BATAVIA – The contestants have been chosen for BATV’s new reality show, “Project Publish.”

The show, which air for seven weeks, will broadcast live from BATV’s studios at Batavia High School starting at 2 p.m. Sunday through March 24. Each week, a performer randomly will be paired with a writer.

The contestants were chosen after recent auditions at the Batavia Public Library and St. Charles Public Library.

“It was really stiff competition,” BATV station manager Holly Deitchman said. A list of the seven writers and seven performers is at www.batv.us/project-publish.

The idea for the show came from local writer and St. Charles resident Richard Graves, host and creative director of “Project Publish.” Graves had bemoaned the fact that writers have a hard time generating an audience during open mic events in a humorous poem he wrote titled “Open Mic Mania.”

BATV community TV station intern and “ Project Publish” producer Kimberly Kozar heard Graves read the poem during last year’s Art in Your Eye festival in Batavia and decided to bring his idea to life.

“Project Publish” is one of several new shows that BATV is producing. Since the fall, BATV has been streaming live concerts from Kiss The Sky music store in Batavia and is working on a show called “Out on the Town.”

“It’s all about fun TV and hopefully getting more people to tune in,” Deitchman said.

Information about “Project Publish” is available by visiting BATV’s website at www.batv.us.

Want to watch?

Go to Comcast Channel 17 in Batavia or AT&T U-verse Channel 99, or watch online at www.batv.us/project-publish