At 98, Nelson Price Publishes "The Joys of Serendipity," True Stories of Being in the Right Place at the Right Time

At 98, Nelson Price, producer of Night Call, the first national radio call-in program, publishes The Joys of Serendipity: 71 true stories of chance meetings, unexpected reunions and perfectly timed help, written by the 42 people who lived them. End Quote

At 98, I've learned that some of the best moments in life are the ones nobody planned. These 42 storytellers prove it happens to all of us.

Syracuse, NY (1888PressRelease) November 12, 2026 - Forty-two contributors share 71 chance encounters in the third book from the producer of the first national radio call-in program. Nelson Price is 98 years old, and he has just published his third book. The Joys of Serendipity gathers 71 true stories of chance meetings, unexpected reunions and help that arrived at exactly the right moment, each written by the person who lived it.

A college roommate is spotted hitchhiking at Boulder Dam. A retired ferry captain looks up from his phone to check on a stranger in tears. A young woman stumbles onto a hidden labyrinth in Montana and feels her late grandmother meet her there. Price defines serendipity as "a beautiful unplanned, unexpected, fortuitous and always joyful event." Forty-two contributors from Central New York, Connecticut, Tennessee, South Carolina and Hong Kong wrote their own accounts. One describes changing planes in Detroit on the way from Australia: "Suddenly I noticed that, walking next to me, was my housemate from twenty years ago, when I was living in Tennessee." "This book is not like a novel," Price writes in the preface. "It's more like a book of poetry, each poem different, often delightful." He suggests reading one or two stories a day and recording your own in the journal pages at the back.

The book also carries a quiet request: notice the people around you. "The book asks nothing of you but to nourish your curiosity and spirit," Price writes. "Nothing to join. Nothing to buy." Price has spent a lifetime bringing people into conversation. In 1968 he was executive producer of Night Call, the first national radio call-in program, launched after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. to put listeners in dialogue with national leaders. He later served as president and CEO of the Odyssey Cable Network, a coalition of 67 denominations and faith groups, which hosted Nelson Mandela at Riverside Church on his first visit to the United States. The Joys of Serendipity (Aviva Publishing, 131 pages) is available in paperback for $14.99 at Amazon and other booksellers, and as a Kindle edition on Amazon. The Kindle edition is $1.99 from November 11 through November 14. Price will sign books in Syracuse on Tuesday, November 10, at Drumlins Country Club, and host a live online launch on Thursday, November 12, at 8 p.m. Eastern. Details and registration are at https://www.eventbrite.com/o/121872256567. It follows Spirit Sail and Everyone's a Change Agent: The Power of Words, For Better or Worse.

###

Visit Compass Rose Consulting, Llc Website

space