Literary Death Match Paris, Episode 1

Literary Death Match Raleigh, Episode 1

BROOKLYN, New York – August 28, 2009 – Today Opium Magazine and the Literary Death Match announced their debut in Raleigh, North Carolina for Literary Death Match Raleigh, Episode 1 on September 16 at The Pour House, 224 S. Blount Street (doors at 9:00, event at 9:30 sharp). The event will be on the same night as London, Episode 2, marking the 45th and 46th events in the history of the series (which is regularly featured in New York City and San Francisco).

Hosted by Opium's PR and Marketing Director, Kelly Helder, and Raleigh Quarterly's co-publisher, Greg Behr, the event will feature three all-star judges including "Big Fish" author Daniel Wallace, Internet sensation(s) Rhett & Link, and Carolina Rollergirl KGBebe. They will preside over four readers, including Raleigh Quarterly co-publisher Billy Warden, The Monti Storytelling Series founder Jeff Polish, Scott McClanahan (author of the short story collection "Stories") and Lockie Hunter (author of the novel "Girls, Girls, Out").

“For the Literary Death Match to succeed on the massive scale I want it to, it can’t just exist in known literary cities like New York City, San Francisco and London,” said Opium Magazine founding editor and Literary Death Match creator Todd Zuniga. “That’s why we’re pushing so hard to launch it in bustling lit-centric communities like Raleigh, where not only is there a huge cluster of passionate writers, but some serious homerun hitters to lean on, like Daniel Wallace.”

In the past the event has featured Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket), Tom Perrotta (author of Election and Little Children), Todd Barry (Flight of the Conchords, The Wrestler), Andrew Leland (of The Believer), Andrew Sean Greer (The Story of a Marriage), Moby (the musician) and Ben Greenman (editor at The New Yorker).

"After successes in London and Beijing, Literary Death Match's arrival in Raleigh really puts us on the cultural map," says Greg Behr. "Sort of like a big, dagger-filled tattoo you can't remember getting."

"I used to dream of a Pulitzer," says writer/participant Billy Warden. "Now I obsess over the Literary Death Match title. If I can take LDM, I think I can take Richard Russo."


###

About Opiumʼs Literary Death Match
The Literary Death Match, Opium Magazineʼs signature reading series, debuted in March 2006 in New York City. The competitive, humor-centric series features four readers, three guest-star judges and a hare-brained finale to decide the winner. Hosted by Opiumʼs founding editor, Todd Zuniga, the series expanded to San Francisco in 2007, and Beijing, Chicago and Denver in 2009, has featured 107 readers, 71 judges and over 3,500 attendees. The homepage, featuring write-ups from past events and videos of the finale, can be found at www.LiteraryDeathMatch.com.

About Opium Magazine
Opium Magazine, a subsidiary of Opium Den LLC and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, is a literary humor publication. The website has been updated daily since its 2001 debut, and the print magazine, designed by award-winning designer David Barringer, has been published semi-annually since August 2005. Contributors include fiction writers Etgar Keret and Aimee Bender, artist Chuck Close, humorist Jack Handey, cartoonist Art Spiegelman, playwright Neil Labute, and many others. Opiumʼs homepage is www.OpiumMagazine.com.