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 Carmen Deedy
Storyteller / Author, Carmen Agra Deedy, will be our headliner in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. She is an award-winning author of sixteen books for young readers. She will give an author’s presentation at the Public Library of New London during the festival and a signing of her most recent children’s book, The Peanut Man. Her personal stories will be presented at The Garde in the evening, which first appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered. Funny, insightful, and frequently irreverent, Deedy’s narratives are culled from her childhood as a Cuban refugee in Decatur, Georgia. She tells each story with rapid-fire speech, pitch-perfect accents, humor and poignancy. She hosts the four-time Emmy-winning children’s program, Love That Book! Deedy believes deeply that stories create community. She says, “We are social animals, and a good story creates empathic ties—flinging about a gossamer thread that captures each other’s imaginations.” Whenever Carmen tells stories, this Americanized Cuban Comet leaves a bright trail of laughter … and healing. – Kathryn Windham. She serves as an unofficial but passionate and witty ambassador for Spanish culture. Her work now appears in English and Spanish editions simultaneously to the delight of tens of thousands of readers. No one plays with an audience like Carmen Deedy. Regardless of the number of people in the venue, Carmen shares every story from her heart to your heart, individually and personally. She possesses the unique gift of not only speaking to all people, but to each person, simultaneously. She once said, “Great story is the art of letting go.” But even as she ‘lets go,’ Carmen will hold your heart in the palm of her hand. She has been an invited speaker at venues as varied as The American Library Association, Refugees International, The International Reading Association, Columbia University, the Smithsonian Institute, TED, the National Book Festival, and the Kennedy Center, but her favorite audience is her grandchildren, for whom she also loves to cook—a true abuela cubana.
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 Darlene Kascak
Darlene Kascak is the Education Director at The Institute for American Indian Studies and is an active member of The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation and The Schaghticoke Women’s Traditional Council. She is also working with the CT State Department of Education on implementing Connecticut’s Indigenous history in the curriculum.
Darlene teaches from a Native American point of view, allowing children and adults to broaden their perspectives for a new understanding of the 12,000 year history of the Indigenous Peoples’ lives, both in the past and present. Her work brings awareness to the impact of stereotypes and myths on the perception of other cultures and the legacies of native contact with other groups.
Along with her role as an educator, she is also a Traditional Native American Storyteller, preserving oral traditions to pass down cultural knowledge and values. Her mission is to connect the stories passed down from generation to generation to recent archaeological discoveries, giving voice to these objects. Oral traditions can be used as a tool to validate or challenge academic knowledge and give shared authority to historically marginalized communities.
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 Carolyn Stearns
The many hats of Carolyn Stearns include author, storyteller, public speaker, farmer, 4-H leader, community activist, letterboxer, FFA supporter, friend to youth. Her writing and storytelling takes experiences from all avenues and blends them with a language full of color and mood. Carolyn resides on the dairy farm that has seen 11 generations walk the same fields on the Eastern Ct. hilltop. Her life long love of horses and of history come pouring out in tales.
Storyteller and author, Carolyn Stearns has walked the woods and trails of Eastern Connecticut. She has sat by the fire in some of the its oldest houses and spins the tales as they were done 200 years ago. Where the Atlantic Ocean crashes to the shores, she has watched the last of the old ships go down to sea and hears the echoes of long ago sailors as they make their way home to port. Let Carolyn’s stories transport you through time to a place where life was slower and heroism and strength prevailed.
Carolyn is the kind of storyteller you would have found in old New England, and her favorite stories to tell are historical tales.
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 Glenn Harper
Glenn is an accomplished and captivating teller of folktales and stories from around the world, drawing in and engaging audiences of all ages, to find universality, meaning, humor and heart in his tales.
Glenn is also well known for writing and telling original stories, be they modern fairy tales, new ghost stories or his particular specialty, hilarious tales of misadventure, often set in small rural communities. He blends humor, lively characters, and very often singing into his tales.
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 Sharmont Influence Little
Sharmont "Influence" Little is a poet, activist, and educator known for his impactful spoken word performances and dedication to empowering youth. He's also the inaugural Poet Laureate of New Haven, CT, and the founder of Influence A Life LLC, a curriculum-based program focusing on social and emotional learning. Little's work spans community engagement, workshops, and performances, often using poetry to address social issues and advocate for justice.
Sharmont Influence Little is a professional performing artist, workshop coordinator and mentor with over 20 years of experience in writing, teaching and performing. He also has a background in psychology as a nurse. As an artist he has been called powerful and engaging. As an educator and mentor he has been called insightful, passionate and caring. He writes and teaches with the view that all youth are great, hoping to help them see their greatness in the midst of social and personal issues.
From his groundbreaking 2007 album "Verbal Tears" to achievements like the Connecticut Grand Slam Champion and Peabody Grand Slam Finalist, Sharmont is a force whose artistry has impacted institutions from UCONN and Yale to Clifford Beers.
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 Carol Birch
Carol’s art is an absence of artifice. She can be exhilarating or confiding, but she’s invariably warm and full of pluck. Her repertoire features biographies of people whose spirits reveal their compassion, courage, and endurance that only enhances our experience of being alive! In her sure voice, stories by fine authors – Carl Sandburg, Ray Bradbury, John Steinbeck – are as appropriately conversational and intimate as the stories of her family.
Recipient of the National Storytelling Network’s Circle of Excellence Award, Birch’s books, videos, recordings, and teaching have been recognized with multiple awards. She’s performed across the nation, including nine appearances at the National Storytelling Festival in Tennessee.
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 Tom Callinan
Tom’s performances include songs from Connecticut’s history from Colonial times up to the present day. Some of the songs are traditional and some are original compositions written in the style of the period they are about. They reveal little known facts and stories of the contributions of many ordinary people.
In 1977, after five years of successful teaching in a Connecticut junior high school, Callinan launched a full-time career in the creative and performing arts. Annually he presents several hundred performances for tens of thousands of people, spanning nursery schools through nursing homes. Since 1973, he has performed with the popular folk band, The Morgans. In 1991, he was designated Connecticut’s first “Official State Troubadour” through legislation by The General Assembly.
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The 2024 Connecticut Storytelling Festival & Conference
is made possible in part with funding from
The Connecticut Office of the Arts,
Thank you! |
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