A Moth storytelling champion shows you how to leave your audience spellbound in this bestselling, practical guide to powerful storytelling—through writing, public speaking, and more. Using a fun, irreverent, and infographic approach, Margot Leitman breaks storytelling into concrete components. Whether you want to write a great wedding toast, deliver a compelling keynote speech, or simply entertain friends and family, comedian and Moth 5-time champion storyeller Margot Leitman provides a clear and engaging roadmap to telling your own personal stories in this approachable storytelling guide. From content and structure to emotional impact and delivery, Leitman guides you through the entire storytelling process, providing personal anecdotes, relatable examples, and practical exercises along the way. Table of Contents Part 1: Getting Started Chapter 1. You Already Have Great Stories Chapter 2. Getting Past Fear Chapter 3. The Truth Chapter 4. The Universal Theme Chapter 5. The Thesis-Based Story Part 2: Elements of a Story Chapter 6. Passion Chapter 7. Layering a Story Chapter 8. Perspective Chapter 9. Character Chapter 10. Rooting for the Storyteller Chapter 11. The Full Circle Chapter 12. Someone Else’s Story Chapter 13. The Unexpected Chapter 14. The Benign Part 3: The Performance and Beyond Chapter 15. How to Memorize & Vocalize a Story Chapter 16. The Business of Storytelling "This book is essential—a reminder that the world would be a better place if everyone knew how to tell a good story." —Diana Spechler, author and seven-time Moth StorySLAM winner

Modest, gem-like, and oddly affecting, the sixteen quite short stories of Full Frontal present intimate moments of one gay mans not untypical life in the late twentieth century. And, like a bracelet or necklace of quirky, individual charms, they ultimately add up to the kind of surprising cumulative effect one usually only gets from knowing someone well for a long time. Felice Picano It is August of 1957, and Tim Halladay, a caddie at the Long Shore Country Club, is looking forward to beginning eighth grade at Assumption School. Tim and his best friend and fellow caddie, Jimmy, are oblivious to the fact that they are slowly transforming into young men with secret desires. As Tim embarks on a journey of emotional and sexual development, he approaches the world around him with a full frontal attitude that allows him to somehow not only survive but thrive, beginning with his first gay experiences as a shy teenager in suburban Connecticut and moving through his escapades at a Virginia army base, the Hotel Manhattan, the Museum of Modern Art, the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and lavish suites at various upscale hotels and resorts. As Tim moves from one encounter to the next, he gradually transforms, moving toward a future as a rising star. Full Frontal shares an intriguing glimpse into the life of a gay man, as told through his eclectic relationships as he eventually discovers that true happiness is all about give and take.

Christian parents know the importance of passing the gospel story on to their children, yet we live in a busy world filled with distractions. This easy-to-use family devotional, in just ten minutes a day, five days a week, empowers parents to pass on the most valuable treasure the world has ever known. Each day focuses on highlighting the ...

“Like the best of the Bard himself, Long Story Short combines dazzling repartee with iconic, nuanced characters and the kind of charged, perfectly paced romance fit for the world stage...a sparkling Shakespearean homage and a wonderful debut.” —Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, authors of Always Never Yours In Serena Kaylor's sparkling debut, a homeschooled math genius finds herself out of her element at a theater summer camp and learns that life—and love—can’t be lived by the (text)book. Growing up homeschooled in Berkeley, California, Beatrice Quinn has always dreamed of discovering new mathematical challenges at Oxford University. She always thought the hardest part would be getting in, not convincing her parents to let her go. But while math has always made sense to Beatrice, making friends is a problem she hasn’t been able to solve. Before her parents will send her halfway across the world, she has to prove she won’t spend the next four years hiding in the library. The compromise: the Connecticut Shakespearean Summer Academy and a detailed list of teenage milestones to check off. If Beatrice wants to live out her Oxford dream, she has to survive six weeks in the role of “normal teenager” first. Unfortunately, hearts and hormones don't follow any equations. When she's adopted by a group of eclectic theater kids, and immediately makes an enemy of the popular—and annoyingly gorgeous—British son of the camp’s founders, Beatrice quickly learns that relationships are trickier than calculus. With her future on the line, this girl genius stumbles through illicit parties, double dog dares, and more than her fair share of Shakespeare. But before the final curtain falls, will Beatrice realize there’s more to life than what she can find in the pages of a book?

From Ireland's first laureate for children's literature comes a story of abuse and neglect told with sincerity, heart, and a healthy dose of humor. Jono has always been able to cope with his mother's drinking, but when she hits his little sister Julie, he decides it's time for them to run away. Told in Jono's funny, self-conscious voice, the layers of his past and the events of his escape are gradually revealed. Amusing and touching but never sentimental, Siobhan Parkinson is a well reviewed middle-grade author who now turns her considerable skill as a writer to a young adult audience.

Long Story Short: Flash Fiction by Sixty-five of North Carolina s Finest Writers"