Storyboard America is a vision to build a nation of storytellers through the public library system, a vision that is beginning right here in South Carolina. Everyone has a story. The Storyboard America pilot will launch in Dorchester and Beaufort County Libraries with Saturday writing workshops and quarterly community sharing nights that are free and open to the public. The program engages people, regardless of age or writing ability, to capture and share defining moments of their lives in short first-person true narratives. These stories will become part of the libraries’ permanent archive in written and audio form, accessible to all. SC Humanities supported this pilot program with a Major Grant in September 2015.
Professionally guided Storyboard workshops help take the scary out of writing, guiding people to tap into their memories, to draw them out through the five senses and render them as short personal narratives with perspective. The process is as effective as it is fun.
Created by South Carolina author and publisher Susan Kammeraad-Campbell, Storyboard provides editorial assistance to those interested in taking their writing to the next level. Through a roundtable editorial process, writers and editors work closely to create one- to two-page recollections to be made available through the libraries’ audio archive and published in heirloom-quality community yearbooks. The libraries will host quarterly public sharing nights in which workshop participants can read their stories aloud in a supportive environment. The best stories will be considered for broadcast on public radio.
Says Pat Conroy, “This is an important idea with legs.” Author Gail Godwin describes Storyboard as “a little next step in evolution.”
Workshops will be in Beaufort on January 16 at the Hilton Head Library, January 23 at the St. Helena Library and January 30 at the Beaufort Library from 1-3 p.m. Other dates to be announced. Check out www.storyboardamerica.org. Everyone has a story. What’s yours?
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c) 3 organization is governed by a volunteer 23-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually.
