GREAT SOURCE FOR ALL VIEWERS Creative Sites Media (CSM) created this site and the administration tool used to keep it maintained by Dr. Lockett. For web-based online software, eCommerce solutions and web design, check out www.csm.cc Looking to buy The Normal Storyteller's CDs on Line? Also look for CD Baby's site at www.cdbaby.com Or look for them by name at Amazon.com GREAT CHOICES FOR STORYTELLING AND STORYTELLERS  National Christian Storytelling Conference - Press the button at the left to learn more about the Fifth Annual National Christian Storytelling Conference in Georgetown, Kentucky.  This year's conference is set for June 16-18.  Fifteen national and international storytellers will be meeting to guide each other, learn from each other and to share with attendees the joy of being able to bring God's word to the masses through storytelling. The National Storytelling Network Bringing together and nurturing individuals and organizations that use the power of storytelling in all its forms. Check out their website at www.storynet.org This organization connects storytellers all across the United States. Members can contact one another through the use of Storynet , an on line source of storytelling events, storytelling websites and information. The National Storytelling Network sponsors the annual nation-wide storytelling Tellebrations held annually in November in many cities. The two largest events sponsored by the network are the National Storytelling Conference and the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. The festival is held annually during the first full weekend of October. It is one of the premier festivals in America. The National Storytelling Network (NSN) Also maintains a National Storytelling Directory and a fairly comprehensive list of Guilds and Organizations for storytelling. Contact Information: National Storytelling Network, 132 Boone Street, Suite 5, Jonesborough, TN 37659; 1-800-525-4514; fax: 423-753-9331. Storytelling Magazine Published four times a by the NSN. It contains articles and stories about telling stories and information storytellers. A calendar of storytelling events and conferences around the nation appears in each issue along with numerous advertisements of tellers and publications. Professional Storyteller Special Website created by Dianne de Las Casas.  The site allows storytellers to communicate regularly with others to exchange ideas and information.  The general public can view teller's websites and learn what's happening in the world of storytelling.  You can visit Dr. Lockett's site on Professional Storyteller at http://professionalstoryteller.ning.com/profile/MikeLockett . Northlands Storytelling Network Northlands serves storytellers and storytelling enthusiasts in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and also welcomes those from other states. It is a charitable and educational organization dedicated to encouraging and expanding storytelling in ways that allow all people to understand and share the benefits of this art. Evidence of the compassionate service this group provides can be seen with the Katrina Storytelling Efforts. Read about it at the Blog The Northlands website is www.northlands.net Northlands hosts an annual conference at the end of April each year that is highly popular for storytellers in the area.   The Storytelling Ring This is a website created by storyteller and author Heather Forest . It is full of great content, lesson plans & activities, classroom tools, articles, libraries, curriculum ideas and exchange and other resources. The ring will allow you to visit other sites on the Internet that are dedicated to the art of storytelling. Each site in the ring is connected to the others in a daisy-chain. This allows the user to easily go from one to another and back to the first by simply clicking on the NEXT button on each site. On the way, you should find "The Normal Storyteller" here . The Network Of Biblical Storytellers - NOBS This site will help you contact Christian storytellers across the U.S. and around the world. In addition, the site lists programs and festivals related to Biblical Storytelling. Illinois Storytelling, Inc. The Illinois Storytelling Festival is alive and well! The most recent festival was held on Sunday, August 14, 2005! Save August 13, 2006 for this year's festival. The event is held anually in McHenry, Illinois (next to the Wisconsin border). The festival was started by and is still supported by storyteller Jim May. Low cost ? high quality ? tons of fun might be ways to describe this festival. I am only a newcomer to this group - but look forward to being among friends when I attend their gatherings. You can learn more about the festival by contacting the event organizers at www.storytelling.org Effective Storytelling - Manual for Beginners and The Art of Storyteling These are two of a number of sites created by a gentleman named Barry McWilliams. I have visited the sites on a number of occasions with delight that accompanies any new discovery. The sites are filled with ideas about how to tell stories, storytelling resources, and lists of other storytelling sites one can visit. You can reach McWilliams' site here and The Art of Storytelling . Art-Links-Directory - a directory for arts of many fifferent types across the United States. http://www.art-links-directory.com/ The International Storytelling Center Located in Jonesborough, Tennessee. The center is a great resource for finding stories, storytellers, and storytelling programs. You can reach the center at www.storytellingcenter.com The center features storytellers in residence during much of the year. Storyteller.net    Sean Bulava has developed a wonderful site with articles, storytellers, storytelling products and more.  Sean hosts some excellent podcasts and online workshops about storytelling The site is  http://www.storyteller.net/   Mike Lockett is listed at http://www.storyteller.net/tellers/mlockett  on the site. Tim Shephard's Storytelling Links for Storytellers This site is probably one of the largest collections of storytelling resources on the internet. The resources listed are categorized and organized for easy reference. The web address for Tim's site can be found here . Youth, Educators, and Storytellers (YES!)  Alliance is a Special Interest Group of the National Storytelling Network.  The Purpose of the group is twofold: 1) to promote youth storytelling and 2) to encourage educators and other adults to use storytelling with youth as an educational tool in classrooms and in other settings. Enoch Pratt Free Library - Storytelling Online From 2002 through the present, the Enoch Pratt Free Library system has collected multicultural stories and made them available on line 24/7 where adults and children can listen to good, clean family-oriented stories from some of the top tellers in the country. Happy listening if you visit this site here . Etcetera This is an odd site I came across while surfing the net. The owner rewrote stories to read to his/her son. The stories are a combinatin of public domain fairy tales and myths. The re-writes are fun to read. This resource is great for parents or educators who want to find clean, enjoyable material on the web. Visit their site here . Twin City Tale Spinners The group currently has no site to visit. However, feel free to join them on the third Thursday of each month at the Normal Public Library in Normal, Illinois (Fell Streel and College Avenue) for storytelling and storytelling coaching sessions. Guests are always welcome. For questions about the group, contact me here . The Twin City Talespinner Site is coming soon at www.twincitytalespinners.org    WEBSITES FOR FINDING GOOD CHILDREN'S BOOKS and REVIEWS    The Reading Tub The Reading Tub is a volunteer-driven, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting reading and literacy. Jump in to find great books you and your children will love to share, and learn about ways to encourage your child's love of reading.the group.  The Reading Tub staff has reviewed Dr. Lockett's Books.  Go to The Reading Tub.  Stories for Children Magazine    Stories for Children Magazine is an online Ezine for children ages 3 to 12 years old.  Each issue includes fun stories and articles based on age-appropriate reading levels.  The magazine also includes puzzles, games, children's book reviews, crafts and poems to inspire the imagination.  Stories for Children has reviewed several of Dr. Lockett's children's bookls.  He and other children's authors are known to stop by, hoping to make new friends along the journey into the World of Ink.    WEBSITES FOR MY STORYTELLING FRIENDS Mike Anderson  is a storyteller, musician and a long-time educator.  He just retired from teaching third grade in Jacksonville Illinois. Mike owns the MUSIC WORKS in Jacksonville, Illinois.  He was the chief organizer of the New Salem Storytelling Event for years in Illinois and still is active with the Illinois Dulcimer Festival in Morris, IL. Contact Mike Anderson at PO Box 35, Jacksonville, IL 62651, 217-245-2207, You won't go wrong booking Mike for school assemblies or program of any kind. I have been able to share the stage with Mike at the Illinois Reading Conference and the Illinois Young Authors' Conference. You can see some of the zany talents he can bring to any audience by visiting www.dulcimerguy.com Beauty and the Beast Storytellers - Mitch Weiss and Martha Hamilton are well know in storytelling circles for their work with young storytellers.  I learned about their storytelling while touring Taiwan.  They had been booked by the same company that hired me and had made several successful tours of that lovely island nation.  Their books are a "must read" for anyone who wants to tell stories in schools or with young audiences.  Contact Mitch and Martha at 954 Coddington Road in     Ithaca, NY 14850, Phone: (607) 277-0016, E-mail: info@beautyandthebeaststorytellers.com   Their website is at http://www.beautyandthebeaststorytellers.com/index.html Jackie Baldwin is the host of Story-Lovers World - a radio program for storytellers in Sanoma, California.  She is an award winning storyteller and an outstanding performer.  She serves the storytelling world by hosting a weekly radio program that is web streamed across the internet.  The following link will connect you to more information in an article about Jackie.  http://www.story-lovers.com/jackie.html   Jackie and storyteller, Kate dudding, collaborated to write a book about storytelling in schools.  The book is on line at http://www.storynet-advocacy.org/edu/how-to/   to help educators learn what is happening with storytelling in education around the United States.  Listings of Jackie's radio programs can be seen at http://www.story-lovers.com/radioprogramlistings.html Karen Chace is a popular New England storyteller.  I have been fortunate enough to meet her at Northlands and at LANES (The League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling) and share her interest in storytelling.  Her website is www.storybug.net   Karen is the author of the CD-Rom Researching Stories on the Internet: A Webliography of Storytelling Resources.  She is a contributing author to A Beginning Guide to StorytellingTelling Stories to Children, two publications by the National Storytelling Network.  she also is a regular contributor to Storytelling Magazine.  Karen welcomes other storytellers to contact her with questions or when you have good information to share with the storytelling world.  and Michael Forestieri  is a storyteller/storyeducator from Bear Delaware.  He is a Christian storyteller and has been a features presenter and workshop leader at the National Christian Storytelling Conference in Illinois.  Michael makes and plays Celtic harps as a part of his work in the fork arts.  You can contact him at P.O. Box 1602, Bear, DE, 19701-1602, (302) 836-5966  Email  michael@tellitlikeitis.com    Mike's site is at http://www.tellitlikeitis.org/home.html Bryan Fox Ellis  is a former classroom teacher who now tells stories and gives workshops full-time.Although a gifted teller in many areas, some of his favorite stories are river stories and stories about ecology. He can be seen each week telling his tales on steamboats up and down the Illinois River. "Fox" is an author as well as an accomplished storyteller. He is frequently found at teacher conferences, teaching educators to use stories in the classroom. I have had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Bryan on many occasions and have worked with Bryan and others to produce a video of "Tales from Around the World." Fox is currently acting as the host on The Search for America's Greatest Storyteller TV Pilot. Bryan is also a playwright and had successfully produced a number of successful storytelling-related plays. He is very active in developing new programs for Three Sister's Park - a wonderful rural area that is trying to preserve the history of farming in early America (just north of Chillocothe, IL.) Samples of his works and his programs are available, along with storytelling materials for classroom teachers, at www.foxtalesint.com Jeff Gere  TALK STORY RADIO has been airing every week on Hawaii Public Radio (Mondays @ 5:30 on KIPO, 89.3FM), KTUH (90.3FM Fridays @ 7am) and Maui's Mana'o Radio (90.3FM Sundays 10pm). Hosted by Jeff Gere, these half hour programs feature the tales and tellers of Hawaii and the Pacific Rim (and friends). After repeated attempts (learning), anyone with a computer can now go to  http://feeds.feedburner.com/TalkStoryRadio and download FREE any/all of these 8 Talk Story Radio shows! Please subscribe FREE! There will be many more shows coming, a few at a time, for a long time to come! YES! For comments and information, contact storyteller Jeff Gere at jeffgere@lava.net .  FYI - Jeff plays Mike Lockett's stories in Hawaiian Radio. Linda Gorham is a Chicago area teller. I have had the pleasure of hearing her present workshops and have heard her tell stories for a variety of audiences.  I enjoy her talents immensely. I have given programs at schools where Linda has given storytelling programs;  Each person who talked to me about her programs stated that they were very pleased with the high quality of her presentations.  This is an un-solicited recommendation on my part when I say that you will not go wrong when you book her. Linda is one of the board members of the Illinois Storytelling Festival and is active with Northlands Storytelling.  She is the co-author of Telling Stories to Children and has published a CD: Common Sense & Uncommon Fun . Hear it at: cdbaby.com/gorham. Please look up Linda on her website: www.lindagorham.com (630) 851-9415 Mary Jo Huff is a nationally known storyteller and puppeteer. she is also a national educational consultant for early childhood programs.  Looking at her schedule, you will see that she is always on the go and rarely in her home state of Indiana for very long at one time. She is the recording artist for three audio storytelling CDs and numerous books and materials you can find on her website. Her site is http://www.storytellin.com . I have been lucky enough to hear Mary Jo on several occasions and have become a friend of hers through the internet.  I can rely on good advice and usually a witty answer when I call on Mary Jo for advice.  You won't go wrong if you are looking for a teller for young children if you call on Mary Jo Huff. I look forward to hearing her many more times.  Mark Kater is the resident storyteller at the North Park Village Nature Center in Chicago. He leads storytelling Lstories at walk-abouts through the 46 acre preserve and coordinates other storytelling activities, including an after school storytelling program for children, festivals and annual Tellabration event. Mark tells stories exploring his Cherokee Indian heritage. He has programs for children and adults. His programs cover a wide range of topics and include original stories and retellings of myths, animal, nature, and folk tales from around the world. He is unique, as he has studied and taught both yoga and dance. His stories are filled with physical energy and movement that make him fun to watch as well as hear. You can find Mark at www.harmonyyogacenter.com and click on his storytelling bio. Marilyn Kinsella, aka Taleypo the Storyteller, lives in the St. Louis region of Illinois where she hones her craft as a storyteller. She shapes her stories with clever word imaging and sensual cues. She then breathes life into her creations by becoming animated and letting the characters' voices be heard. Whether she tells a folktale from far-off lands or stories from her own backyard in Fairview Heights, she tailors her programs to delight her audiences. Come and sit a spell as you meet Marilyn on her website at www.marilynkinsella.org  Marilyn is a member of the Riverwind Storytellers and works with the St. Louis Storytelling Festival Under the Arch.  She is the Illinois representative for Northlands Storytelling Network. Dan LeMonnier - The Banjo Man Christian storyteller and entertainer from Indiana.  He travelsthrough the Chicago area and throughout Indiana telling stories and entertaining audiences of all ages.  Dan is most famous as the former "Benny the Bull" from the Michael Jordan era with the Chicago Bulls.  He is a musician and motivational speaker.  Dan has entertained at the Smithsonian Institution in Wanshington DC and has been a keynote presenter at the National Christian Storytelling Conference in Illinois.  He is a member of NOBS - the Network of Biblical Storytellers.  Contact Dan at Banjotales.Com, 8540 Hawthorne Drive, Munster Indiana 46321-2020 (219)-923-5997 Email: dan@banjotales.com   Website: www.banjotales.com Margaret Read MacDonald is a storyteller, folklorist extraordinaire, author and children's librarian.  In her own words, she breathes life into traditional folktales, sharing them in exciting performances, using them to enable beginning storytellers, and publishing them in picture books and folktale collections.   She has traveled extensively across the world, collecting stories and sharing them with anyone who wants to read or tell stories.  Margaret is a rare storyteller who truly works to preserve stories by sharing them.  I have asked for permission to re-tell some of her versions of stories and have been given the permission without any hesitation.  Sharing like this is the best gift a storyteller can give.  Her sharing has helped her write more than 55 books for storytellers and educators everywhere to read and learn new tales.  Contact MRM at 11507 NE 104th Street, Kirkland, Washington 98033, USA, (425) 827-6430, Email mrm@margaretreadmacdonald.com   Her site is at http://www.margaretreadmacdonald.com/index.cfm John Walsh  is a Christian storyteller from central Illinois.He travels all across America and to other countries giving workshops to pastors and Sunday school teachers about "How to Tell An Effective Story." In February/March of 2006, John traveled to Thailand and Afghanistan to teach the skill of "Bible Telling" to missionaries in the two countries and will soon be traveling throughout Europe and Asia teaching storytelling to missionaries. John is the author The Art of Storytelling , published by Moody Bible Press (2004) and has written four books on Bible Telling , published by International Learning Solutions (2005 and 2006). John is one of the founding members of the Twin City Tale Spinners, a central Illinois group that meets monthly to share stories and provide coaching for local tellers. He is the founder of the International Christian Storytelling Network. You can reach John at www.christianstorytelling.com OTHER GREAT WEBSITES Everything you ever wanted to know about modern COPYRIGHT LAWS. The following site was recognized by the National Storytelling Network as being an outstanding site to use when learning about copyrights. It is important that we storytellers protect the intellectual freedoms of the writers and tellers who have come before us. But, it is equally as important that the stories of the past never be lost because someone is afraid to tell the traditional tales of the past. GET PERMISSION when it is necessary! GIVE CREDIT when possible. But, TELL STORIES from the past - lest they be forgotten forever. The site is produced by PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE, "The Public's Voice in the Digital Age." It is edited by David Bollier, Gigi Bradford, Laurie Racine and Gigi B. Sohn.