10 Steps to Planning a Storytelling Event

You are a storyteller. You’ve been telling stories for a while now. You’ve told at libraries, schools, and maybe a few workshops, conferences, or meetings. The area in which you live doesn’t offer any stand-alone storytelling events and you’d really love to change that. It can seem intimidating, but in fact, if you keep your […]

You Will Do Foolish Things…..

In 2005, Steve Jobs gave the commencement address at Stanford. There are many wonderful seeds of wisdom in this speech and the one that caught my imagination this time is at the end (watch the video below, 13:08). He closes by quoting the final Whole Earth catalogue. Stay hungry, stay foolish. It brings to mind […]

The Quintessential Story for Darkening Days

As the days shrink and dark night grows, a particular story rises up in my mind as the quintessential Fall story.It is a story of seeking light, inhabiting love, and living out one’s true nature. Baba Yaga, also known as Grandmother Death, is a fearsome, Russian witch who lives in the deep, dark forest.  She […]

5 Ways to Tell Stories To Your Kids

You’ve always wanted to tell stories to your children, but you feel self-conscious, or silly.  You know your kids love to hear stories, but you just don’t know very many by heart. Here are 5 simple ideas for breaking through to comfortable and fun storytelling for your kids. 1.  Choose a beautiful and lively picture […]

Parents’ Choice Recommended Award Winner 2011

Story Harbour, Vol. 1 Fall 2011 Storytelling Ages: 4 & Up Producer: Novo Harbour Unlimited   Review: This CD collection features six tales from around the world (West Africa, “Anansi & Stories”; Russia, “The Innkeeper’s Clever Daughter”; England, “Master of All Masters” e.g.), as told by Zette Harbour. As with many folktales, there are messages […]

3 Guidelines to a Story Swap

What Is A Story Swap? A Story Swap is the tradition of inviting anyone to step up and tell a story. It’s a great way for new tellers to gain experience in front of listeners and for practiced tellers to work on new, short stories. Story Swap guidelines: