We have a new story sharing opportunity for you. Join us for a Secret Story Valentine Swap! It's free and easy, and you're guaranteed a new tellable tale. All you need to do to participate is send an email with the subject "Valentine Story Swap" to SAM Vice President, Laura Packer at laura@laurapacker.com no later than February 12, 2022 at midnight CT. Laura will send you an email on the 13th with your Secret Story Valentine. You will then send them an email by February 19 with a family-friendly story they can tell. Keep an eye on your email for your tellable tale. That's it! It's free, easy, and fun. All participants are guaranteed a story, whether from the person who draws your name or from the SAM board.
Story Circle open mics continue into 2022
When SAM hosted its first online open mic in April 2020, in response to the sudden shuttering of storytelling venues because of the rapidly spreading COVID virus, we never imagined we’d still be gathering on Zoom so many months later. But…. here we are…. still sharing stories over the internet as we wrap up 2021 and head into 2022. Our monthly sessions now bring together many regular participants as well as newcomers in a welcoming virtual venue.
We welcome all sorts of stories, 7 minutes in length or shorter. There’s no theme and no judging. If you’re a seasoned storyteller, the SAM Story Circle is a great place to try out a new tale. If you’re new to storytelling, you’ll find an appreciative and supportive audience. And if you just like listening to stories in a casual setting, the SAM Story Circle is for you too—because what could be more informal than your own home?
Tickets are free, though we request donations to support SAM’s programs. Please register through Eventbrite:
December 28, 2021 - 7-8 pm Central Time
January 25, 2022 - 7-8 pm Central Time
Tellabration!™ concert video available
The video of SAM’s Tellabration!™ story concert, featuring eight SAM members and a range of story genres and styles, is now available for viewing at https://www.storyartsmn.org/tellabration-2021
Nov 23 - Bring your stories and listening ears to our open mic Story Circle!
Every fourth Tuesday of the month, 7-8pm Central Time, SAM hosts an online open mic Story Circle. It’s free of charge and open to everyone, but you must sign up in advance to get the login.
Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sam-online-story-circle-tickets-196056027857
Email us at storyartsmn@gmail.com to reserve a spot to tell, or put your name in the virtual hat during the program. There is no theme and all story genres are allowed. We welcome both experienced and new storytellers. Please provide a content warning if your story might be challenging for listeners, and please let others know whether they have permission to retell it. Stories should be 7 minutes or shorter.
Don't have a story to share? Just bring your listening ears and viewing eyes and be the audience. Everyone is welcome!
Nov 21 - NSN North Central Region online Tellabration!™ Open House
Minnesota is going all out for TELLABRATION!™ this month! After SAM’s online story concert on Saturday November 20, log on again on Sunday November 21 for the National Storytelling Network North Central Region Tellabration!™ Open House!
Let’s share stories from across the North Central Region on Sunday, November 21 from noon-8:00 pm CST (1:00-9:00 pm EST). This is an Open House, so feel free to drop in for any or all of it. Minnesotan tellers Beverly Cottman, Howard Lieberman, Carol McCormick, Richard Rousseau, and Sue Searing will be on from 6:00-7:00 pm CST. Another Minnesotan teller, Katie Knutson, currently president of the National Storytelling Network, will be the emcee.
This is a free Zoom event with a maximum of 100 people at any one time. Audience members and tellers can come and go all day as long as there is room. Everyone MUST register here:
http://tiny.cc/NCRegionTellabration
While this is a free event, we are asking those who are able to please make a voluntary donation to the National Storytelling Network.
Have you never joined NSN, or has your membership lapsed? Check out our website, see what’s going on, think about joining or renewing:
Nov 20 Tellabration!™ tellers announced
Eight master storytellers, all members of Story Arts of MN, join our TELLABRATION!™, the annual international celebration of storytelling!
SAM is taking part in the multi-venue celebration of storytelling that the National Storytelling Network (NSN) spearheads every November. Log in to watch eight talented SAM members showcase a range of stories and telling styles. Professional teller Carol McCormick will host the show and an audience Q&A afterwards. The featured tellers are
Pat Coffie
Danielle Daniel
Erin Johnston
Howard Lieberman
Carol McCormick
Gwendolyn Napier
Laura Packer
Richard Rousseau
Registration for the SAM Tellabration!™ story concert is free. But since it's a fundraiser for SAM, we hope you'll make a generous donation, based on what you feel this evening of stories is worth. There will be opportunities to donate during and after the show.
(And if that’s not enough high-quality storytelling for you, the very next day is the North Central Region of the NSN’s online TELLABRATION!™. Five Minnesotan tellers will be featured from 6-7pm CST. Details will be announced soon.)
Oct 26 - Story Circle open mics resume
The pandemic continues and colder weather is arriving, so we're re-starting our virtual open mics for storytellers. SAM Story Circles will once again take place on the fourth Tuesday of the month on Zoom, 7-8pm Central Time. Sign up in advance to receive the Zoom link. Admission remains free, although we'll give you an option to donate, because your generosity will help support our online programming this fall and winter.
Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sam-online-story-circle-tickets-195234019207
Email us at storyartsmn@gmail.com to reserve a spot to tell, or put your name in the virtual hat during the program. There is no theme and all story genres are allowed. We welcome both experienced and new storytellers. Please provide a content warning if your story might be challenging for listeners, and please let others know whether they have permission to retell it. Stories should be 7 minutes or shorter.
Don't have a story to share? Just bring your listening ears and viewing eyes and be the audience. Everyone is welcome!
By Oct 29 - SAM members invited to apply to tell stories at online Tellabration™
Apply to tell at Tellabration™ 2021!
StoryArts of MN (SAM) is hosting a virtual TELLABRATION!™ concert on Saturday November 20 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM and we invite YOU to apply!
Six tellers will share 10 to 13 minute stories appropriate for people over 12.
The theme is "Trials and Triumphs."
This is a SAM fundraiser so tellers will be volunteering their talent with our gratitude.
Tellers’ names will be publicized on the SAM website, social media, a PDF flyer, and in a SAM press release.
Tellers will receive a Press Release template they can post on social media or send to their local news media.
Tellers must be current members of SAM and have internet capability for ZOOM.
There will be a Q & A and social time following the storytelling.
If you wish to be considered as a Teller, please send Carol McCormick mccobuch@comcast.net by Friday October 29th:
A short summary of your story.
Source of story and genre (folk, fairy, personal, historic, fictional, original creation) as well as permission to tell if not traditional or original. (We aim to showcase a variety of story genres and telling styles.)
Timed length of story or stories.
2-3 sentence Bio.
Online link to your telling or endorsement by a storytelling coach/teacher.
A headshot and a link to your website if appropriate.
Oct 16 - SAM at the Twin Cities Book Festival
Stop by our exhibit table to chat with SAM members and authors, purchase books about storytelling and collections of original and retold tales, and enjoy the lively and magical meeting of the spoken and the written word. Register for raffle prizes!
Visit the festival website, https://twincitiesbookfestival.com/, for the full schedule of events and list of exhibitors. The festival is produced by Rain Taxi Review.
Saturday, October 16
10:00 AM 5:00 PM
Progress Center and Fine Arts Buildings, Minnesota State Fairgrounds, 1265 Snelling Avenue North, Saint Paul, MN, 55108
Sept 24 & 25 - Black Master Storytellers Online Festival
Opportunities abound at the Twin Cities Book Festival
Story Arts of Minnesota will be at the Twin Cities Book Festival on October 16, 2021, and we want to include you! How does this work? We have a table at the Festival. We'd love to include books, recordings, and other items from SAM members and friends. This is a great opportunity to get your storytelling-related materials in front of interested Twin Cities audiences.
What are the opportunities and how do I sign up?
We're offering SAM members and friends these opportunities at the book festival:
Sell your storytelling books and recordings at the fair. Send us five copies of your storytelling related materials and we will include them for sale on our table. SAM will take a 5% fee from non-members to cover fair expenses. Want to avoid the fee? All you need to do is join SAM here. There's more information including how to get us your items here.
Add your storytelling book or recording to our raffle basket(s). We will be raffling off one or more baskets of storytelling items. SAM members and friends may donate one item to this high-visibility basket. There's more information including how to get us your item here.
Add your storytelling resources to our fair handout here. Please note, we are limiting this handout to one page, so no submissions are guaranteed placement. All submissions, including any items we can't include in the paper handout, will be sent in a special email to fair participants who sign up at our table.
Join us at the SAM table for a two hour shift. This gives you admission to the rest of the fair and helps us out, plus the SAM board is a charming group of people to hang out with. The TCBF requires proof of a vaccination or a negative COVID test and indoor mask usage. Find out more and sign up here.
Every Postcard is an Invitation for a Story! SAM's mail-a-story project creates summer fun.
Do you like sending or receiving postcards? Story Arts of Minnesota is offering a fun way to do that and tell a story at the same time. Here’s how it works:
1) You can send an email with your (US Government approved) post office address and the number 1 or 3 to niemistory@aol.com and if you want you can add “personal” or “traditional”.
2) That email to niemistory@aol.com needs to be sent by Thursday, June 24th.
3) If you choose 1 – you will get one postcard in the mail with a story on it. If you choose 3 – you will get three postcards in the mail - one with a story, one for you to send back with your own story and one to send on to someone else. If you mark your email as “personal” you will get artist/photo cards. If you mark your email as “traditional” you will get (now antique) 20th Century commercial postcards.
4) If you are sending a story card back, you should send it by Monday, July 12th to
Story Arts of Minnesota
PO Box 581154
Minneapolis, MN 55458
5) Then on Thursday, July 22nd, at 7:00 PM Central time, Story Arts of Minnesota will host a Zoom session in which we read your stories. The Zoom link will be sent to everyone who registers for a card or anyone who includes an email address on the card they send in.
6) Also, please, feel free to invite other friends (and even foes) to participate in this “mail story” project.
By April 15 - Join, renew or donate to win professional story coaching or story performance by Laura Packer or Loren Niemi
Become a member, renew your membership, or make an additional donation by April 15 and be entered in a raffle for a coaching session/stories and books by Loren Niemi or Laura Packer, experienced storytelling coaches with over half a century of experience between them.
Loren Niemi has received the National Storytelling Network's Lifetime Achievement Award and is the author of many books, including his latest, Point of View and the Emotional Arc of Stories.
Laura Packer is a member of the National Storytelling Network's Circle of Excellence and is the author of From Audience to Zeal: The ABC's of Finding, Crafting, and Telling a Great Story.
Story Arts of Minnesota imagines a society in which storytellers are recognized for their ability to provide a relevant, inspiring and transformative service to individuals and the community through the art and craft of spoken narrative. We are continually working to make that society more of a reality and your support makes it possible. Please join, renew, or donate today!
Black Storytellers Festival - Online, April 10th, 17th, 25th
The Black Storytellers Alliance presents its annual festival, Signifyin’ and Testifyin’, over three weekends this month — and online for all to safely enjoy. Find more information at www.blackstorytellers.com.
View the free events at https://vimeo.com/event/777932.
Telling the Tale, April 17 - a workshop with Liz Weir
Story Arts is thrilled to welcome Liz Weir to lead our monthly workshop in April. Liz is an Irish storyteller with an international reputation, having shared her tales on five continents in a career spanning almost fifty years. Liz loves to breathe life into traditional tales and a lot of her favorite stories are firmly rooted in Irish folklore.
In this workshop she will consider important aspects of telling traditional stories including story selection, developing an authentic voice and cultural appropriation. You'll also hear about fairies, banshees, and selkies! To accommodate the time zone difference, we’re taking a break from our usual second-Tuesday-of-the-month evening schedule. Liz’s workshop will be held on Saturday, April 17, noon-1:30.
This event is open to everyone via Zoom teleconferencing. After registering, you'll receive an email message with the Zoom link.
Registration is free, although donations are appreciated to support SAM's virtual programming. The suggested donation is $10.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
The Role of the Storyteller Today, March 9: A Conversation with Jack Zipes
Acclaimed storyteller Loren Niemi will engage renowned scholar Jack Zipes in a conversation about the role of the storyteller today. Among the topics they plan to discuss is the role of the storyteller in enabling school children to become storytellers of their own lives. Dr. Zipes will also share his enthusiam for doing research into the history of forgotten writers and illustrators--a practice that can reward any storyteller. And who knows where else the conversation may lead?
Jack Zipes is Professor Emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota. In addition to his scholarly work, he is an active storyteller in public schools, founded Neighborhood Bridges at the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, and has written fairy tales for children and adults. Some of his recent publications include: The Irresistible Fairy Tale: The Cultural and Social History of a Genre (2012), The Golden Age of Folk and Fairy Tales: From the Brothers Grimm to Andrew Lang (2013), and Grimm Legacies: The Magic Power of Fairy Tales (2014). Most recently he has published The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: An Anthology of Magical Tales (2017), Tales of Wonder: Retelling Fairy Tales through Picture Postcards (2017), Fearless Ivan and His Faithful Horse Double-Hump (2018), The Hundred Riddles of the Fairy Bellaria (2018), and Slap-Bam, The Art of Governing Men: Édouard Laboulaye’s Political Fairy Tales (2018). In 2019, he founded his own press called Little Mole and Honey Bear and has published The Giant Ohl and Tiny Tim (2019), Johnny Breadless (2020), Yussuf the Ostrich (2020), and Keedle the Great and All You Want to Know about Fascism (2020).
Loren Niemi began as a “child fibber” but soon realized he was less interested in telling lies than in improving the truth... He is an innovative storyteller, poet and the author of What Haunts Us, the 2020 winner of the Midwest Book Award for “Sci-Fi / Horror / Fantasy / Paranormal” fiction as well as the award winning The New Book of Plots and Point of View and the Emotional Arc of Stories on structuring narratives, and the critically acclaimed Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult Stories. Loren is a member of the Story Arts board of directors and outgoing chair of the National Storytelling Network.
This event is open to everyone via Zoom teleconferencing. After registering, you'll receive an email message with the Zoom link.
Registration is free, although donations are appreciated to support SAM's virtual programming. The suggested donation is $10.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Feb. 17, noon - StoryFest 2021 proposals due
StoryFest 2021 Needs You!
Planning is underway for our next StoryFest in May 2021, so SAM is looking for tellers and workshop presenters and innovative thinkers with networking ideas! Take a look at our call for proposals, polish those stories and workshops and event ideas, and get them to us ASAP. Your voices and expertise are what makes StoryFest a great event, and we hope you will join us.
Call for Stories and Workshop Leaders StoryFest 2021
Although we don’t have a specific theme this year (we think that will emerge with the submissions), we would like you to think about where we all are in 2021 and along the lines of ‘betwixt and between’ and “from here to there”.
Workshop Leaders needed for StoryFest 2021
May 10 – 15, 2021 online
Do you have a workshop idea that would motivate and elevate voices? Or for ways of working in our new ‘normal’? Do you have storytelling workshop ideas for teachers or other online facilitators? Be as creative as you like with what you feel would benefit us at this time. We have maximum workshop times of 90 minutes this year due to the online format. You do not have to use the full 90 minutes – please specify your workshop time in your application. We are looking for at least one storytelling workshop for beginning storytellers. A small stipend will be given to all workshop presenters. Submit your workshop proposals by noon on February 17th to storyartsmn@gmail.com, write "StoryFest 2021 Workshop Proposal" in the subject line. Please include your goal or learning objective and what you are going to do to meet that objective.
Storytellers needed for StoryFest 2021
May 10-15, 2021 online
Do you have a story about overcoming a challenge? How about a folktale that allowed you to see someone in a different light? A time that humor brought you back from the brink of despair? Or a time when a simple gesture allowed you to move on? What about a story that brings hope to the younger set? We’re interested in stories about where we are, how we got here and where we are going —be it personal narrative or folk tales, please submit the story you want to share. We are interested in both stories of how you got to where you are OR the story that helped your journey. There is no set theme and these are suggestions. We hope to host at least one event specifically for children (ages 3-12). Send an email with a short summary of your (up to) 8-minute story by noon on February 17th, to storyartsmn@gmail.com, write “StoryFest 2021 Concert Submission” in the subject line. Please include a few sentences about your storytelling and performance experience.
Networking Events needed for StoryFest 2021!
This year we are putting out an additional call – for innovative events to facilitate online networking at StoryFest. More than ever, we are hearing calls for networking and ‘joining together’. How can we get to know one another better and laugh and relax? We want this to be fun! It could be an online game for participants, an idea for conversation starters, a communal activity: wherever your imagination takes you. We would like proposals from presenters for 30-minute events and up to 90-minute events. If you have an idea but would prefer not to present the event yourself, please still let us know. Please indicate the length of your event proposal. Send an email with a short summary of your event proposal by noon on February 17th, to storyartsmn@gmail.com, write “StoryFest 2021 Event Submission” in the subject line.
Important information for all submissions:
Priority will be given to tellers/presenters who are members of Story Arts of Minnesota (click here to join: https://www.storyartsmn.org/support-sam ).
We particularly welcome applications from under-represented voices. Please read our Commitment to Racial Justice at https://www.storyartsmn.org/ Please indicate on your application if you identify as BIPOC or other under-represented voice.
A small stipend is available for all tellers and presenters, regardless of location, however MN state funding requires us to not use grant money for out-of-state performances. This means that in-state tellers/presenters might receive a higher stipend than out of state tellers.
Any questions?
Please reach out to us at storyartsmn@gmail.com
Digging Up the Past, Feb. 9: A Conversation on Telling Family Stories
Robin Bady, Les Kurkendaal-Barrett, and Chelley McLear will share their experiences of mining their family's legends and sorting fact from fiction to shape tellable stories. There will be time for audience questions.
This event is open to everyone via Zoom teleconferencing. Learn more about our three amazing panelits and re-register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/digging-up-the-past-a-conversation-on-telling-family-stories-tickets-133774622497. After registering, you'll receive an email message with the Zoom link.
Registration is free, although donations are appreciated to support SAM's virtual programming. The suggested donation is $10.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Story Pop! Jan. 12 workshop with Allison Broeren
Story Arts’ monthly online workshops continue in 2021. Join us on January 12 for Story Pop!
Do you think you're out of stories? Are you listening to a story and it's reminding you of that one time that... Do you marvel when somebody gets on stage and adjusts their story to fit the night just perfectly? Join Allison Broeren, queen of hosting storytelling shows and coming up with stories on the fly, for a session on finding inspiration, and taking it a step further, turning it into a story!
This event is open to everyone via Zoom teleconferencing. After registering, you'll receive an email message with the Zoom link.
Registration is free, although donations are appreciated to support SAM's virtual programming. The suggested donation is $10.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Telling Tales from Norway, Dec. 8 : Trolls, Nisse and other Delights
Nasjonalbiblioteket / National Library of Norway
As the winter holidays draw near in Minnesota, look for red-hatted nisse decorating table tops, store windows, and Christmas trees. Do you know the stories behind these much-loved figures? Lise Lunge-Larsen will combine storytelling with folklore and legends about the origins of the Norwegian trolls and other mythological beings that populate Scandinavian folklore. You will learn how they interact with humans, why they are particularly active during the the equinoxes and solstices, and most importantly, how to trick a troll! There will be ample time for questions and answers at the end of this one-hour program.
This event is suitable for all ages and is open to everyone via Zoom teleconferencing. After registering, you'll receive an email message with the Zoom link.
Registration is free, although donations are appreciated to support SAM's virtual programming. The suggested donation is $10 per family.
Lise Lunge-Larsen
Born and raised in Norway, Lise Lunge-Larsen came to the US on a scholarship to attend college. She planned to return to Norway but fell in love, married and remained in the US where, in addition to teaching at the college level, she has become a well-known storyteller and award-winning author. She and her husband have three children and live in Duluth, MN where she is known as “The Troll Lady.” Learn more about Lise at liselungelarsen.com/
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.