Join a panel of storytellers exploring tales of the natural world and the ways in which stories and legends help us connect with nature!

There will be an opportunity to ask questions and take part in a discussion on the role of storytelling in deepening our relationship with the natural environment.

Our panel:Tom Muir

Tom Muir is Orkney’s only living native storyteller. He has a lifetime of Scottish, Viking and Nordic stories to share, springing from his work in archaeology and museums, as well as from his work in traditional storytelling.

Tom has a great love for the stories and history of his native Orkney Islands and the Nordic lands of his Viking ancestors. He was born on a small farm by the sea, where old Orkney customs and dialect were still very much alive.

Tom has published and contributed to many books of Orkney history, Nordic tales and Icelandic Sagas. His first book was a retelling of traditional Orkney stories: The Mermaid Bride and other Orkney Folk Tales. Another folklore collection, Orkney Folk Tales, followed. His Tales of Viking Lands book/CDs benefit Tom’s dear friends at Storholmen Viking Village, Sweden. His most recent books are Scottish Folktales of Coast and Sea and Scottish Folktales of Love.

As a storyteller, Tom has travelled from Nunavut to Hong Kong and across Scotland, Scandinavia and Europe. For over twenty years, he ran the Orkney Storytelling Festival, known as the little festival with a big heart … probably because he feds his visiting storytellers so well!

Andrew Woodward

Andrew Woodward is a Scotland-based storyteller with more than a decade of experience developing and performing stories for audiences of all ages.

His repertoire draws on myths, folklore, legends and traditional tales from Scotland and around the world. His storytelling is rooted in the oral tradition: stories are told rather than read, shaped through performance, character, humour and the relationship with the audience.

His work also explores the role of storytelling beyond performance. Andrew has delivered storytelling skills workshops for managers through the Scottish College Development Network, exploring how story can be used in leadership, communication and organisational life.

Jess Smith

Jess Smith BEM is a Scottish writer and storyteller. Her work focuses on the experiences of Scottish Travellers. She has written seven books, including an autobiographical trilogy recalling her own childhood experiences, and a booklet on Traveller Dialects (with co-author Robert Dawson). In 2014 she led a campaign to save the Tinkers’ Heart, a Scottish Travellers’ monument in Argyll, Scotland.

A well-known storyteller and public speaker, Smith has raised awareness of Scottish Travellers at schools in Perth & Kinross, Lanarkshire, Edinburgh and Lothians, Leeds, the Highlands and Islands, Suffolk and London, and at libraries, prisons, universities, clubs and Church groups. She has spoken at Storytelling Festivals in Scotland, England, Australia and Ireland, and at Book Festivals throughout the UK in addition to leading writing, storytelling and traditional singing workshops. She has been awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to the Traveller community.

The festival is supported by Culture Perth and Kinross and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland (https://tracscotland.org/) (TRACS).

Description supplied by the event organiser.