STORYTELLERS
Below are members of the Georgia Storytelling Network, many of whom tell professionally or in other formal or informal settings.
We tell stories to students, families, the elderly, at libraries, parties, corporate events, etc. Many of us have written books and even have recordings of our stories for sale.
If you are looking for someone to tell stories at your event or with your group, please browse our list of members below. The Georgia Storytelling Network offers this page as a service to its members and a resource for the community.
Any material or links on this page were provided by the performer and have not been verified by the Georgia Storytelling Network.
Storyteller Listings (A-Z)
Ace Allen
Karin Amano
Karin Amano
JapaneseStoryteller@gmail.com
Lona Bartlett
LaDoris Bias-Davis
Personal quote: “Storytelling has no Limitations!”
She has facilitated workshops and shared a plethora of tales to myriad audiences in local, national and international venues for more than 25 years! With a BA in Speech/Theater and a Masters in Early Literacy Education she is passionate about building literacy in schools, camps, churches, museums, historical venues and more. Storyteller/Educator/Moderator she believes “Storytelling releases the power of the mind and nurtures the human spirit!”
Dallas Britt
Loralee Cooley
Loralee Cooley
Storyspinning—the term Loralee has used to describe her work since the early 1980s—is her professional “moniker.” For her, it incorporates all kinds of spoken story, from traditional folk tales to ballads, and even nursery rhymes and poetry, as well as a story that comes out of today’s newspaper. Having lived in several regions of the United States, she incorporates folklore and family stories from her home state of Illinois, plus such areas as Arizona, where she began her professional work as a storyteller, including the Legend of the Bells of Tumacacori. Stories of the Celtic (pronounced KELL-tick) tradition are also favorites, and well as the lore of [the “other”] Georgia. And in 2011 her book ‘Island Child” was published, which tells of the first 10 years in the life of Barack Obama, complete with remarkably lovely and well-researched illustrations by the Canadian artist Jillian Gilliland.
It was with Loralee’s guidance–and the help of many other Atlanta-based storytellers–that the Southern Order of Storytellers was launched in 1982, along with the Olde Christmas Storytelling Festival, which made its debut in January 1983, at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. The “Seanachie” award was instituted at the second festival in January 1984, honoring Clara Dunn as the first recipient, then in her 80s, who could be considered the “mother” of Atlanta storytellers.
Having lost her husband, Ed, also a Seanachie recipient, Loralee Cooley lives in New Mexico, the “Land of Enchantment.” She’s still sorting through memorabilia and artifacts saved for years to share with those who treasure such things. She’ll be bringing to the NSN Conference in July [hosted by Southern Order of Storytellers] vintage brochures, programs and news articles from the 1980s, when Southern Order of Storytellers was just coming into its own. These will be available for whoever wants copies….and once they’re gone, they’re gone!
Contact:
Loralee Cooley
STORYSPINNING
Cell phone: 806-282-9529
E-mail: storyspinning@sbcglobal.net
web: www.storyspinning.net
Jan Cribbs
Jane Cunningham
Jane Cunningham
https://missjanestories.com
missjane1@mac.com
Esther Culver
Esther Culver
James (Jim) Dawson
James (Jim) Dawson
Margaret Edinburgh
Angeline Edmondson
Evette Evans
Chetter Galloway
Chetter Galloway
Stacey Goad
Stacey Goad
Lane Hudson
Jeanne Hewell-Chambers
Jeanne Hewell-Chambers
jeanne@the70273project.org
Natalie Jones
Natalie Jones *LIFETIME MEMBER* www.nataliestories.com
Educate, Entertain, Inspire…. Natalie Jones can do all that. A former park ranger, teacher and librarian, she hails from Eastern Kentucky, a great growing ground for stories. Her special ability is telling stories for every generation. Listeners, whether they are school kids or executives; cub scouts or women of the church; teenagers or seniors; find warmth, laughter, and satisfaction in Natalie’s tales. She brings a variety of interactive stories, adding musical instruments, puppets and props to create an energy filled presentation. Her programs for students are recognized for their educational integrity. Natalie is also a story teacher. She leads dynamic workshops for teachers, librarians and students empowering them to tell their stories. Oh, and she is also a Big Fibber, That’s a compliment in the storytelling world. She won the Big Fibbers crown in Rome, GA in 2016 and in 2017 was the People’s Choice Award Winner in the Storytelling Festival of North Carolina.
Natalie will tailor her story programs to the needs of your event. Here is a sample of the kind of programs she offers:
Georgia Curriculum based programs – preschool & elementary ages
Themed presentations for Library Vacation Reading Club
Humorous personal stories for adult groups
History Stories for Secondary and Middle school students
Campfire tales or Ghostly Legends
Costumed Birthday Parties
Storytelling Workshops for students and adults
Reading Motivation workshops for teachers, parents and librarians.
Some of her story highlights include telling at festivals in 5 southern states, Atlanta’s Carter Center, the National Storytelling Conference, Turner South Broadcasting’s Education through Storytelling Program, and Red Top Mountain’s annual Halloween Hayride. She currently works as a professional storyteller in area preschools, elementary schools, bookstores, churches, arts festivals and libraries. She also works for the Craddock Center, telling stories at Georgia mountain Head Start programs. She has been a presenter for the Georgia Conference of Media Organizations, the Georgia Preschool Association, and the Summer Education Institutes.
Contact Natalie for your next event:njones69@hotmail.com
Laura Keys
Laura Keys
Robin Kitson
Robin Kitson has been telling stories that Polish Your Heart for over 20 yrs. She is known for her personal tall tales, civil rights and women’s historical stories, Cajun folktales, motivational stories, STEM, and international folktales.
Although storytelling came later in Robin’s life, her stories started early. As a young child, she witnessed Ruby Bridges walking into a school where Robin was a student. As a young, single, poor, and uneducated mother, Robin tells about overcoming obstacles.
She enrolled in a Community College earning an AAS in Electronics and became the first female power plant electrician at Carolina Power and Light, then went on to be the first female Electric Meter Tech. Eventually, Robin got her BS in Human Environmental Science to teach character education. The pay cut was too much, so she went back to Energy Engineering.
After years of feeling like a square peg in a round hole, Robin found Storytelling. She was at peace, she was home. Robin’s life mission is to tell stories that educate, motivate, lift spirits, and sometimes just make people laugh. She is just as happy to present a house concert as she is to tell at a festival or school. Robin looks forward to creating a custom program to suit your needs.
Varona Legaux
Doug Lipman
Kathleen Mainland
Kathleen Mainland
Barry Stewart Mann
Barry Stewart Mann
Barry Stewart Mann, MFA
Storyteller, Actor, Arts Educator
www.barrystewartmann.com
barrystewartmann@hotmail.com
(404) 484-9446
Barry has been telling stories for three decades, delighting in a mix of folklore, literary tales, historic pieces, personal stories, poetry and more. He is happy to custom-design a storytelling program to fit any situation, from schools to libraries to camps, from toddlers to seniors, from Boy Scout troops to birthday parties, and beyond. Barry offers a number of specific programs connecting with state curriculum standards, including those covering the Cherokees, European Exploration of North America, world folklore, Greek mythology, the works of Shakespeare, popular inventions, and phonics. I have created many literacy-based programs for libraries that work well in other settings; stories about bugs, stories about music, stories about space exploration, stories about the arts, stories about sports and fitness. His stories are sometimes traditional oral renditions, and sometimes incorporate inventive and theatrical elements,including puppets, costume pieces, props, and audence interaction. A Spanish speaker, he often includes bilingual tellings when suitable. Visit Barry’s website – barrystewartmann.com – for more details on all of his programs and offerings.
Barry also leads workshops in storytelling, improvisation, and integrating storytelling and drama into the curriculum. He works with ArtsNow Learning, The Teaching Museum of Fulton County, and the Alliance Theatre; he has told stories at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, the Michael C. Carlos Museum, Aurora Theatre, and the Children’s Museum, as well as the Internacional Festival de Cuentacuentos in Santo Domingo, DR, and on school tours to Colombia, Chile and Argentina with DreamOn Productions. Barry teaches Storytelling and arts integration through Lesley University, and works with Utah State University’s ArtsAccess program.
Contact Barry today for a truly engaging and unique experience!
Denise Mount
Denise Mount
a teller of true personal stories spanning 5 generations, 3 countries, and a few states;
teller also of tall tales and scary stories
Gwendolyn J. Napier
Gwendolyn J. Napier aka Miss LuvDrop
Stories for the Lovable Souls
A Fun Educational Entertainer. Storyteller, Singer, Poet, & Ribbon Dancer, Workshop Facilitator
luvdropproductions.com
missluvdrop@yahoo.com
(404) 755-4860
(404) 310-4833
Gwendolyn J. Napier heard stories from her mother, Mother Sarah F. Jackson as a child. Her mother would tell her stories for hours from memory about her childhood, family and about life. She was inspired by her constantly asking, How do you tell stories? Mother Jackson replying “Storytelling comes from the Heart, just be yourself.” The experiences and wisdom from her mother, life experiences, and professional training made her realize that everyone has a Story- to- Share, and there are others who would Love-to-Listen.
aka Miss LuvDrop
Since 1990, Ms. Napier has worked with young children, youth, and adults. She is currently employed by Fulton County Board Of Education. She has worked with many school-wide and community based programs. The school-wide programs consist of Muffins for Moms, Donuts for Dads, Career Day, Family Reading Night, and Black History Month. Her community involvement consist of performances at the Historic Oakland Cemetery, National Archive History Center, Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, National Black Arts Festival Community Reading Programs, Apex Museum, Jack and Jill Organization , Fulton County Library Systems, Southview Cemetery, Atlanta Speech School and the Roswell Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Early Literacy for young children is extremely important. She focuses on creating stories that will keep audiences engaged through songs, music, movement, dancing, instruments and props to make the stories come alive and stay alive in their minds. “She brings a Story, Love, and a beautiful Smile with her each time she performs.” Ms. Napier enjoys reading and telling a variety of stories from cultures around the world. She was inspired by her recent trip to West Africa where she had the opportunity to experience the Nigerian culture and customs.
Sarah Nelson
Sarah Nelson
Cora Newcomb
Cora Newcomb
Neal Peeples
Neal Peeples
Alex Peers
Alex Peers
farsidext10@yahoo.com
Kanute Rarey
Kanute Rarey
Cecilia Romer
Nancy Riggs
Nancy Riggs
Stories for children and adults. Specializing in Stories of the Seas, folk tales, ghost stories, and tales of the rails.
1nancyriggs@gmail.com
Alton Russell
Alton Russell
Christine Arinze Samuel
Sharon Smith
Sharon Smith
Terrell Shaw
Terrell Shaw
Storytelling is practically in Terrell’s DNA. His mother gathered the kids regularly for Bible or Uncle Remus stories. His father regaled them with harrowing childhood tales like “Skinny-dipping in the Yellow River”. Terrell spent a week, summers, shining shoes while his “Daddy Shaw” wove tales for his barber shop customers. And Terrell told stories to his elementary school children throughout 33 years of teaching.
He began his professional telling in the 1980s but in seven years of “retirement” has been a more active teller, serving at Arrowhead Environmental Education Center as Storyteller/Naturalist.
He tells to school, scout, and civic groups as well as events of all kinds. He leads storytelling/writing workshops for middle grade children in the YoungTales Storytelling Clubs program that he co-founded.
At Arrowhead he mostly tells traditional tales, always including grade-appropriate science content, as he leads nature walks and/or displays live animals and mounts, in outreach lessons in Floyd County Schools, and at Arrowhead-sponsored events. He also leads other lessons, often from the Project Wet, Project Wild, or Project Learning Tree curricula. Arrowhead conducts several hundred lessons in Floyd County Schools each year, as well as field trip lessons with school groups throughout the year.
Terrell is two-time champion of the Big Fibbers Contest (2012, 2014) and has directed the Big Fibbers Storytelling Festival since 2015. He has performed at:
- Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival (twice),
- Cave Screams Ghost Tours (five times),
- Bear on The Square,
- Stories on the Square,
- Outdoor Adventure Day (seven times),
- Etowah Mounds Torchlight Tours (four times)
- Peach State Storytelling Festival (twice)
- Cave Spring Arts Fair
- Chiaha Harvest Fair
Terrell ’s honors include:
- 2016 Margie Harbin Environmental Advocacy Award
- 2014 Armuchee High Star Teacher
- 2009 Environmental Educator Award
- 2009 Armuchee Teacher of the Year
- 1991 Leadership Rome Program
- 1981 Marshall Forest Stewardship Award
Terrell ’s community involvement includes:
- Ridge & Valley Storytelling Guild (a founder, first president)
- Trinity United Methodist Church (choir member, soloist)
- Rome Little Theatre (board member, actor/soloist)
- Floyd County Association of Educators (president, state & national delegate, other offices)
- Democratic Party ( county president, state convention delegate, member of state committee)
- Coosa River Basin Initiative (Vice president, board member)
- Marshall Forest Stewardship Committee (board member)
- Save Rome’s Central Park political action group (chairman)
He ends e-mails with a blessing:
“May your joys be many, your troubles few, and may they all make great stories!”
Tricia Stearns
Tricia Stearns
Deborah Strahorn
Shannon Turner
Anthony Vinson
Anthony Vinson
Tracy Sue Walker
Tracy Sue Walker
As a storyteller, I’ve visited schools, libraries, and festivals
throughout the Southeast. As a children’s author, The Truth About
Unicorns, my first chapter book, debuted with Scholastic Book Clubs in
2019. The first in a series, more titles and magical creatures are on
the way! I offer storytelling programs, author visits, workshops for
educators, and virtual programs.
Debbie Weston From
Debbie Weston From
Jean Woodall
Jean Woodall
Betty Ann Wylie
Betty Ann Wylie