BATAVIA – With guitar in hand, Rebecca Strand of Batavia performed an original song, “Press On,” in front of the judges Sunday at the Batavia Public Library in the hopes of landing a spot on BATV’s new reality show, “Project Publish.”

While the judges applauded Strand on her musicianship, they gave her another challenge – to make a song out of a short story written by another contestant. Strand said she was up for it.

“I’ve never written a song on the spot before,” said Strand, 22. “I’ve always done it at my own tempo. But if I don’t step outside my comfort zone, I’ll never grow.”