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 of hope, love and forgiveness—and personal stories taken from the full and adventurous life she was blessed with.
Catherine Yael Serota is an author and storyteller. She 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…
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…
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.
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…
Travis accidentally became a storyteller through his use of stories teaching languages across the multiverse of ages and cultures. He is a recent Graduate from the East Tennessee State University Communication & Storytelling Master’s Program and is excited to continue being an explorer and experiencer of story. He enjoys dusting off myths and legends of…
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…
