As part of the maker and journalistic communities, it was wonderful for us to get to know Tiffany Razzano, founder of Wordier Than Thou. We had a chance to chat with her for a few minutes before the show, at her simple, book filled table here at Gulf Coast Maker & Comic Con. We started off with a curiosity of the meaning of their name that turned into total excitement for what they do.
Wordier Than Thou is a local nonprofit for the literary arts in the Tampa Bay area. They organize various readings and events for local authors to come out and get some exposure. It all came about five years ago because Tiffany, a journalist by trade, recognized that one of the things she hated the most was public speaking. Since this was something that she would periodically encounter in her career, she decided to do conquer it head on. She accomplished this by doing something where she could overcome this hatred in a more controlled environment - storytelling.
They started out simply, with just one event where authors could tell stories and prose in an open mic style. It has since grown significantly and they are now doing 8 to 12 events per month that tap into different parts of the literary community. It has become a great support system for the authors to showcase their work and also to draw in people who wouldn't normally attend this kind of event. They actually strive to "sneak the books" into their events where some audience members are surprised that they just loved a show that ended up being about books. For example, one of their most successful events is a burlesque show with wonderful performers and amazing costumes that they put on twice a year.
During the interview, Tiffany introduced an upcoming event called Eat Our Words that Scott and Michele actually attended. The authors made various dished that were inspired by their books. It was a fun way to interact with the authors and learn about their latest works while sampling some really good food. We look forward to attending some of their future events, as well.
You can check them out yourself by going to their website, or by visiting their Facebook page.
Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.
Although Michele has worked in the banking industry full time for many years, she originally went to school with a concentration in communications, advertising and marketing. She began her career in sales and retail management, selling electronics and computers. Her love of all things tech eventually brought her back into the electronics arena three years ago when she started with PLuGHiTz Corporation to help with special events as a Production Assistant. Soon she began to dabble with the audio and video and is loving her role as Producer. She's also one of our content writers and assists with product reviews. Looking forward, she is excited to expand her skill set into editing and helping the company continue to grow.
