The Zach Feldman Show hit the road for a special episode from Silver Scream Con V, bringing Z Radio Live inside the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts for a weekend packed with horror, artists, vendors, tattoos and exclusive interviews.

Fresh off the convention floor, Zach Feldman brought listeners along for some of the best moments from the weekend, including conversations with horror artist Chris Butler, The Horror Family, North Street Tattoo and Scream 7 stunt performer Jeremy Connor.

LISTEN TO THE FULL SILVER SCREAM CON V SHOW HERE

From Horror Art to an Unexpected Music Career

One of the first stops of the weekend was with Chris Butler of Chris Butler Designs, whose horror-inspired artwork has become a fixture at conventions.

Butler explained that many of his designs begin while he is actually watching the movie, with a particular scene or image sparking an idea that eventually becomes a finished poster.

But the conversation quickly took an unexpected turn when Butler revealed that visual art isn’t his only creative outlet.

He also makes music under the name MC Effect and had just released a new album, Mortal Man. Butler explained that his love of hip-hop and horror actually helped lead him into graphic design in the first place, beginning with drawing artwork for his own songs and mixtapes.

Exploring the Silver Scream Con Floor

The show continued through the convention floor with a stop at The Horror Family, a year-round horror shop based in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Owner Matt spoke about turning a lifelong obsession with horror into a business filled with collectibles, apparel, masks and memorabilia. The booth also ended up costing Z Radio Live a few dollars after an orange bedazzled Ghostface mask made its way home from the convention.

Things got even more hands-on when Zach stopped by the North Street Tattoo setup, where artists were tattooing convention attendees right on the show floor.

Tattoo artist Jesse, who has been tattooing for 25 years, explained that one of his favorite parts of working the convention is seeing fans meet people they admire and then helping turn those memories — including autographs — into permanent artwork.

Zach even floated the possibility of trying his hand at tattooing.

That idea did not make it very far.

Jeremy Connor Goes Behind the Ghostface Mask

One of the biggest interviews from Z Radio Live’s Silver Scream Con V coverage came with Jeremy Connor, the stunt performer who stepped behind the Ghostface mask in Scream 7.

Connor spoke about the pressure that comes with taking on one of horror’s most recognizable characters and how he studied previous Ghostface performers before stepping into the role himself.

He also broke down some of the stunt work that went into the film, including fight sequences, falls and several of Ghostface’s most memorable moments.

Connor said the staircase sequence was one of his favorites, while the kitchen fight held a special place for him because it was the first Ghostface kill he filmed.

He also discussed meeting original Scream stunt performer Lee Waddell and said he would love the opportunity to return to the franchise in the future.

Connor also revealed that his recent stunt work has extended beyond horror, including driving work on the upcoming Jumanji project.

Z Radio Live at Silver Scream Con V

From horror artwork and collectibles to live tattooing and a conversation with the man behind Ghostface, Silver Scream Con V gave The Zach Feldman Show plenty to explore.

The special captures just a piece of what filled the DCU Center throughout the weekend and the community that continues to make Silver Scream Con one of the standout events on the horror convention calendar.

A special thank you to David and the entire Silver Scream Con team for welcoming Z Radio Live to Worcester and allowing The Zach Feldman Show to be part of the weekend.

Watch or listen to the full Silver Scream Con V edition of The Zach Feldman Show above.

The Zach Feldman Show airs every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on Z Radio Live.

Nick Swardson is stepping further into the world of horror.

During an interview with Zach Feldman on The Zach Feldman Show on Z Radio Live, the comedian and actor revealed that he is currently developing a new horror movie — one of several projects he has in the works as he prepares to appear at Silver Scream Con V, October 2–4 at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Swardson, known for Reno 911!, Grandma’s Boy, The Benchwarmers and his stand-up career, also talked about his upcoming R-rated comedy Mini War, his love of horror and why he’s looking forward to meeting fans at Silver Scream Con.

Watch the full interview with Nick Swardson:

 Nick Swardson Reveals New Horror Movie

While discussing his past work in movies like A Haunted House, Swardson revealed that his interest in horror goes well beyond attending conventions.

“I love horror. I’m a big horror fan,” Swardson told Feldman. “I’m actually developing a horror movie right now.”

Although Swardson stopped short of revealing the premise, he did offer a few early details about what he is writing.

The movie takes place in one location, is not a slasher and is built around a particular fear that Swardson said he doesn’t think he has seen explored before.

“It preys on another fear that I don’t think I’ve seen,” Swardson teased before catching himself as he began to reveal more about the project.

Swardson also discussed how much he appreciates the relationship between horror and comedy, pointing out that both genres can create unusually powerful reactions from an audience.

“To laugh really hard and to be really, really scared are two of the most unique human feelings,” he said.

Mini War Is Bringing Swardson Back to R-Rated Comedy

Horror isn’t the only new project keeping Swardson busy.

He also discussed Mini War, an upcoming original R-rated comedy he wrote starring Luke Wilson, Vanessa Hudgens and Swardson himself, with Grandma’s Boy actor Joel David Moore directing.

The premise centers on a man who inherits a miniature golf course and finds himself at war with a neighboring go-kart track.

For Swardson, the movie is a chance to make the type of original, character-driven comedy he loves.

“The thing that I love, like Grandma’s Boy, it’s like I don’t need like a high concept. I like characters and dialogue,” Swardson said. “I just need a simple premise and then just pepper it with memorable lines and characters that you just remember.”

Swardson and Moore will also reunite at Silver Scream Con V, where the two are set to participate in a Q&A and share Grandma’s Boy stories while talking more about Mini War.

Why Nick Swardson Loves Silver Scream Con

Despite being primarily associated with comedy, Swardson is very much a horror fan himself — which makes Silver Scream Con an especially fitting stop.

He told Feldman he’s excited about a guest lineup featuring names including Malcolm McDowell, Linda Blair, Juliette Lewis and Devon Sawa.

“I get excited to go to these things because I get excited to meet people,” Swardson said.

He also offered a slightly less serious explanation for why he belongs at horror conventions.

“The reason that I do these horror conventions is that in A Haunted House and in Bucky Larson, I was naked in both those movies, and that’s horrifying,” Swardson joked.

Nick Swardson Heads to Silver Scream Con V

Swardson will appear at Silver Scream Con V from October 2–4 at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, joining a packed weekend celebrating horror, movies, music and pop culture.

For Swardson, one of the biggest attractions is the opportunity conventions give fans to actually meet the people behind their favorite movies and characters.

“It’s rare that you’re ever going to have like a one-on-one with somebody that you’re a massive fan of,” Swardson said. “It really is unique and great.”

Z Radio Live will be on-site at Silver Scream Con V throughout the weekend.

Watch Nick Swardson’s full conversation with Zach Feldman above and stay tuned to Z Radio Live for more coverage from Silver Scream Con V.

Z Radio Live is bringing The Zach Feldman Show to Silver Scream Con V at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, for a special convention-recorded show from one of New England’s biggest horror events.

Taking place October 2–4, 2026, Silver Scream Con V brings together horror fans, filmmakers, actors, vendors, artists, cosplayers, and music lovers for a weekend celebrating horror, pop culture, and the community behind it.

Z Radio Live at Silver Scream Con V

The Zach Feldman Show will be on location at Silver Scream Con V to capture the energy of the weekend for a custom Z Radio Live special. If you are attending, keep an eye out for the Z Radio Live microphone throughout the convention.

A Huge Guest Lineup for Horror Fans

Silver Scream Con V is bringing a major guest lineup to Worcester, including Linda Blair from The Exorcist, David Arquette from Scream, David Howard Thornton from Terrifier, Malcolm McDowell from Rob Zombie’s Halloween, Shawnee Smith from Saw, Devon Sawa from Idle Hands, Alice Krige from Silent Hill, and Juliette Lewis from Natural Born Killers.

The convention will also feature several Ghostface performers, including Lee Waddell, Noah Garrett, Jeremy Conner, and Chris Durrand, making it a must-attend weekend for Scream fans. Other announced guests include Steve-O, Nick Swardson, the Broken Lizard comedy troupe, and WWE legend Amy Dumas, also known as Lita.

A Weekend Built for Horror Culture

Created by Ice Nine Kills, Silver Scream Con V features celebrity guests, vendors, panels, photo ops, cosplay, meet-and-greets, and live entertainment. From classic horror icons to modern genre favorites, the event gives fans a chance to celebrate the movies, music, characters, and creators that continue shaping horror culture.

After the convention, Z Radio Live will release a special edition of The Zach Feldman Show featuring coverage from Silver Scream Con V.

Event Information

Silver Scream Con V takes place October 2–4, 2026, at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.

For tickets, guest announcements, schedules, and additional event information, visit silverscreamcon.com

What does it take for a teenager to rebuild his life after losing everything? That question sits at the heart of The Pebble Champion, the multi-award-winning novel by British author Alan David Pritchard — and it anchored a moving, wide-ranging conversation when Pritchard joined Zach Feldman on The Zach Feldman Show, airing on Z Radio Live.

A novelist, playwright, poet, and screenwriter, Pritchard has earned international recognition for this deeply emotional coming-of-age story about grief, identity, and the quiet acts that keep us going.

Listen to the Exclusive Interview

A Story Born from Loss — and Hope

The Pebble Champion follows fifteen-year-old Christopher Elliot, whose world collapses when his mother is killed in a car accident. Uprooted from everything he knows, Chris is sent to live on the Isle of Wight with a father he hasn’t seen in a decade. In the interview, Pritchard discussed how he wanted to capture not just the shock of loss, but the disorienting way grief seeps into a young person’s everyday life — the sense that, as Chris puts it, his whole life is changing and there is nothing he can do to stop it.

The novel’s central image is deceptively simple: alone on Shanklin beach, Chris finds solace in skipping pebbles across the sea, imagining himself competing to become “The Pebble Champion.” Pritchard explained how this small, repeated ritual becomes a metaphor for perseverance — a way for a grieving teenager to exert control over one tiny corner of a life that has spun completely out of his hands.

An Honest Portrait of a Gay Teen Coming of Age

Beyond grief, The Pebble Champion has been widely praised as an important LGBTQ coming-of-age novel. Pritchard shared how he set out to portray the social, emotional, and romantic insecurities of a gay teenager with honesty and freshness — avoiding sensationalism and stereotypes in favor of a character readers genuinely root for. Chris’s growing friendship with Thane, a classmate whose easygoing exterior hides struggles of his own, becomes one of the novel’s most affecting threads, as both boys navigate identity, secrecy, and self-acceptance.

Reviewers have responded strongly to that sensitivity. The book has been called a spectacular coming-of-age tale and an uplifting human story that stays with readers long after the final page — and teen readers in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards summed it up in one word: self-acceptance.

A Novel That Keeps Winning Awards

During the conversation, Zach and Pritchard also discussed the remarkable award journey The Pebble Champion has taken. The novel won Best Book at the Miracle Makers International Film and Writers’ Festival (2021) and the Silver Award for Novel Writing at the LGBTQ Unbordered International Film Festival (2022), earned a B.R.A.G. Medallion, and was a finalist in competitions including the Wishing Shelf Book Awards, the IAN Book of the Year Awards (Outstanding LGBTQ Novel), the Page Turner Best Book Awards, and the Reader’s Favorite Book Awards.

The story’s life doesn’t end on the page. Pritchard’s own screenplay adaptation has won honors on the festival circuit as well — including Best Screenplay at the Chicago Feedback Film Festival, Best UK Screenplay at the Cambridge Script Awards, and a Silver Remi for Best Adapted Screenplay at WorldFest-Houston — raising the exciting possibility of Chris’s story one day reaching the screen.

The Writer Behind the Words

Pritchard is far more than a one-book author. A poet at heart, he is the author of the poetry anthology Advancing Backwards, and his plays have won awards on stage, including Genius, a winner at the Welsh Young Farmers’ Play Festival. In the interview, he reflected on how working across novels, poetry, plays, and screenplays shapes his voice — and why poetic language runs through even the most painful scenes of The Pebble Champion.

FAQ

Q: What is The Pebble Champion by Alan David Pritchard about? A: It’s a coming-of-age novel about Christopher Elliot, a fifteen-year-old who loses his mother in a car accident and moves to the Isle of Wight to live with his estranged father. He copes with grief — and comes to terms with being gay — through an imagined contest to skim pebbles farther than anyone else.

Q: Is The Pebble Champion an LGBTQ novel? A: Yes. It’s widely recognized as an important LGBTQ coming-of-age story, praised for portraying a gay teen’s experience with honesty and sensitivity rather than stereotypes.

Q: What awards has The Pebble Champion won? A: Honors include Best Book at the Miracle Makers International Film and Writers’ Festival (2021), the Silver Award at the LGBTQ Unbordered International Film Festival (2022), a B.R.A.G. Medallion, and finalist recognition from the Wishing Shelf Book Awards, IAN Book of the Year Awards, Page Turner Best Book Awards, and Reader’s Favorite Book Awards. Its screenplay adaptation has also won multiple festival awards.

Q: Who should read The Pebble Champion? A: Readers of YA and literary fiction, anyone touched by the loss of a parent, and readers looking for authentic LGBTQ coming-of-age stories. Teen readers and adults alike have found it thought-provoking, emotional, and ultimately hopeful.

Why This Conversation Matters

Stories about grief and identity matter most when they offer a way through — and The Pebble Champion does exactly that. For young readers wrestling with loss, for LGBTQ teens searching for themselves in the pages of a book, and for anyone who loves beautifully written fiction, Pritchard’s conversation with Zach Feldman is a reminder that resilience often starts with something as small as a pebble skipped across the water.

Get the Book

The Pebble Champion: A Novel

by Alan David Pritchard

"My whole life is changing, and there is nothing I can do to stop it."

For Christopher Elliot, life—as he knows it—has ended. His mother is dead, taken from him in a tragic car accident, and he's lost his best friend, gone in a moment of betrayal. Now, he's forced to move to the Isle of Wight to live with the father he hasn't seen in a decade. Everything in his life, including his thoughts and dreams, is suddenly out of his control.

His only solace is the simple act of skipping pebbles across the waters of Shanklin beach where he competes to become "The Pebble Champion," skimming stones farther than anyone else.

This beautifully written, deeply emotional novel skillfully transports readers into the imagination of a gay teen desperately trying to deal with the death of a parent – providing a powerful and poignant look at what it takes to overcome profound loss.

Captivating and uplifting, "The Pebble Champion" is one of those human stories which will stay with you long after you've turned the final page.

Buy Now
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You can also learn more about Alan David Pritchard and his work at his official website: alandavidpritchard.com/pebble-champion

The Web’s Hit Music Station welcomes Giovannie Espiritu on The Zach Feldman Show. Espiritu talks about her latest projects including her award-winning film “ALLY 3000.” Zach dives deep into Espiritu’s past talking about her struggle with escaping a cult to make a better life for herself. Listen to the inspiring interview below. Visit her website at giovannieespiritu.com.

The web’s hit music station welcomes Thomas Laresca on The Zach Feldman show. Laresca talks about his new film “I Can’t Breathe (God Forgive Them).” The movie is about Laresca’s real life experience where he suddenly died for 15 minutes. Laresca says the experience changed him and he’s glad to live to talk about it. Listen to the full interview below. Watch “I Can’t Breathe (God Forgive them) on Youtube.

The web’s hit music station welcomes Author Liza Snow and VO artists Roo and Daniel Zbel to The Zach Feldman Show. Snow talks about her latest book “Obedience” and how she transformed the written book to a movie soundtrack. Roo and Zbel both said they were excited to work on the project with Snow and how it came about. Liza’s second book in the series, “Discipline” is out now. Listen to the full interview below. Read Obedience by Liza Snow on Amazon.

Devotion, a Korean war movie releasing just in time for thanksgiving will feature an end-credit song by Joe Jonas and Khalid.

Joe Jonas shared the news of his teaming up with Khalid for a new single for the feature film ‘Devotion’ on September 6. The news became public with Joe Jonas’ Instagram post with a sneak peek of what to expect from the song. The track is co-written by Ryan Tedder and Harv.

The Korean war epic is scheduled to be released on Nov. 23. Devotion is also going to be Joe Jonas’ debut on the big screen as fighter pilot Marty Goode.

The web’s hit music station welcomes JR on The Zach Feldman Show to talk about the book now turned into an audio book and soon a movie. Last week, author Shelah Johnson stopped by to discuss her new book “Perpetual Gloom: A two rut-road along The Boloney Trail” available on Amazon. Now, filmmaker JR stops by to discuss how they are making the book into a movie. JR’s background being in screen writing, he was excited to take on the task of creating the audio book and it turned out a success. His next task, is creating the movie. Listen to the full interview below!

The web’s hit music station welcomes artist Mila Bea to The Zach Feldman Show. Mila Bea talks about her latest song “INSANITY” and how the song came to life. Mila goes into detail about shooting the music video and even showing up at a biker event to film. Listen to the full interview below! Check out Mila Bea’s new song “INSANITY” on Spotify.