Adam Booth (submitted)

Shepherdstown resident Adam Booth has been awarded the 2011 J.J. Reneaux Mentorship Grant from the National Storytelling Network.

The grant is awarded every two years to a young storyteller of great promise and funds a one-year mentorship with a nationally or internationally known storyteller. As a result of the grant, Booth has been working with Dovie Thomason, an internationally-known storyteller of Lakota and Kiowa Apache heritage. Their partnership has focused on developing and strengthening cultural stories that are able to reach across communities.

Additionally, on Oct. 7 Booth will appear on the Exchange Place Stage at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tenn. Every year six tellers are invited to tell at Exchange Place, a stage which represents the diversity of storytelling across the United States. This is the 39th year of the festival, which draws over 10,000 people each year.

A West Virginia native, Booth has been professionally telling family stories and tall tales throughout the mid-Atlantic region for five years. He is a three-time champion of the West Virginia Liars’ Contest and winner of storytelling contests in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. He is also president of the West Virginia Storytelling Guild and has taught storytelling classes and workshops throughout the country.

To find out more, you can visit him online at www.adambooth.com.