Mississippi State University is hosting a statewide virtual event bringing together more than a dozen storytellers from different genres.
The Feb. 25 event “Story State: Fostering Innovative Storytelling” invites storytellers to share their experiences and offer advice. The event is free and open to the public and will be broadcast at 1 p.m. from storystate.msstate.edu.
“Everyone knows about Faulkner, Welty, Elvis and Robert Johnson, but there are a whole lot of other great storytellers in Mississippi,” said Josh Foreman, an instructor in the university communication department and chair of this year’s Story State planning committee.
Leading this year’s slate of storytellers is Anna Wolfe, a Mississippi Today reporter and investigative journalist. In addition to Wolfe, other speakers include Duwayne Burnside, a Mississippi Blues singer, David Garraway, Mississippi State University Television Center director, Zach Lancaster, a crew member for HGTV’s “Home Town” and Benjamin Saulsberry, tour coordinator at the Emmett Till Interpretive Center.
Additionally, the communication department has invited undergraduate students from universities and colleges around the state to submit original nonfiction writing, podcasts and short documentary films as part of a Story State Storytelling Competition. Three of these submissions will receive Master Storyteller awards during the event.