Made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles' Cultural Affairs Dept., "The New Short Fiction Series" will return to the Lankershim Arts Center on Jan. 9 to celebrate its fifth anniversary.

"The impact from the grant has been really tremendous because it enables me to expand somewhat and it underwrites marketing and staffing costs, which is really, really liberating." said spoken word artist Sally Shore, who produces and stars in the series.

Started in 1997 by Shore, an actress between roles looking for another creative outlet, "The New Short Fiction Series" showcases the work of short-story authors during its 11-month run.  In 2001, the series will feature the works of Stacy Bierlein, Robert Steven Rhine, Jerome Gold and Paul Arenson, among others.

"It's a spoken word series and it's also L.A.'s only live literary magazine," said Shore.  It's not really a reading, but more of a hybrid of live interpretation and the written word.  It's literary performance."

A different guest cast of actors joins series headliner Shore for the performances of each short story.