Now is the time to hear a good story

Express readers are being invited to gather round the fire and enjoy some great stories.

You can book a storyteller for a local event as part of The Local Storytelling Campaign.

This is a creative outreach initiative that runs alongside the Scottish International Storytelling Festival, which is an annual celebration of live storytelling and cultural diversity that takes place each year at the end of October.

Organised by Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland, events can take place anytime until Friday, November 30.

However, a designated showcase day is suggested for Wednesday, November 7, with schools and community groups encouraged to hold events on this date and showcase their work online with the hashtag #GrowingStories

Community groups can also apply for a £75 subsidy towards the booking of a storyteller from Scotland’s Directory of Storytellers in order to run a storytelling event.

This year’s theme is Growing Stories, and aims to highlight how stories enable communities to grow together and how they are key to preserving heritage and cultures for new generations, while connecting us with the greater world around us.

National Storytelling network coordinator Miriam Morris said: “This is a great opportunity for local community groups to get together and share and connect with stories in their own creative way.

“The main goal of the local campaign is for communities and schools to connect with the art of storytelling in a way that is engaging and accessible to them and we encourage participation in any form.

“We look forward to hearing from community groups, libraries or schools across Scotland in the coming weeks and discovering what exciting events people have in mind.”

Free resources, promotional materials, tips on how to run an event as well as any event listings can be found online at www.sisf.org. uk/local-campaign