The Miller Aud-cast | April 30, 2021

Hello and welcome to Miller Aud-cast, Episode 17. In this episode, we feature a finalist for the 2021 Miller Audio Prize, “Goth Grows Up,” from Trent Kay Maverick.

Trent Kay Maverick is a writer, teacher, and club/radio dj born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She’s a proud Simon’s Rocker who earned her MA in Teaching at Stanford and her Graduate Certificate in Audio Storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Her essays have been published in The Washington Post and in the anthology Red State Blues: Stories from Midwestern Life on the Left.

Maverick has this to say about the piece you’re about to listen to:

“Goth Grows Up” is about how at heart, we’re still the same shy, insecure kids we were as teenagers, with the same hopes and fears and anxieties. But as adults, we’re able to go after the things we’ve always wanted, on our own terms. In this story, by learning to spin at a dance club in her 30s, this goth kid gets a second chance at “being cool in high school”… and a pretty cute boy, to boot.

This documentary was written, produced, and voiced by Trent Kay Maverick. Additional scene tape recorded by Gary Hardcastle. Host intro read by Carly Peruccio. Music courtesy Blue Dot Sessions (Algea Fields). Many thanks to Amy Black, James F. Smith, and Peter Lang-Stanton.

Make sure to stick around after the piece to hear the conversation I have with Bailey Boyd, AnnElise Hatjakes, and Olivia Douglas, where we delve into what we loved about “Goth Grows Up.” We hope you’ve been enjoying the Aud-cast, and remember: if they’ve inspired you to record your own creative work, whether in poetry, prose, humor, or audio documentary, submissions are open now for the 2021 Miller Audio Prize. The deadline for this year’s contest is June 15. Learn all about it here.