Overview Philly Story Fest is where Story Fest began: a night of Philadelphia reporters telling stories from their beats on stage, first put on at the Bok building in South Philadelphia in 2023, where it sold out with 300 people on the waitlist. The Knight Foundation funded that first edition and wanted it in a Knight community city. The show moved to the Zellerbach Theatre at the Annenberg Center in 2025, and for 2026 Back Pocket Presents, the nonprofit that produces it, booked two nights at the Philadelphia Film Society Center on Chestnut Street. On site A reporter's set is a published story rebuilt for the stage with photos, text messages, animation and a live score, and the bill mixes those sets with comedy, short film, dance and ballroom. The 2023 premiere ran as a festival, with a documentary screening and a local art show around the main stage. Each year takes a theme: the 2025 show was No Small Wind Is Blowing, stories about immigration and transition, and the 2026 shows were built on Villains. Audience The partner newsrooms bring the room and put their reporters on the bill: the Inquirer, WXPN, WURD, Philadelphia Magazine, The Philadelphia Citizen and Spotlight PA, with Temple University and Blue Stoop, in 2026. After the 2023 premiere, every audience member surveyed said they would recommend it. Talent and Influencers In 2024 Stephanie Farr of the Inquirer told the story of Cheryl Edwards finding her family again after being abandoned as a child, Danielle Ohl of Spotlight PA told the story of an injustice done to an incarcerated man, and Shaunice Ajiwe of Philadelphia Magazine took on dating in the city. Conrad Benner of Streets Dept told the story of Mural Arts artist Jacen Bowman, and Shaun West performed ballroom. Track record Philadelphia was Story Fest's first city, and eight local newsrooms took part in the 2023 premiere, with funding from the Knight Foundation, the Lenfest Institute and the Wyncote Foundation. The Knight Foundation and Penn Live Arts sponsored the 2025 show. Across the tour Back Pocket counts 3,000 attendees and 30 partners in 2025, up from 800 and 8 in 2023. Brand presence Americans United for Separation of Church and State presented the 2026 season. Partners come in at four levels and can host the VIP mixer before doors, which puts a brand in the room with the storytellers, editors and the city's cultural leadership, or fund a story told live on stage with a local partner and cut into video for the newsrooms' channels. Category exclusivity and top billing are available.