Pecha Kucha Storytelling Event: Courage in Action
Burbank Public Library is thrilled to host our first Pecha Kucha Night! This after-hours event will be an informal, yet personal, community gathering. Using the Pecha Kucha format, presenters will share their stories of surviving a natural disaster or supporting others through an emergency. This evening is about walking in another's shoes for a moment, meeting our neighbors, and honoring resilience. There will be a moderated Q & A with the audience following the presentations, along with light refreshments. All are welcome!
What is Pecha Kucha?
Pecha Kucha (pronounced "peh-CHAH-koo-chah") means the "sound of conversation" in Japanese. It is a fast-paced, impactful storytelling format in which each presenter has 6 minutes and 40 seconds to tell their story. The format uses 20 slides, with each slide shown for 20 seconds. The visual slides are included to enhance and support the narrative, creating a more immersive experience for the audience. The Pecha Kucha format makes storytelling accessible, engaging, and memorable for an audience while challenging presenters to be concise, focused and imaginative.
Moderator is Abbie Fentress Swanson
Abbie Fentress Swanson has been a journalist for the past 16 years. From 2021 to 2023, Abbie was executive producer of CNN Audio’s development unit where she helped create "The Assignment with Audie Cornish," "The Prince Mixtape," "The James Brown Mystery," "Downside Up," "Very Scary People: The Amityville Murders," "Diversifying" and the sixth season of "Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta." This slate brought millions of listeners to CNN every month. “The Assignment” won a 2023 Ambie Award for Best Interview Podcast. “Very Scary People,” hosted by Donnie Wahlberg, was CNN’s first No. 1 hit on Apple Podcasts.
Prior to CNN, Abbie was EP of audio and podcasts at the Los Angeles Times. There she helped develop, edit and launch "Chasing Cosby," "Man in the Window," "Asian Enough," "The Times," "The Trials of Frank Carson," "Coronavirus in California," "The Battle of 187" and "Detective Trapp." Before working at the LA Times, Abbie developed and edited the first season of "I, Survivor" for Wondery, was supervising producer of KCRW’s "Good Food” with Evan Kleiman, and covered the farm beat for KBIA and Harvest Public Media in Missouri. Abbie started her journalism career in New York at WNYC, booking guests for “The Takeaway,” writing newscast copy for WQXR, and editing WNYC's culture coverage.
Abbie was a 2015 Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan. She’s won several Edward R. Murrow awards for stories that have aired on the NPR shows “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered” and “Here & Now.” Abbie has also written essays for the Washington Post Magazine, Modern Farmer, The Salt and the Virginia Quarterly Review. Her reporting on food has been nominated for James Beard and International Association of Culinary Professionals awards.
She received her Bachelor’s degree in Italian Studies from the College of William & Mary, and her Master’s in Journalism from the University of California, Berkeley. Abbie is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science at San José State University, with a focus on public library programs and archival preservation, and plans to graduate in May 2026. Her graduate work includes managing SJSU’s video podcasts on YouTube, and volunteering as an adult literacy tutor at the Los Angeles Public Library.
