The 2025 NSN Conference

The National Storytelling Network (NSN) Conference was held from July 17 – 20, in Kennessaw, GA. I was thrilled to attend and to participate. I had an amazing time just being there. The best part was, as usual, seeing and getting to talk to – in person – friends and fellow storytellers. Watching the performances and the workshops was great as well.

I was in the Main Stage area (The Stillwell Theater) the whole time. I was running the live-stream alongside Heather Forest and Jack Scheer, and the incredibly professional stage crew at KSU. Being tied to the theater was, in many ways, a blessing. I did not have to make choices about what to attend and what I had to miss. Sadly, I had to miss a lot. But the amazing thing is, if YOU missed any of the performances that happened in the Stillwell Theater, there’s over 20 hours of recordings available to watch with the virtual ticket. You can still purchase a virtual ticket here.

I loved attending the conference, but this year was also special for me because I was able to participate in a couple main stage events.

The first time I stepped on the stage at the Stillwell Theater was for Better Said Than Done’s Women’s Storytelling Festival showcase. I was lucky enough to be sharing the stage with some stellar storytellers. Lyn Ford started the show with a powerhouse story of a fierce young woman and a fierce wolf woman. Karin Amano continued by telling us about her baby Godzilla. Lona Bartlett told a story of the comfort and tears and laughter of parenting. Jennifer Munro shared a childhood tale and Bonnie Gardner told a story of the moment she realized what parenting meant. I closed the show with an original, fictional story about a young woman living through the political and social changes in Germany in the early years of Nazi power.

I thought it was a powerful showcase. Each story was well-crafted and each performer brought it home. When I finished performing my story and called my fellow storytellers up to take a bow, the audience rose and we received a standing ovation.

Y’all. I have received a standing ovation before. It doesn’t happen often, but it has happened. But this one was special. This was a standing ovation at the NSN Conference – a conference filled with my peers. This standing ovation felt particularly amazing because it was from an audience filled with people I respect and admire. Yeah. It’s gonna be hard to top that one.

But wait – there’s more. Later that day, I was honored to be part of the ORACLE Award ceremony, honoring storytellers who have helped to build a stronger community. Now, I received my ORACLE Award in 2023, when the NSN Conference was online. My virtual experience was still a lovely event, but I must admit that I was a little jealous of the live experience the 2024-25 winners got.

But, I was excited to be able to be a part of it this year. I presented the ORACLE award to Clint Atwater, a Virginia storyteller, a fellow VASA Board member, and my friend. Clint runs Storytelling Connections. If you’ve ever taken one of my workshops, you know I recommend Storytelling Connections because they offer free Story Swaps, providing a great opportunity for people to develop their stories.

It was great to introduce Clint and give him his award, and it was great to see him and the other ORACLE Award winners receive their well-deserved awards.

Next year’s NSN Conference will be in Texas, in July, because the NSN committee apparently likes to keep things warm. But after spending this July in Georgia, I can tell you that it is worth a little sweat to be there in-person. Thankfully, if you don’t want to or can’t attend live next July, you’ll be able to watch online.

This year’s virtual recordings are available for ticket holders to watch through the end of September. There are over 20 hours of performances and I’d like to make recommendations of which showcases to watch, to save you time, but really you should watch all of it. And if you weren’t there and don’t have or plan to get a virtual ticket, then hopefully this blog post and this small selection of photos gives you a sense of what the 2025 NSN Conference was like.

Check out my upcoming storytelling and author events on my events calendar here.

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And here are some more photos from the conference.

My new camera assistant (nee unpaid intern) Ed Stivender recorded this video of the Closing Ceremony. Angela Lloyd was on everyone’s mind and was sorely missed.