Our History

Historical West Virginia Storytelling Guild materials are archived at the Frank and Jane Gabor Folklife Center at Fairmont State University and the West Virginia and Regional History Collection at West Virginia University.

The West Virginia Storytelling Guild has been a part of the state’s culture since October 1996, when the very first West Virginia Storytelling Festival was held at Jackson’s Mill, West Virginia.

Prior to that, the storytellers of West Virginia were working hard to keep the cultural art of storytelling from slipping into the oblivion of time.  Through their hard work, a time-honed craft has been saved for future generations.

For more than a dozen years, guild members continued to share stories at the Mill and then have become annual presenters at Vandalia in Charleston, WV Folk Festival in Glenville, storytelling Festival in Moundsville, WV State Art and Craft Fair in Ripley, various Tellebrations! throughout the state, and more recently, Augusta in Elkins. Our guild is continuing to expand appearances at the Appalachian Festival in Frostburg, as well as emerging festivals across West Virginia.

The First Festival
The very first West Virginia Storytelling Festival took place on October 11-13, 1996.  The festival included three main storytelling locations – the Assembly Hall, the West Virginia Building, and the Tent on the Green. There were a total of 38 storytellers from all over the state and the Appalachian region.  They told stories from many genres, including stories with music, ethnic and cultural stories, ghost tales, urban and classic legends, oral histories, fairy tales, jack tales, nature fables, Chautaqua performances, and of course a performance by the State Liar’s Contest Winner.

Since then, we have grown to 50 members from 6 states including Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and of course West Virginia. We are a diverse group who come to storytelling from different angles. Some of us perform stories on a regular basis at places such as schools, libraries, churches, festivals, and civic organizations, to name a few.  Then there are those of us who like to share stories within the context of our careers. We are librarians, teachers, school counselors, business people, youth workers, and ministers. Most importantly we are listeners.  We love to attend storytelling events as often as possible to hear tales spun by others. Without us listeners, there would be no one to hear the stories.

To sum it up, the West Virginia Storytelling Guild shares stories, teaches storytelling and grows new storytellers and story listeners. We honor those who provide outstanding service and recognition to storytelling in our state. We keep traditions alive and foster new growth.

As weavers of words in the oral tradition, we are proud to represent West Virginia’s rich storytelling culture.