I haven't been to Jonesboro, but I've been to storytelling conferences and it's amazing how willing everyone is to help you polish the stories you want to tell.

Margaret Read MacDonald has some excellent books for new storytellers, some stories aimed younger and some older. (And if you can get in workshop with her, do! You'll walk away with three or four stories ready to tell!)

Storytelling is special. I read to children sometimes (for things like "The Elephant's Child" where the author's language is an important element) but I usually tell stories. This can confuse some kids, who think that they have to have illustrations in order to "see" the story, but you can bring 'em around. One of my classes last year got a new girl just at the end of the year and I overheard her student "guide" explaining that "Miss Dye don't need no books. She reads to us from inside her head."

(okay, so I'm boasting... )

My "repertoire" includes authored stories, folktales, and even family stories -- anything that works well with my audiences (mostly elementary and preschool students, but occasionally families.)

I think everyone can tell stories. And well, too, if they make the effort. You might look for a book called "Old Man in a Baseball Cap" which is the war stories by a gentleman whose name escapes me, but who was encouraged to write down his tales by a class he took in storytelling.

Go for it, Les B.