Megan Hicks

As a self-proclaimed Teller-Without-a-Niche, Megan dives heart-first into every story she tells – fairy tale, personal story, American history, parody, ghost & horror, humor – and magically, her listeners are happy to follow.

She performs throughout the United States, and she recently completed a month-long tour of China, adding a fourth continent – Asia – to her international storytelling credits.

Her awards include a Parents’ Choice® Silver for the CD, “What Was Civil About That War…” which was also a 2005 Finalist for an Audies® award in the category of Best Original Work. She received the Parents’ Guide to Children’s Media Award and Storytelling World Honor for “Groundhogs Meet Grimm,” a collection of her original parodies that was also tapped for Honors by NAPPA. Her collection of fairy tales – “No Tricks. Just Magic” – received a Storytelling World Award, as did her recording "Like You're Really There: Megan Hicks Live at Jonesborough."

Megan is a sought-after workshop presenter and seminar leader, with credits ranging from storytelling festivals and conferences across the U.S., bi-lingual schools in Latin America and China, libraries in Australia and New Zealand, juvenile detention centers, and the FBI Academy.

Learn more about Megan Hicks
 

Donald Davis

Donald’s long career as a storyteller and his promotion of the cultural importance of storytelling through seminars and master classes has led him to be dubbed the “dean of storytelling”. Donald Davis was born in a Southern Appalachian mountain world rich in stories. While he heard many traditional stories about Jack and other heroic characters, he was most attracted to the stories of his own family and places of origin. Davis begin retelling the stories he heard and then adding his own new stories to them until he was repeatedly asked to "tell it again, on purpose."

During his twenty-five year career as a United Methodist Minister, Davis began to use stories more and more. He was also asked to begin performing at festivals and in other settings until he retired from the church to tell stories full time.

The author of eighteen books and more than forty original recordings, Davis is the recipient of both the Circle of Excellence and the Lifetime Achievement Awards from the National Storytelling Network.

Learn more about Donald Davis

Paul Strickland

Paul Strickland is a professional storyteller and theatre artist who lives in Kentucky. He has well over 7 hours of unique family friendly stories in his repertoire. 
Paul was an Exchange Place Teller at the National Storytelling Festival in 2018 and in November of 2018 he made his NYC stage debut Off-Broadway at the SoHo Playhouse with his shadow and flashlight ghost story play "13 Dead Dreams of "Eugene." 
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He is a featured teller at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival in September of 2023, and has been a featured teller at several major storytelling festivals, including the Cave Run Storytelling Festival, in 2022.
 
Always adapting to whatever audience is in front of him, Paul LOVES telling stories in every imaginable environment, from comedy clubs to elementary and middle schools, corporate events and even two prisons - where he was NOT an inmate at the time.  Collections of his stories have won "Best of Fest" honors more than 16 times at Fringe Theatre Festivals in the US and Canada.

Selections from his comedy performance "Levels of Difficulty" are still played nearly every day on SiriusXM radio.

Learn more about Paul Strickland


 

Kim Weitkamp

Kim Weitkamp grew up in Amish Country as the middle child of exhausted parents. Labeled by teachers as high-spirited, uncooperative and too talkative, Kim took those comments and channeled them into a lifetime of high-energy, heartfelt and hilarious artistry. We are better for it. 
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She is an award winning storyteller, author, singer-songwriter and humorist. After using applied storytelling in her work with adjudicated and at risk youth for 12 years, Kim took a turn onto a different avenue of story and song which led her down the path of full time touring for the last 15 years where she gathered an armload of awards.
 
She performs regularly at festivals and theaters around the country, has written a well received folk operetta and has been a guest editor and contributor for various publications.  Kim's material gets regular airplay on Sirius XM and NPR Affiliate Stations.
 
She has 8 award winning albums, has produced and/or designed  32 albums for other performers and has  hosted a morning show for a DOVE Award winning radio network. She has been honored with leadership and speaking awards for her coaching/speaking work with internationally known companies like  Purina, Leibherr, Grifols, and Edward Jones as well as nationally recognized non-profits like, Feeding America, Habitat for Humanity and Conflict Resolution Centers.  She is ranked as one of the top 20 business coaches in the Columbus, Ohio region by Influence Digest,  teaching the power of story to help  grow organizations and build teams.  
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There...now you know all of the hoopla. But what is it that really matters to Kim?  I asked her:
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"Story is at the foundation of all I do. Whether I am making an audience laugh, writing a new song or presenting a keynote, story is the springboard for each and every step I take.  I share and teach the art of storytelling with great intention. Why? Because I have witnessed, firsthand, its incredible power."

Learn more about Kim Weitkamp