Story Wok

For our 6th episode of Story Wok, we travel to FEAST HQ - Singapore, our spotlight country this month, with producers Shereen Saif and Rituparna Ghosh. In a double interview with FEAST Director Roger Jenkins and Swee Yean, President of the Storytelling Association, we find out how Singapore became the centre of the contemporary storytelling movement. We also come away with some best practices that can benefit storytellers in fellow FEAST countries. 

As for stories, we’ve curated 3 from FEAST’s first anthology Food Tales from Asia. 

Ariyo Zidni (Indonesia) takes us to Bali to meet The Polengs – the good rice farmers who go on heavenly adventures. Srividhya Venkat (India) will tickle you with her tale of a stingy old couple who fight over their last laddoo while celebrated author Dr. Margaret Read MacDonald (USA) retells a Penan folktale about a squirrel and forest gecko who learn to share their food. 

In Pantry, us podcast producers will whet your appetite further by sharing our favorite food tales and talking about the many connections between food and stories. 

And finally, man of many talents, master storyteller Jeff Gere (Hawaii) joins us to spice things up in Tadka by talking about the importance of 4-D telling even in a 2-D medium like Zoom! Listen well. 

Featured Storytellers

Ariyo Zidni is the Co-Founder of Ayo Dongeng Indonesia and the initiator of Indonesia International Storytelling Festival. He is a storyteller and children's story writer who believes storytelling is a passion to share.

Srividhya Venkat has been pursuing the art of storytelling in Singapore since 2015. She’s a volunteer at the local libraries and the Children’s Cancer Foundation. She is also the author of eight children’s picture books, including The Clever Tailor, which was inspired by a European folktale.

Dr. Margaret Read MacDonald is author of over 67 books on folklore and storytelling topics, such as Peace Tales and Teaching with Story: Classroom Connections to Storytelling. She has travelled to over 65 countries sharing tales and offering her “Playing with Story” workshops. 

Guests

Roger Jenkins is a Singaporean storyteller, a co-founder and Director of FEAST. He has narrated nine audiobooks for Storytel (including adult, youth and children’s fiction, sci-fi and non-fiction titles.) He is a trained audio-describer who makes live performance accessible for vision-impaired audiences, and is an award-winning poet.  

Swee Yean Wong was a former teacher whose students looked forward to their daily does of stories that she told to entertain and educate. She now performs for all audiences in schools, museums, libraries and carries out workshops for teachers, for senior citizens and organizations. She is currently the President of the Storytelling Association (Singapore). 

Jeff Gere, born on Halloween, lives in Honolulu. He created, hosted and produced Talk Story Festival, Hawaii’s largest storytelling celebration for 26 years in addition to a Story TV and Radio series. He tours Hawaii and teaches internationally. He also does shadow puppets and is always bubbling with projects and ideas. 

Podcast Producers

Shereen Saif is a Dubai based Indian-born artist with a practice that spans dance, theatre, storytelling, voice acting and installation art. She is known for her physical storytelling style that integrates elements of music, dance and theatre with a repertoire largely consisting of traditional Indian tales.

Rituparna Ghosh - A story digger, story charmer, story extractor. Rituparna is anything but just a storyteller! She is the Founder of Your Story Bag, a Storytelling, Training and Consulting company. She works with listeners, children, adults, businesses and organisations helping them harness the power of stories. Rituparna produces 2 podcasts called Golpo, Stories from Around the World and What’s in Your Story Bag. 

 Story Wok Producers: The podcast is produced by 6 producers:

Krupa Vinayagamoorthy (Singapore)

Meher Gahi (India)

Ritu Vaish (India)

Rituparna Ghosh (India)

Roger Jenkins (Singapore)

Shereen Saif (Dubai)

Story Wok is produced by FEAST(Federation of Asian Storytellers ), (https://www.feast-story.org/ ). Our focus is on spreading Asian stories, celebrating colours from the Philippines in the east to Turkey in the west and the story telling communities that lie in between.

If you are interested in Podcasting, check out our Podcasting for Storytellers webinar by Rituparna Ghosh at the FEAST store.

Write to us at: [email protected] / [email protected]

What would the world be without Tom Yum Goong and Pad Thai?

Not quite the same, says foodies and Story Wok producers - Krupa Vinayagamoorthy and Shereen Saif who also happen to be hosts of our brand-new episode.

Here’s presenting Episode 5, our tribute to land that has gifted the world many flavours, wonders and of course, stories!

Awaiting you is a spread of 3 Thai folk tales told by 3 FEAST tellers from 3 different countries. Dr Jongkit Wongpinit aka Dr Poom (Thailand) will warm your heart with an endearing tale of the Gourami fish. Bie (Indonesia) gets all animated with a fishy fable of two fisher friends and Priti Modyiyer (Singapore) gives good counsel with a story about giving credit when it is due.

In our country special Entrée, we chit chat with Dr Wajuppa Tossa, Thailand’s first International storyteller, and find out about how the storytelling scene (both physical and digital) has blossomed over the years. She also shares an interesting bite about the art of co-telling.

Us podcast producers raise a cacophony (or symphony as Krupa insists) in our Pantry segment sharing some ideas about using sound effects in storytelling. Great for those looking to engage better with your audiences, especially little ones.

We round off this wholesome episode by quizzing FEAST Director Jeeva Raghunath on bilingual telling and collaborating with native storytellers.

Featured Storytellers

DR. JONGKIT WONGPINIT 

Jongkit Wongpinit, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at Surindra Rajabhat University, is a collector and researcher of local folktales. Inspired by her teacher Associate Prof. Dr. Wajuppa Tossa and professional international storyteller, and Jeeva Raghunath who gave her opportunities to tell stories, Dr Wongpinit began telling stories of her land, incorporating local folk tunes into her narrative. She tells children's stories throughout Vietnam, India, Malaysia, and Thailand. Her cultural exchange experiences have taken her to a variety of nations in Europe, America, and Asia.

M.Q TAQARRABIE 

Bie loves to tell stories in oral-telling, books, and films. She is a member of Ayo Dongeng Indonesia, a storytelling movement and community in Indonesia and one of the co-founders of The Nest, a storytelling movement for teenagers and adults by Ayo Dongeng Indonesia. 

She also loves costume parties if you’d like to invite her to one.

PRITI MODYIYER

Priti Modyiyer is an enthusiastic, engaging storyteller in Singapore. She uses stories as a medium to inspire change in her workshops, at schools, in libraries and storytelling festivals. She is a Certified Coach with diplomas in training and development as well as a number of degrees in Management.

Guests

WAJUPPA TOSSA

Wajuppa Tossa, holda a Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Drew University, Madison, New Jersey, USA. A retired associate professor from the Western Languages and Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Mahasarakham University, Wajuppa is a full-time storyteller trained under Dr. Margaret Read MacDonald. She has been telling stories since 1995 to revitalize the use of Isan dialects and folktales among young people to engender pride in local cultural heritage. She has also successfully used folktales and storytelling in her teaching of English and literature. She was a featured storyteller in several International Storytelling Festivals in many countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, USA, Norway, Scotland, UK, Iran, South Korea, Italy, to name but a few. She has also produced several International Storytelling Festivals in Thailand with Mahasarakham University, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, Bangkok, and SEAMEO Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts – SAEMEO SPAFA as major co-hosts of the festival. 

She is the founder and president of the Folktales and the Arts of Storytelling Foundation (FASF).

JEEVA RAGHUNATH 

Storyteller and author Jeeva Raghunath pioneered the storytelling movement in Tamil Nadu. Director of FEST and Kathaikalatta, Jeeva has performed in 27 international festivals, authored 15 books and translated 65. 

HOST:

Krupa Vinayagamoorthy

Krupa Vinayagamoorthy is a Australian Indian storyteller based in Singapore. She is also the consulting director of the Federation of Asian Storytellers (FEAST). She is bilingual and enjoys telling stories to young children and adults Tamil and English. She wears other hats as senior activity volunteer, administrator, interview coach, dancer and visual note taker.

Shereen Saif

Shereen is a Dubai based Indian-born artist with a practice that spans dance, theatre, storytelling, voice acting and installation art. She is known for her physical storytelling style that integrates elements of music, dance and theatre with a repertoire largely consisting of traditional Indian tale.

Story Wok Producers: The podcast is produced by 6 producers:

Krupa Vinayagamoorthy (Singapore)

Meher Gahi (India)

Ritu Vaish (India)

Rituparna Ghosh (India)

Roger Jenkins (Singapore)

Shereen Saif (Dubai)

Story Wok is produced by FEAST(Federation of Asian Storytellers ), (https://www.feast-story.org/ ). Our focus is on spreading Asian stories, celebrating colours from the Philippines in the east to Turkey in the west and the story telling communities that lie in between.

If you are interested in Podcasting, check out our Podcasting for Storytellers webinar by Rituparna Ghosh at the FEAST store.

Write to us at: [email protected] / [email protected]

The fourth episode of the STORY WOK has a distinctly bookish flavour as hosts Roger Jenkins and Krupa Vinayagamoorthy have handpicked three tasty tales from the banquet that is ROYALS, WISE AND OTHERWISE, FEAST’s second collection of Asian folktales published in 2019.

Lynne Kirk (Hong Kong) tells a heavenly love story from China; Richard Dian Vilar (Philippines) celebrates a gender-defying Princess from Mindanao, and Lavanya Prasad (Bangalore, India) has fun with a comic tale of a decidedly other-wise King hungry for a never-ending story!

We catch up with Richard and a rising young Filipina teller, Simone Sales, and learn about the role of storytelling in Filipino culture, and it's appeal to young people there today.

As a book was our starting point, when the podcast team gathered in our virtual Pantry for a quick coffee, cake and chat, we talked about how we transition from reading a story aloud (and thinking ‘Ooh great story – I want to tell that!’) to actually telling it in our own words. If you haven’t tried re-telling a story in your own words before (afraid to put the book down?!) you’ll find this very helpful. We also issue an interesting challenge – are you going to throw it back at us?!

Finally, we managed to get Kiran Shah, a Singaporean who played a key role in encouraging the revival of storytelling in the Republic from 1999 onwards, to sit down in the clinic and talk about finding your voice. Not everyone is a loud and demonstrative performer – and Kiran shares thoughts on how to be a powerful yet quiet presence. She also discusses how to look after your voice (after you have found it!) and shares a comical cautionary tale about pre-performance eating habits!  As a Singaporean (with a Gujrati Indian heritage) now transplanted to the blue mountains of Australia, Kiran also has useful experience of performing in different cultural settings – and adjusting her telling accordingly.

CONTRIBUTING STORYTELLERS

Lynne Kirk has been telling stories for over 25 yrs in Asia and the UK. She has a magical Story Apron to suit early years/lower primary age children and can incorporate simple drama/ puppetry/crafts to extend the stories she tells to cover all ages. Lynne truly believes the power stories have and how they can change one's life. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynne-kirk-83182814/

Richard De Vilar  He was a member of MSU Sining Kambayoka which utilized the “bayok” storytelling in chants that developed its distinct theater form. His theater practice was further enhanced as a member of the Kaliwat Performing Artists Collective that used theater and cultural action as tools for community development. Richard was a curator of Museo Dabawenyo and earned a degree of Masters in Anthropology from the Ateneo de Davao University. These provided a dynamic foundation of Richard as a . storyteller. He has performed in several storytelling festivals. Now, Richard is Butuan City’s Culture, Heritage and Arts Officer.

Lavanya Prasad is an Electrical Engineer turned professional storyteller who believes she makes better and long lasting connections through stories than electrical wires. Her organization - Tale’scope has sessions that are always filled with music and movement. www.facebook.com/Taleescope Mail : [email protected] Youtube Channel :Talescope Bangalore

GUESTS 

Kiran Shah was a social worker, Montessori Directress (in the U.S. and Japan) and early childhood trainer all over Asia before discovering storytelling 23 years ago. She has been involved in the revival of oral storytelling in Singapore and was the Founder President of the Storytelling Association, Singapore in 2006. She moved to Australia in 2008 but continues to participate in various storytelling conferences and festivals in Asia. 

Simone Sales  is a young Filipina storyteller and storyteller. In 2014 she founded Mga Apo which comprises creators striving to keep the oral tradition alive. She believes everyone has a story to tell and that we must be cautious of the voices we may be neglecting or even overpowering with our own. She also believes that there is a time to tell your story, a time to listen to others' stories, and a time to actively shape the narratives. 

HOSTS 

Roger Jenkins is a Singaporean storyteller, a co-founder and Director of FEAST. He has narrated nine audiobooks for Storytel (including adult, youth and children’s fiction, sci-fi and non-fiction titles.) He is a trained audio-describer who makes live performance accessible for vision-impaired audiences, and is an award-winning poet.  

Krupa Vinayagamoorthy is an Australian storyteller based in Singapore. She is also the consulting director of the Federation of Asian Storytellers ( FEAST ). She is bilingual and enjoys telling stories to young children and adults Tamil and English. She wears other hats as senior activity volunteer, administrator, interview coach, dancer and visual note taker. 

Story Wok Producers: The podcast is produced by 6 producers:

Krupa Vinayagamoorthy (Singapore)

Meher Gahi (India)

Ritu Vaish (India)

Rituparna Ghosh (India)

Roger Jenkins (Singapore)

Shereen Saif (Dubai)

Story Wok is produced by FEAST(Federation of Asian Storytellers ), (https://www.feast-story.org/ ). Our focus is on spreading Asian stories, celebrating colours from the Philippines in the east to Turkey in the west and the story telling communities that lie in between.

If you are interested in Podcasting, check out our Podcasting for Storytellers webinar by Rituparna Ghosh at the FEAST store.

Write to us at: [email protected] / [email protected]

Story Wok’s 3rd episode focuses on India.

When we think about stories from India, the epics like Mahabharat and Ramayan jump to mind. Every Indian has grown up listening to stories from the Panchatantra, while the wit and wisdom of Birbal and Tenali Raman make their stories hugely popular.

So, in this episode there are three contrasting tales from the Mahabharat (Veena Seethepalli, India) Panchatantra (CS Radha, India) and a fun folktale from Punjab (Priyanka Chatterjee, India), in our Meso, Dim Sum and Fortune cookie segments respectively.

For our entrée, we chat with a member (Prakrati Agrawal, India) of FEAST INDIA CHAPTER (FIC), the first Special Interest Group of FEAST.

The Story Wok Podcast production team then gathers in the pantry to share some of their favourite sources for finding authentic Indian stories and we’ve listed these below for your convenience.

And in the Tadka, the story clinic, there’s practical advice if you want to use props in your storytelling by Nupur Aggarwal(India)

Here’s a list of authentic Indian story books referred to in the Pantry 

Shereen:

• Folktales from India by A.K Ramanujan, Penguin Books
• The Panchatantra - Teaching Tales of Old India, Retold by Narindar Uberoi Kelly, Hachette India
• For Indian Mythology

The Daughter from a Wishing Tree by Sudha Murthy, Puffin Books

Shikhandi and other queer tales they don't tell you by Devdutt Pattanaik, Penguin 

Books

Meher:

• Sacked by Deepa Agarwal
• Books by Sudha murthy
• Folktales retold & published by Karadi tales & Tulika

Krupa

• Treasury of Asian Stories and Activities for Schools and Libraries - Cathy Spagnoli Link for purchase 

Ritu Vaish:

Panchatantra by Vishnu Sharma  Link for amazon

Rituparna Ghosh:

• The World of Indian Stories - A teaching resource of folktales from every state - Cathy Spagnoli (Tulika)
• The Legend of Himal and Nagrai - Folktales from Punjab - Onaiza Drabu (Speaking Tiger)
• Shehzadi Mircha - Folktales from Punjab - Flora Annie Steel (Speaking Tiger)

Episode Hosts

Ritu Vaish has have been an educationist designing, developing and delivering English skill development courses and curriculum for over three decades. As a podcaster, she has a weekly story podcast: Story Prism.

Roger Jenkins is a Singaporean storyteller, a co-founder and Director of FEAST. He came to storytelling via theatre which explains his style that combines both a strong sense of the theatrical with a relaxed, conversational manner-born of his work in improvised comedy. He has a keen interest in promoting accessibility – he is a trained audio describer for the blind and has a deaf tandem-storytelling partner. 

Featured Tellers:

Veena Seethepalli is an educator, storyteller and volunteer who believes that mythology and cultural tales must be told to children to pass down wisdom. As a former preschool teacher, Veena often integrated stories into the curriculum. As a volunteer at government schools she teaches English and personal well-being narrating personal stories. Her travels, interest in Art and gardening find their way into her storytelling. 

CS Radha is a Carnatic Musician and uses her voice modulation, intonation, and gestures to tell stories and sing rhymes. She has lent her voice to over 500 animation rhymes, educational videos and presentations. Her YouTube Channel “Reach World Music” has songs from different genres and languages.

Priyanka Chatterjee aka 'Golpodidi' is an International Story Consultant, an MBA (Gold Medallist), a Design Thinker, an Organic and Organisational storyteller, an Expressive Arts Practitioner and an alumna of International Institute of Storytelling, Emerson College, UK. She's the Director, Storytelling Education and Arts India Council. With 15+ years’ experience in Fortune 500 MNCs & leading Indian Media House, she founded 'Wild Strawberry' - an Art Exploration Organisation. Till date, 'Wild Strawberry' is tasted by 2.5 lakh children and 50,000 adults as Chatterjee has travelled the world with her story bag.

Nupur Aggarwal works as a Teacher Trainer and Story Coach with schools in India, helping teachers leverage storytelling in classrooms. She loves adapting folktales and can be seen travelling across the country enthralling audiences with her skilfully told tales. Her telling style has been appreciated to be energetic, interactive and engaging.

Prakrati Agrawal and Nandita Sankaran

are a team of two passionate individuals, who with their similar interests in Indian mythology and their ancient wisdom of sages, started Story-Mitr in 2020.

Prakrati Agrawal, BE in Computer Science and now a Montessori practitioner and Kathalaya certified storyteller. 

Nandita Sankaran was a practicing Chartered Accountant and a GST specialist and now a Kathalaya certified story teller.

Together they have been successful in conducting online storytelling, games and fun activities for children, adults and senior citizens. 

They strongly believe that stories are all around us and each one has a story to share, they just need a listening ear. 

Story Wok Producers: The podcast is produced by 6 producers:

Krupa Vinayagamoorthy (Singapore)

Meher Gahi (India)

Ritu Vaish (India)

Rituparna Ghosh (India)

Roger Jenkins (Singapore)

Shereen Saif (Dubai)

Story Wok is produced by FEAST(Federation of Asian Storytellers ), (https://www.feast-story.org/ ). Our focus is on spreading Asian stories, celebrating colours from the Philippines in the east to Turkey in the west and the story telling communities that lie in between.

If you are interested in Podcasting, check out our Podcasting for Storytellers webinar by Rituparna Ghosh at the FEAST store.

Write to us at: [email protected] / [email protected]

In Episode Two of Story Wok, let's travel to Malaysia and get a sneak peek into it's storytelling culture.

Savour stories, that have featured in the FEAST Anthology of animal tales called 'Hiss, Roar, Squeak', narrated by authors cum storytellers themselves - Nor Azhar Ishak (Malaysia), Aparna Athreya (India) and Shalni Doshi (Singapore). 

Step into the pantry to know more about all that goes on 'behind the scenes' while editing an anthology - a candid conversation with the Editor of Hiss Roar Squeak, Deeptha Vivekanand.

Meher & Ritu spoke to Fatimah Hassan, the Director of Asia's longest running storytelling festival - 'PINKS ie The Penang International Kids Storytelling Festival'. Hear her share the incredible story of it's inception & the journey so far.

In the Story Clinic, Sheila Wee offers some fabulous insights for questions related to performance storytelling.

Episode Hosts & Producers:

Meher Gehi - Meher Gehi is a professional storyteller, story educator and an aspiring voice artist. Her storytelling comes alive through her expressive eyes & voice. She loves to infuse her storytelling with her deep love for music, theatrics & spirituality. She has performed & conducted sessions at prestigious schools & venues in Mumbai & across India. Smitten by wanderlust, she can have you travel different worlds through her tales... Ready? To watch her unique storytelling style, head straight to her Youtube channel - Meher Gehi

Ritu Vaish is an educationist for 35 years. Her work has impacted children, university students, parents, and social institutions. She has developed a foundational curriculum for several schools and English skill development courses at state, national and international levels. She now hosts Story Prism podcast, telling engaging stories for children 2-10 years old.

FEATURED TELLERS :

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Nor Azhar Ishak is a Malaysian award-winning children's book writer, illustrator, and storyteller who is passionate about literature, science, and art. He is also a professional educator and with 20 years of experience in conducting professional development workshops for teachers. He is based in NAI Art Studio, where he writes and illustrates books, produces works of art, and conducts training for learners of all ages. The studio also houses a children's picture book library and a storytelling center.

Aparna Athreya, from India, grew up in a noisy family filled with wild stories. She worked as a software engineer but the stories never really left her. When she realized stories could transform people she shared her passion for stories with children and adults. She has been trained in several aspects of Storytelling, Counseling and Creative Pedagogy. Today, she uses storytelling to transform educators, children and organizations.

Shalni Doshi has been a regular at the 398.2 Storytelling Festival since the first one in 2015. She has facilitated training workshops for teachers and the National Library Board in Singapore to train library volunteers in the art of storytelling. A workshop presenter at the 2nd Feast Conference in Bengaluru in 2019, Shalni loves sharing stories and having stories shared with her.

Fatimah Hassan is the Director/Coordinator of the Penang International Kids Storytelling Festival. She is also the Manager of Special Projects, responsible for overseeing the Penang Education Council, an informal committee formed under the Penang State Government Executive Council for Education to facilitate continuous quality improvement for both formal and informal education. 

Story Wok Producers: The podcast is produced by 6 producers.

Krupa Vinayagamoorthy (Singapore)

Meher Gehi (India)

Ritu Vaish (India)

Rituparna Ghosh (India)

Roger Jenkins (Singapore)

Shereen Saif (Dubai)

Story Wok is produced by FEAST ( Federation of Asian Storytellers), our focus is on spreading Asian stories, celebrating the tellers from the Philippines in the East to Turkey in the West and the storytelling communities that lie in-between.

If you're a Storyteller interested in Podcasting, check out our Podcasting for Storytellers Webinar by Rituparna Ghosh at the FEAST Store

Write to us at [email protected] | [email protected]

In Episode One of Story Wok Podcast, we take you to Korea to taste a platter of Korean delights.

On the show, we have storytellers Ahn Sook Kim (Korea), Rohini Vij (India) and Swee Yean Wong (Singapore) telling Korean Stories.

Travel to Korea to understand the history of Korean Storytelling and its place in the modern day. Rituparna and Meher spoke to Korean Storyteller Alicia Dongjoo Bang to understand Korea and its stories.

In the Story Clinic, we have Roger Jenkins answer some vital storytelling queries.

And step into Pantry to listen to the podcast producers talk about the ways in which they begin their shows.

Episode Hosts & Producers:

Rituparna Ghosh - A story digger, story charmer, story extractor, Rituparna is anything but just a storyteller! She is the Founder of Your Story Bag, a Storytelling, Training and Consulting company. She works with listeners, children, adults, businesses and organisations helping them harness the power of stories. Rituparna produces 2 podcasts called Golpo, Stories from Around the World and What’s in Your Story Bag. She conducted a Podcasting for Storytellers Webinar for FEAST, and is now working on a longer podcasting program specially for storytellers.

Story Wok is a pilot project following the webinar.

Meher Gehi - Meher Gehi is a professional storyteller, story educator and an aspiring voice artist. Her storytelling comes alive through her expressive eyes & voice. She loves to infuse her storytelling with her deep love for music, theatrics & spirituality. She has performed & conducted sessions at prestigious schools & venues in Mumbai & across India. Smitten by wanderlust, she can have you travel different worlds through her tales... Ready? 

FEATURED TELLERS :

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Rohini Vij is a professional storyteller, voice artist, educator, phonics trainer, drama coach, curriculum developer, and founder of NutSpace. She is on a mission to raise readers and is actively engaged with curriculum development for schools and her own ed-tech platform. She regularly creates audiobooks and podcasts for reputed publishing houses in India and has authored several stories for children.

Swee Yean was a former teacher whose students looked forward to their daily does of stories that she told to entertain and educate. She now performs for all audiences in schools, museums, libraries and carries out workshops for teachers, for senior citizens and organizations. She is currently the President of the Storytelling Association (Singapore).

Ahn-sook Kim is a member of the Federation of Asian Storytellers (FEAST) as well as the Korea International Storytellers Association. She helped organise the First Korea International Storytelling Festival in 2018/2019. She tells tales to children and adults. Before that, for twenty-five years she ran an English Academy, helping children learn English after school. She graduated with a Masters in Korean History and then worked as a school teacher and a local newspaper reporter in Daegu. She says that, now she has retired, she has more time to concentrate on storytelling.

Alicia Dongjoo Bang is a professional storyteller and passionate educator based in the Republic of Korea. She has delighted children and adults with her storytelling performances for years, and she now directs international storytelling festivals in South Korea. She is the founder of Story School, which is a unique storytelling school in Korea, and of KISA, the Korea International Storyteller Association.

Story Wok Producers: The podcast is produced by a 6 producers.

Krupa Vinayagamoorthy (Singapore)

Meher Gehi (India)

Ritu Vaish (India)

Rituparna Ghosh (India)

Roger Jenkins (Singapore)

Shereen Saif (Dubai)

Story Wok is produced by FEAST ( Federation of Asian Storytellers), our focus is on spreading Asian stories, celebrating the tellers from the Philippines in the East to Turkey in the West and the storytelling communities that lie in-between.

Write to us at [email protected] | [email protected]

The Story Wok - is a podcast by Storytellers for Storytellers. We hope that means you, whether you identify yourself as a storyteller with a capital “S”, or if you just like to tell stories in your work - say as a teacher, librarian, counsellor, or community leader. And not forgetting if you are a parent or grandparent looking to share stories and values with your family.

And since the Story Wok is produced by FEAST ( Federation of Asian Storytellers), our focus is on spreading Asian stories, celebrating the tellers from the Philippines in the East to Turkey in the West and the storytelling communities that lie in-between.

The podcast is produced by a 6 producers:

Krupa Vinayagamoorthy (Singapore)

Meher Gehi (India)

Ritu Vaish (India)

Rituparna Ghosh (India)

Roger Jenkins (Singapore)

Shereen Saif (Dubai)

Lean in & listen, meet the podcast producers and peep into our story spread.

Write to us at [email protected] OR [email protected]

#AsianStorytellers #AsianStories #FEAST #StoryWok