Society for Storytelling

Welsh Storytelling Forum

The Society for Storytelling Directors were invited to a meeting of the Forum’s Steering Committee at the Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff on Saturday 26th April. We were able to answer a host of questions relating to how the SfS was set up and what pitfalls we could warn them about. In the evening we were treated to an event exploring the diversity of the Welsh storytelling scene, from traditional tale telling to performance art, and highlighting the multicultural nature of modern Cardiff.

Storytellers in Wales have been discussing ways to make storytelling and Welsh storytellers more visible, concerned that people booking storytellers seem unaware of the number of professional storytellers in Wales. A foundation meeting took place on 27 February 2008 to officially bring the FSW into existence. An interim executive committee has been appointed that will be taking action soon to encourage interested parties to apply for membership.

This group of Welsh storytellers have come together with encouragement from storytellers throughout the UK to try to represent the interests of storytelling in Wales and to raise its profile with funding bodies and the Welsh public in general. In these very early stages they have formed a steering group under the temporary banner of ‘The Forum for Storytelling in Wales’. Though initial discussions have taken place in Cardiff it is hoped that all over Wales there will be storytellers and story listeners who will wish to be involved. There are plans for an inaugural conference in Mid Wales in the autumn and there is much to be done. If you want to help, support, or just know what’s going on then contact: Phil Thomas or keep up to date with their progress by checking their website: The Forum for Storytelling in Wales