The Lone Star Storytelling Festival is proud to welcome four outstanding featured tellers to this year's festivities. These tellers bring international telling experience, numerous awards and commendations, and a great sense of fun to their shows. We know that they will entertain and delight you during the daytime and evening concerts.

Featured Storytellers

Gay Ducey
Gay Ducey wears a lot of hats. And by a lot, we mean pretty much all the hats one storyteller could wear. She’s an internationally touring performer, who has appeared both at the National Storytelling Festival and on Mister Roger’s Neighborhood. She has been a storytelling educator at several universities, including the University of California at Berkeley. Ducey was a commissioned artist for the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History and is the author of Spilt Milk: Traditional Tales of Mothers and Motherhood. She is a former chairperson of the National Storytelling Association, the 2001 recipient of the Oracle Award for Distinguished National Service in Storytelling, the artistic director of the Bay Area Storytelling Festival, and she was named one of the “Outstanding Women of Berkeley” by the Berkeley Commission on the Status of Women. Ducey   passes along her passion for storytelling as a children’s librarian in Oakland, California.
Bil Lepp
Bil Lepp admits to being a big liar. In fact, he's five-time champion of the West Virginia Liar's Contest. His tall tales have earned him recognition with the Parent's Choice Foundation, the National Parenting Publications Association, Storytelling World, and the Public Library Association, just to name a few. Lepp is no stranger to appearing at the National Storytelling Festival, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and other major events around the nation. He is the author of three books, eight audio collections, and the novel Halfdollar. Extremely humorous and always insightful, Lepp isn't afraid to take on subjects like religion, politics, relationships, and the catalyst behind it all, human nature.
Bill Harley
Bill Harley blends humor, honesty, and song to create award-winning storytelling performances. Harley has won recognition from the Parent's Choice Awards, the National Association of Parenting Publications, the American Library Association, and has won the highest honor from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio for his concert DVD, "Yes to Running!" He has been featured on PBS and is a regular commentator on NPR's All Things Considered. He has also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, and has been awarded two Grammys. Bill claims humor as his best weapon and he uses it in every story to remind us of why we could all use a big laugh -- because we're all human.
Tim Tingle
Tim Tingle comes from a long line of storytellers. Family is a strong theme throughout his stories and writing. Tingle is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and was a featured speaker at the Native American Wing at the Smithsonian Institute. Tingle has performed at the American Library Association conference in Anaheim, California on the multi-ethnic concert "Many Voices, One Nation." He is the author of six books, three of which were co-authored with Doc Moore. His children's book Crossing Bok Chitto was an Editor's Choice in the New York Times Book Review and it won the 2008 American Indian Youth Literature Award. He has traveled the world, completing eleven speaking tours on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense, and now teaches a summer storytelling course focused on the pueblos surrounding Santa Fe, New Mexico.