BD Wong, John Lithgow and More Set for 2013 SELECTED SHORTS

Symphony Space's long-running public radio program, Selected Shorts, is pleased to be joined by an all-star line-up of guest hosts in 2013. Stephen Colbert, Neil Gaiman, John Lithgow, Cynthia Nixon, David Sedaris, and BD Wong, writers and performers who have all participated in previous Selected Shorts shows, each bring their own unique voice, humor, and insight to the hosting duty and honor the memory of Selected Shorts' creator and long-time host, Isaiah Sheffer, who passed away last month after a brief illness.

Each guest host will record 4 shows that will air one show per week. Hosts will introduce and add commentary to stories that were recorded live on the Symphony Space stage as part of the Selected Shorts live-in-performance series. The first shows in the rotation will be hosted by actor John Lithgow and will air in January 2013. Additional guest hosts will be announced as they confirm. "We are so proud of the program that Isaiah Sheffer created and nourished for so many years. His wonderful legacy will be burnished by this fantastic roster of talented guest hosts," says Symphony Space President and CEO Cynthia Elliott. Artistic Director Laura Kaminsky adds, "With the dynamism that our rotating guests bring, Selected Shorts is on a thrilling new path, and we are looking forward to many more brilliant shows ahead."

The cornerstone of Symphony Space's literary programming, Selected Shorts was launched almost 30 years ago as a performance/reading series and has grown into a national public radio show heard on over 140 stations and by over 300,000 monthly podcast subscribers. The radio series is co-produced with WNYC in New York and distributed by Public Radio International. The series was conceived with a simple premise: have great stories by well-known and emerging writers performed by terrific Hollywood and Broadway actors. Selected Shorts also includes a library of CDs and digital downloads.