Storytellers in Scotland
In the Centre's national directory you will find information on over 100 professional storytellers living and working in Scotland. All directory storytellers are approved by the Scottish Storytelling Forum.
Community storytellers - those who may not describe themselves as such, but who pass on a community's sense of itself and its past - are also an important part of the storytelling network. If you would like information on storytellers in your community please email Davide Panzeri or call Davide on +44 (0)131 652 3272.
Storytellers' directory
Please use the age range and area search options below to find a storyteller in your area:
Booking a storyteller
The storytellers in our directory are professionals and all depend to some extent on storytelling as their livelihood. All storytellers listed in the directory can be booked for storytelling sessions and workshops through the Centre and are also eligible for subsidy through the Live Literature Fund (LLF) scheme, administered by Scottish Book Trust.
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Current rates recommended by the
Scottish Storytelling Centre
Storytelling performance sessions
Half day £120 plus travel expenses
Full day £200 plus travel expenses
A full day consists of a morning and afternoon, or an afternoon and evening. A half day consists of a morning, afternoon or evening, comprising up to two hours of storytelling with a suitable break.
Rates for work overseas should be discussed directly with individual storytellers or the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
Rates for long term projects involving several weeks of work are open to negotiation.
Storytelling training workshops (including CPD)
Half day £230 plus travel expenses
Full day £350 plus and travel expenses
Not-for-profit/voluntary organisations:
Half day £200 plus travel expenses
Full day £300 plus travel expenses
Tailormade training (e.g. private sector business management workshop)
Priced according to requirements
Notes: All fees are subject to VAT at the current rate of 20% when a storyteller is booked through the Scottish Storytelling Centre. Whenever possible, the storyteller’s travelling expenses should be covered at the cost of public transport or 40p per mile if travelling by car.
Where events and projects require a period of research, preparation and attendance at meetings there may be additional costs.
For advice on booking a storyteller or organising a storytelling event please email Davide Panzeri or call Davide on +44 (0)131 652 3272, for skills workshop email Gica Loening.
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Booking advice
For advice on which storytellers are ideal for your event please contact us. You can also use our search topics to find storytellers by name, geographical area, and audience.
After selecting your choice of storyteller contact them directly and discuss what kind of event you are planning. When happy with your choice of storyteller discuss all the details of the visit, including fee and travel arrangements.
Confirm the details in writing before the event, considering the following criteria:
- Date and time
- Structure, length and number of sessions
- Group size / age range
- Special requirements
- Transport and accommodation arrangements and a map/guide to the venue
- Arrangements for paying the fee and expenses and whether or not you require an invoice.
On the day the organiser is responsible for:
- Making sure a room/area has been allocated in which the group will sit (a quiet space is ideal, and smaller rooms are preferable to large halls which echo)
- Arranging hospitality – ensuring that the storyteller has access to a toilet, tea/coffee/lunch etc.
- Providing a glass of water for during the session
- Ensuring that a responsible adult is with the group at all times
- If the session is in a school, the class teacher should be present and participate in the session. Participation and observation are vital for follow-up work.
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Who are the storytellers?
Everyone is a storyteller! Though some people choose to develop their storytelling skills in particular situations or for special reasons. We encourage, support and facilitate storytelling in families, communities, places of learning and natural environments.
Scotland is home to a wonderfully rich and diverse network of storytellers with varied repertoires and styles. Many of them connect their love of stories with their upbringing or childhood influences, but what unites them all is a commitment over time to the practice of their art. The work of the storyteller ranges from sharing tales as entertainment, to leading storytelling projects with vulnerable groups such as asylum seekers and those with special needs.
While some of Scotland's storytellers have been shaped by one or more storytelling traditions, most acknowledge a debt to Gaelic storytelling, storytelling in Scots, or to the traditions of the Scottish Travellers.
We recognise and honour several special kinds of storyteller:
- Tradition Bearers - those who have preserved and are passing on older traditions of stories. They are our Honorary Founders.
- Community Storytellers - those who share stories in their communities or through their work contributing to human well-being and quality of life.
- Professional Storytellers - those who wish to travel across Scotland and exercise their storytelling craft as a paid profession.
We ask all these kinds of storyteller to become Network members of the Scottish Storytelling Forum and to participate in mutual support, collaboration and growth.
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Directory Criteria
If you are a professional storyteller and would like to apply to become a member of our National Directory, the following criteria will apply.
1. A storyteller should be part of one or more storytelling traditions or, by his or her travel, research or apprenticeship to recognised storytellers, be well acquainted with a tradition and have gathered, by these means, a repertoire of stories.
2. An accomplished storyteller should have had the experience of telling stories regularly and, as an
indication of his or her recognition and proficiency in the art, be able to offer reliable testimony to this from reputable judges such as teachers, head-teachers in schools, critics in the media, representatives from other bodies who have employed them professionally (and by reputation among other established storytellers.) He or she should be able to call upon a portfolio of recommendations.
3. Through their supporting evidence applicants should demonstrate the capacity to work with, and
relate adeptly and appropriately to, a wide range of audiences and to work flexibly and cooperatively with professional and voluntary organisations.
4. Any applicant for recognition should have worked as a storyteller for a recommended period of three years, though exceptions to this guideline might be appropriate in some circumstances.
5. A person who wishes to be recognised in this way as a storyteller should be willing to travel widely
in Scotland and take up invitations to practise the art.
6. Storytellers on the Scottish Storytelling Directory are required as a minimum to have a current Disclosure Scotland Basic Disclosure Certificate.
7. Accredited storytellers are required to be resident in Scotland, to be Network members of the Scottish Storytelling Forum and to be committed to principles of cooperation and best practice and to the development of storytelling in Scotland.
8. Directory entries, which will be edited by the Scottish Storytelling Centre, should state clearly the
storyteller's area of interest and experience, including their preferred age groups.
For more information about applying to the Directory, please email Janis Mackay or phone +44 (0)131 652 3272.
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