Highlights and exceprts from the 2015 National Storytelling Conference hosted by the National Storytelling Network in Kansas City, Missouri. To learn more about the NSN, visit www.storynet.org.

Donna Washington

Teller:  Donna Washington

Site: www.dlwstoryteller.com

Notes: Donna Washington's key note address opened the 2015 NSN Conference. Donna is also one of the first tellers to have been featured on The Apple Seed.

Robin Schulte

Teller:  Robin Schulte

Site: www.robinschulte.com

Notes: Robin Schulte discovered storytelling as a high school English and Speech teacher, and has been delighting and moving audiences with her mix of personal stories, folktales, and literary adaptations ever since.

Ben Russell

Teller: Ben Russell

Site: www.talkstoryradio.com/tellerindex

Notes: Ten years ago, the proposal for Children at the Well Youth Storytellers for Peace & Understanding received the NSN Brimstone Award. Since then, C@W has been developing programs to help storytellers and teachers alike. Ben Russell, a longtime student participant and now C@W's youngest Story Coach sits down with The Apple Seed and tells us about his experiences in storytelling.

Sam Bennion

Song: The Dunderbeck Machine

Teller: Sam Bennion

Notes: The Apple Seed's very own assistant producer, Sam Bennion, participated in one of the conference's many story swaps and shared a song from his childhood with an enthusiastic crowd of storytellers.

Angela Lloyd & Laura SimmsAngela Lloyd & Laura Simms

Teller(s): Angela Lloyd & Laura Simms

Site: www.angelalloyd.com www.laurasimms.com

\*\*Notes: \*\*Excerpts from the work shop entitled "The Profound Training of the Compassionate Storyteller" taught by two tremendously talented women whose command of story showcases their own compassion for those around them.