Every professional storyteller needs a website

Here's why you need a website. In this age of social media, when a person wants something, the first place they check is the web. The storyteller's URL is their face to the world and their business card. If you are going to put your best foot forward to a perspective employer, this is the place to do it. The small addition of your URL to every twitter profile, blog or business card, is an invitation for someone to find out more about you.

What goes on your website? People will want to know the type of stories you tell and what the performance will cost them. Will you do workshops? They want to see what people have been saying about your performances and if you have cds for sale. Share where you have been telling, where you are now and where your travels will take you in the future: you may be coming to their neighbourhood....A podcast story or two could also be an asset. An "About Me" section will also tell them a bit more about the artist behind the stories. There may be more, but at the very least a contact form/email address and links to Facebook and Twitter will round off the site.

Facebook and Twitter are necessary, but will not replace a good website. Through them you can interact directly with your fans and raise the awareness of your work. Often, they become a record of the comments, perceptions thoughts and opinions of others, rather than the messages that you may want to communicate.

Keep your website up to date and link to lots of other storytelling sites. Encourage others to link to you. The search engines will notice your efforts and give you top results. When someone is looking on Google for a storyteller, they will find the one with a good website.

CCWOC 2013 Residency Call

Storytellers of Canada - Conteurs du Canada received the following email on 1/12/12. It looks like a great opportunity for the right person.

Call for Applications: Writer/Storyteller-in-Residence

A professional writer and/or storyteller is sought for the position of

Writer/Storyteller‑in‑Residence at the University of Manitoba's Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture. The residency, from about September 5 to December 13, 2013, will require the successful candidate to spend approximately 16 hours per week providing mentorship and practical artistic advice to developing writers and storytellers at the University of Manitoba, to give a limited number of readings and/or performances on campus, and to lead an informal non-credit workshop. The remaining time is to be devoted to the writer or storyteller’s own artistic projects. The successful candidate will receive a salary of $20,000.00 CAD, accommodation and return transportation to Winnipeg.

The Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture is an interdisciplinary centre with a mandate to promote the creation and the study of the verbal arts, both oral and written. Located at the University of Manitoba in the city of Winnipeg, the Centre sponsors readings, lectures, master classes and creative community projects that explore the connections between oral and written culture. Winnipeg is renowned for its vibrant arts community and its multicultural citizenry, including the largest urban population of Aboriginal people in North America. The Centre builds upon these local cultural strengths as a basis for its creative and critical work. To learn more about the Centre, visit umanitoba.ca/centres/ccwoc/

Applicants should provide a covering letter summarizing their qualifications for the position and describing the artistic and mentoring work they would undertake during the residency. Applications must also include a CV or résumé of career achievements (publications, performances, awards, residencies), a writing sample of no more than 20 pages (double-spaced and typed in a standard 12-point font) and two letters of reference discussing the applicant’s skills as an artist and a mentor.

Candidates of all nationalities are encouraged to apply; however, full proficiency in English is required, and publications or performance credits in English would be an asset. The Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture is committed to principles of employment equity. The application deadline is Wednesday, October 24, 2012.

Electronic submissions of application materials are accepted at the Centre’s email address, but attachments must be in Microsoft Word, PDF, RTF or DocX only. Please direct inquiries and electronic application materials to ccwoc@cc.umanitoba.ca. Applicants may also submit hardcopy applications to:

Dr. Warren Cariou, Director

Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture, University of Manitoba

391 University College, 220 Dysart Road

Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2M8 CANADA

Books and other materials sent in support of applications will not be returned.

--
Jessica Woolford, M.A.
Assistant to the Director
Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture
391 University College, 220 Dysart Road
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T2M8
CANADA

jessica.woolford@ad.umanitoba.ca
ph: 204.480.1065
fax: 204.261.0021
umanitoba.ca/centres/ccwoc