Performing Members of the Jonesborough Storytellers Guild This is a list of Jonesborough Storytellers Guild currently available storytellers, with information about what, how, where, and to whom they like to tell. Click the name to see a performer’s biography and contact information. For revisions and updates, email Webmaster
Introducing Samuel Smith, a fresh voice in the realm of Appalachian storytelling, hailing from the enchanting town of Mountain City, Tennessee. For the past 25 years, Samuel has dedicated himself to educating young minds as a high school Spanish teacher, nurturing a love for language and culture in his students. Now, he embarks on a…
Jack is from Dorchester SC where he serves as Poet Laureate of the county. He has been telling stories for over 25 years in venues both large and small across the America. I know the gift I have comes from God, and I plan to have fun with it as long as He allows me to do so.
The Storytelling Arts Center of the Southeast by jury declared Shealy – the Bold-Faced Liar Champion. With a twinkle in his eye, Shealy said, “of course I embellished the truth slightly.” The Mountain Xpress said in their opinion “Shealy exaggerates more than slightly.” The Tribune revealed that this upstanding local had been caught lying. It…
Catherine Yael is a native of Asheville and spent much of her life in Western North Carolina– most recently in Waynesville. She is a product of a private Catholic girls’ academy education and degrees granted by 5 public and private universities: UNC-Asheville, Mars Hill University, UNC-Greensboro, NC State University, NC A&T University, and the Seminary…
Joy is a graduate of ETSU’s Storytelling Certificate Program. Life has brought her from the tenements of Manhattan, to the 11th floor of a housing project in The Bronx, to the north shore of Eastern Long Island, and (finally, inevitably) to both Jonesborough, TN. and Leesburg, FL. (her forever homes).Joy tells fairytales and folktales, reflecting themes…
Delanna Reed is a storyteller, teacher, mentor, and scholar. She began her teaching career and discovered storytelling in 1985 as a MA student at the University of North Texas. In 1999, after teaching communication and performance for 13 years, she brought her performance experience to the Master’s Program in Storytelling at East Tennessee State University….
James (Jim) Priesmeyer is a retired Builder. During the course of his career he built businesses and buildings. The companies/organizations he helped build include a professional theater company, a stage rigging company and a historic preservation organization. The building projects included both commercial and residential with an emphasis or historic restorations. Jim grew up in…
Founding Member Linda Poland, Jonesborough’s Resident Storyteller, also called “The Jonesborough Flame,” teaches storytelling at the John C. Campbell Folk School and is a founding member of the Jonesborough Storytellers’ Guild. Using her talents as a storyteller she was one of the first in the country to use of the art of storytelling when developing…
In 2016 when Betty Ann Polaha signed up to audit a storytelling class, she never dreamed that three years later she would have earned a storytelling certificate and would be named Outstanding Storyteller Performer at East Tennessee State University. Betty Ann was always a storyteller coming from a large family with lots of women who…
Since 1990, Leticia’s storytelling has enlivened audiences and educators across the U.S. in classrooms, libraries, and at festivals, fairs and conferences. Being a professionally trained musician, she masterfully intertwines song and music into her storytelling. Leticia offers education-based programming in classroom based residencies, educator professional development, integration-based programming — all customized to fit your needs…
Sherrie grew up in Jonesborough with a large extended family hearing stories of farm life and old family values. Her Granny Dunn and other special family members had a major impact on her life. After a successful career in accounting, project management, and marketing Sherrie had the desire to convert her business communications skills so…
Cynthia Millhorn is an accomplished storyteller who ignites imaginations and hearts with her thoughtful, intriguing tales of human nature, myth, and spirituality.Cynthia skillfully creates original fables, reimagines folktales, retells factual histories, and crafts inspiring personal stories that move and entertain audiences of all ages.Her full-length theatrical storytelling shows blend storytelling, acting, and audience engagement in…
“Once upon a time,” my Grandfather would read to me, and I was totally enchanted. These fairy tales made perfect sense to me. The world that I lived in was full of magic: blossoms pushed out of the dead ground, rainbows spanned the sky, and every chicken provided a wish bone. Sometimes as I grew…
Kiesa Kay, poet and playwright, learned the art of storytelling from her mother, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers. She found fairy tales and creation myths in boxes of books from an auction. Her works have been performed in venues in seven states, including Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Berea College in Kentucky, and La Mama Experimental Theater in…
Emily finally realized what connects her various work in veterinary medicine, classroom teaching, and magazine publishing—it’s communication, and it’s storytelling. So she recently completed her Master’s studying both at ETSU. She currently splits her time writing, researching, performing, crafting, medicating cats, baking for her loved ones, and hanging out with her partner in their cozy…
Vianna Isbister is a dynamic multi-hyphenate performer and academic with a B.A. in Theatre and an M.A. in Communication and Storytelling Studies. Her work bridges the gap between the spoken and the unspoken, blending performance art with academic insights to craft narratives that resonate. Her work will be featured at the 2025 National Storytelling Network Conference…
Some folks say that Judy was just naturally born talking and has never quit. She inherited her love of words and books from her writer mother and her appreciation of tall tales from her Father. Her inspiration for her “down home” stories come from a multitude of different, and possibly strange, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends…
Laurie Herlich loves living in rural northeast Tennessee, where Story is everything. She writes flash fiction and cozy mysteries in a converted garden hut situated in her backyard. Laurie is a regular contributor to www.christiandevotions.us and won a Selah award in the online devotion category as well as a first place for unpublished novella in…
After many years of teaching elementary school,Evelyn Edwards was retired and needed something to do. She made a phone call and talked with Dr. Sobel at ETSU who gave her good advice and welcomed her to take a storytelling class. Thereafter, there was one storytelling class after another, and by 2020 she amassed the required…
With a twinkle in her eye, Judy Donley describes her stories as “practically true…at least in my mind!” She grew up in a large family of 12 children in Massachusetts who, with encouragement from their father, would share stories at the dinner table. “What did you learn today?” or “What did you do today that…
“Guerry has performed her stories in concert, for conventions, cruises, festivals, church services, student groups of all ages, and house concerts. Themes include folk tales, fairy tales, personal stories, tall tales, roasts, humor, and fantasy. Guerry believes the beauty of this very personal communication shines as it moves through healing, joy, learning, and…
