Appalachian Storyteller/Writer

Appalachian Storyteller/Writer With flesh and bone, heart and soul, a single thread, I weave my cultural traditions and wisdom into I have heard many storytellers.

Empathy is the ability to enable the audience to identify and share the feelings of characters and tone of the story. To do this, the storyteller must master the tools of storytelling. The basic tools are voice (vocal inflection), body, (movement), and imagination (your interpretation of the story). Mastering your tools can be developed by practice, but unless the storyteller ‘feels’ the story, it

will not touch the audience. But I don’t care how ‘polished’ they are, if they aren’t sharing with their feelings, the story is not worth listening to. My Grandpa and Grandma never received formal storytelling training, but they could make us laugh, cry, scare the pee out of us, or change our attitudes simply by telling us a story. All the studying of professional techniques and memorization or rehearsing the words will not make you a great storyteller. If you do not ‘feel’ the story, neither will the audience
On my page I will share stories and tips that may help you develop the use of your tools, but I encourage you to nourish and grow your own storytelling essence. When that force is released along with the use of your basic tools, your storytelling will be powerful and the message will be remembered.

09/03/2026

🎤 Featured Storyteller: Octavia Sexton 🎤

Storytelling has always been at the heart of Appalachian culture, and we're excited to welcome nationally recognized storyteller Octavia Sexton to this year's Swappin' Meetin'!

Known for her engaging, humorous, and heartfelt storytelling, Octavia has spent years sharing stories that celebrate the people, traditions, and voices of Appalachia.

You'll have several opportunities to enjoy her talents during Swappin' Meetin':

📖 Friday Morning – Helping highlight the Pam Halcomb Memorial Storytelling Competition
🏫 Friday School Program – Sharing stories with more than 100 local students as they learn about Appalachian heritage through storytelling, music, demonstrations, and field games
🎤 Saturday at Noon – Featured performance on the Mountain Voices Main Stage

One of the goals of Swappin' Meetin' is to preserve and pass along Appalachian heritage, and there may be no better way to do that than through storytelling. Stories connect generations, keep our history alive, and remind us who we are and where we come from.

If you've never experienced a master storyteller, make plans to join us. And if you've heard Octavia before, you already know you're in for a treat.

📅 September 18-19
📍 SKCTC Cumberland Campus
🎤 Mountain Voices Main Stage | Saturday at 12:00 Noon

Come help us celebrate the stories, traditions, and voices of Appalachia.

08/31/2026

Whether you love to hear stories or tell stories, you'll want to be here. Our storytelling conference will be held at General Butler State Park, Nov. 7-8, 2025.

08/31/2026

A storytelling performance with Sheila Arnold, told inside the historic Cane Ridge Meeting House. Two performances Friday, May 7, 2027 — time to be announced Sunday, May 9, 2027 — time to be announ…

08/21/2026

Join us for Bluegrass Writers Studio (BGWS) literary open mic with featured reader Emma Hudelson! Author of "Sky Watch, Chasing an American Saddlebred Story."

August: 22nd, , doors open @6:30PM

08/21/2026

“Stories from the Balcony” Interviewer and Collaborator Katima Smith-Willis received oral history training from the Kentucky Arts Council's Community Scholars Program, with Folk & Traditional Arts Director Mark Brown. In her interview with WUKY’s Clay Wallace, Katima explains, "...[Mark] taught me how to go into these interviews with not the lens of an activist, not the lens of an advocate, not the lens even as a black woman, just to be able to receive the information and to be able to communicate it back to the community in a way that it could be understood.”

Thank you to the Kentucky Arts Council for providing this incredible training to Kentucky communities and to the Kentucky Oral History Commission and the Kentucky Foundation for Women for project funding and professional development support!

Listen to or read the full interview at https://www.wuky.org/wuky-news/2026-01-01/frankforts-grand-theatre-premieres-documentary-about-its-segregated-past-in-stories-from-the-balcony.

Photo by Alan Lytle, WUKY, January 2026 | Bill Cull, President of Save the Grand Theatre; Katima Smith-Willis, Frankfort City Commissioner; and Mike Fields, Board Member of Save The Grand Theatre

08/19/2026

https://www.facebook.com/swappinmeetin

Join us for the 62nd Annual Swappin' Meetin' as we celebrate our rich Appalachian heritage with crafts, music, food, and more. Sept. 18-19, 2026, at Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College at 700 College Rd, Cumberland, KY 40823.

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Orlando, KY

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