Conference Schedule

Music as a Story Companion: Using Music in Storytelling – by Annick Odom.

Bring your story and your instrument for this session! This hands-on workshop invites storytellers to explore how melody, rhythm, and sound can deepen narrative impact. We’ll plan, experiment, and support one another in finding ways music can underscore mood, highlight characters, and bring storytelling to life – no formal music training required.

Bio: Annick Odom is a storyteller, performing musician, crankie maker, and composer based in Morgantown, West Virginia. A member of the West Virginia Storytelling Guild, she tells stories learned knee to knee from the late ballad singer and storyteller Phyllis Marks, alongside tales unearthed through archival research including traditional Appalachian ballads, stories collected by Ruth Ann Musick, and original works. Annick has shared stories and music at the Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival, Vandalia Gathering, and other venues and festivals across the U.S. and Europe. She regularly leads participatory workshops in music (traditional and contemporary), square dance, and storytelling. https://www.annick-odom.com/ 

1.5 Hours Professional Development

Variety, Versatility, Virtuosity! Tapping Your Potential to Craft Memorable Moments- by Barry Stewart Mann

The best storytellers are good throughout the story, but always have moments, phrases, gestures, twists, and effects that just sparkle with inspiration… brilliance…virtuosity. Let’s explore how to stretch ourselves – vocally, physically, emotionally, imaginatively, courageously – to enhance our stories with such unique and stellar moments.

Bio: Barry Stewart Mann, MFA, is an Atlanta-based storyteller, actor, and teaching artist.  He has more than three decades of experience telling stories in diverse settings and embedding storytelling in teaching core curriculum.  He is a Harvard graduate with an M.F.A in Theatre from the University of San Diego, and is on the faculty of Lesley University’s Integrated Teaching through the Arts M. Ed. program.  As a storyteller, Barry tours internationally with Dream On Productions, and has told stories in schools in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Perú, Chile, Argentina, India, and China. www.barrystewartmann.com

1.5 Hours Professional Development

Mapping Your Creativity – by Jeff Doyle

What makes us creative? Why are some of us innately more innovative than others? How can we create unique and original stories? In this workshop we explore our creative process. Like exercising any muscle, the more we know about our creative mind, the easier it is to access and use.

Bio: Jeff began storytelling around the campfire with a goal of terrifying children. Before long, Jeff was writing and performing not just scary tales but wild, funny, and heartwarming stories as well. He’s a father, a dreamer, and an average guy who sometimes sees things through the eyes of a 13-year-old boy. He finds humor in everyday life and crafts stories that evoke everything from laughter to tears, captivating listeners of all ages. Jeff has been a featured teller at the National Storytelling Festival, is a National Storytelling Network Oracle award winner, and a two-time champion liar.  www.myblueape.com

1.5 Hours Professional Development

Unleash Your Magic: A Storyteller’s Guide to Getting Seen & Heard -  by Dr. T. Namaya 

Step into your power as a storyteller! This dynamic, hands-on workshop helps you define your voice, build an irresistible online presence, and master bold content strategies. Learn to market yourself with clarity, connect with audiences, and share your stories far and wide – authentically, confidently, and impactfully.

Bio: Dr. Namaya MIA, MSN, D.Sc. is an internationally acclaimed performance poet, storyteller, multimedia artist, and former multicultural professor. He has performed his stories, poems, and music across five continents. Dr. Namaya has led workshops and training sessions in Yemen, Palestine, Algeria, Morocco, Chile, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala, focusing on leadership for social change. He also facilitates art and performance workshops worldwide, including a session in Belfast, Ireland, for the International Peace Museums on "Art and Story for Peace Building." As a lead trainer for STEP Training for Social Transformation, he integrates his expertise in international affairs and multicultural education. He and his team will be facilitating workshops and performances in Zambia and Kenya in the summer of 2025. Learn more at www.namayaproductions.com and www.thejazzpoet.com.

1.5 Hours Professional Development

Stretch It! Developing Tall Tales and Outright Lies- by Judy Baker

Taking an idea, building on it, and stretching it to the limit!

Bio: Growing up in a town with only one piano teacher meant that Judy would be unable to fulfill her fondest childhood dream:  to be able to carry those big music books and walk down the hill from the elementary school to the little brown house where the piano teacher lived. Music would not be her muse, but she found her voice in storytelling.  She serves as program chair for the Cleveland Storytelling Guild and has told at festivals regionally.  She has been awarded the Golden Cluster from the Quercus Alba Veritas Tree of Kentucky.  Yes, she told a big one.

Find her on Facebook: Judy Baker Storyteller

.75 Hours Professional Development

3 Simple Steps to Telling a Great Folktale -  by Debby Gullery

Learn how to tell a good folktale in three simple steps.

Bio: Debby loves telling stories because they go straight to the heart. She is an educator, a life coach and a storyteller for people of all ages. She especially enjoys folktales from around the world because the characters and the themes are universal. They teach us important things about ourselves and each other.  Debby tells stories at schools, libraries, parties and workshops and co-hosts a monthly Story Circle in Indianapolis where folks of all skill levels gather to practice telling and swapping stories.

https://storytellingarts.org/debbygullery/ 

.75 Hours Professional Development

Call and Response – Telling in the Oral Tradition – by Jos. N. Holman

Using children’s literature as source material, learn how to adapt it to create call and response audience participation.

Bio: Jos. N. Holman provides a literary experience in the oral tradition that is fun, participatory, and engaging. His polished storytelling presentation brings enthusiasm, energy and exhilaration to interactions with children of all ages. Specializing in multicultural folktales, he has an expertise in introducing poetry and nursery rhymes to youth. Jos is a former children’s librarian, with an undergraduate degree from Roger Williams College in Bristol, RI. He has performed for summer reading programs, library celebrations and Black History Month. Jos presently lives in Lafayette, IN with his wife and works for the Tippecanoe County Public Library. https://storytellingarts.org/jos-n-holman/ 

.75 Hours Professional Development

Superstitions and Folklore -  by Melinda Grisco

Learn more about different superstitutions and the cultures they came from, including actual examples of good luck items – charms, talisman, amulets – you’ll be invited to view and handle.

Bio: Melinda Grisco storytells at libraries, assisted living centers and libraries and schools. She has written 5 children's books. She travels the universe to collect interesting facts to write about, whether they are true or not. 

.75 Hours Professional Development