HERE NOW is Michael Shannon, bringing YOU “The Auk”, WHICH YOU CAN FIND IN BEN SHATTUCK'S MASTERFUL SHORT STORY COLLECTION, THE HISTORY OF SOUND.

SHANNON PERFORMS THE STORY.

You have just heard “The Auk” by Ben Shattuck, performed by Michael
Shannon.

We hope you’re enjoying WORDTheatre Weekly. AND WE NEED YOUR HELP SPREADING THE WORD THAT EACH WEEK WE ARE SHARING ANOTHER GEM FROM OUR MAGNIFIENCET ARCHIVE OF LIOVE PERFORMANCES. YOU CAN HELP BY LEAVING a review WHEREVER YOU ARE LISTENING AND DO tell your friends and family about WORDTHEATRE. PLEASE BE SURE TO
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support OUR WEEKLY PODCAST, PLEASE, consider becoming a WORDTHEATREMember! For more information, visit wordtheatre.org or if you are living in or near the UK, visit wordtheatreuk.org. Members have access to videos from our rich archive of live performances AND THERE ARE other membership perks THROUGHOUT THE YEAR!

WE'D LIKE TO THANK Jane Oster Sinisi and
Phiphen Studios « POST NJ AS WELL AS the LA Department of Arts & Culture,THE WORDTheatre team, lead by Scout Riley, and our podcast editing intern,Catherine Jarvis-Stores.

If you’re in Los Angeles on October 30th, please join WORDTheatre & Patton Oswalt for a night of scary stories AT THE WILLIAM TURNER GALLERY. For details and tickets, visit
wordtheatre.org. Until next week, this is Cedering Fox, signing off!