National Storytelling Network
The National Storytelling Network is an American national storytelling organization.
Mission
The National Storytelling Network brings together and supports individuals and organizations that use the power of story in all its forms. They advocate for the preservation and growth of the art of storytelling. [1]
Vision
Connecting people to and through storytelling. [1]
History
The organization began when many people had forgotten what it was like to hear a story. One day in October 1975, in a small town in Tennessee, people gathered to hear and to tell stories, then take them back to their own communities. Kathryn Windham, a journalist and storyteller, slapped down $5 and said, “We need a membership organization, and I’m the first member.” [1]
Windham was the first of many members who formed the organization, initially named the National Association for the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling. The early efforts of NAPPS centered on producing that annual festival. But, the members quickly expanded their scope. They created festivals and events all over the country. Storytelling spread to schools, libraries, national and state parks, corporations and non-profits, churches and places of physical and psychic healing, coffee shops and nightspots. [1]
The National Storytelling Network is now a fifty-state community of storytellers who bring storytelling into diverse settings across the United States. The National Storytelling Conference is NSN’s vehicle for bringing this national community together once a year. Like their members, the conference moves about the country, providing an array of workshops for new initiates and longtime storytellers to network and hone their skills. Today, 1,600 individuals and affiliated organizations comprise the National Storytelling Network. [1]
NSN has recently relocated to the more central location of Kansas City, Missouri. Their new home facilitates member engagement and allows them to develop synergies that will further NSN’s national presence within arts communities at all levels. The burgeoning, vibrant arts center of Kansas City, with its airport hub, offers them an important partnership with the award-winning Mid-Continent Public Library System, and its newly founded Story Center. [1]
This move expands NSN’s reach, as it continues to support many festivals, and fosters the growth of storytelling in education, organizations, healing arts, and beyond, with new venues and new audiences. Their creative and innovative members are the bedrock of the organization, sharing their wisdom and expertise, encouraging excellence, and exploring new and creative paths in storytelling. [1]