Northlands Storytelling Network Creation and Conferences with other Storytelling Community events as determined by Patricia Coffie
Timeline for Festivals, Conferences and EventsMadison, WI beginnings
1978
  • Five friends (Mark Wagler, Reid Miller, Susan Cook, Joan Laurion, Glen Mitroff) travel in a van to National Storytelling Festival and bring their inspiration back to the north lands. First events were held under “Madison Storytellers’ Guild.”
  • National Association for the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling began in 1973 and continued with name changes. NAPPS 1975-1993
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg since 1973
  • Mineral Point, WI (6)
1979
  • First Northlands Storytelling Festival is held in Mineral Point, WI
  • First Articles of Incorporation and By-laws with Mark Wagler, Elaine Wynne, and Reid Miller as directors
  • The National Story League, formed in 1903, continued
  • Jonesborough, TN Annual National Storytelling Festival continues from 1973
  • Waverly, IA holds 6th Cedar River Storytelling Festival
1980
  • The Northlands Storytelling Festival, Second Annual Gathering
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
1981
  • Northlands Storyfest ’81
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
1982
  • Plenty of Magic: 4th Annual Northlands Storyfest
  • Northlands Storyfest Newsletter begins with Sue Greenwood as first editor
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
1983
  • A Story of Places/A Place of Stories. Northlands first formal “Conference”
  • Northlands adopts new Articles of Incorporation and By-laws created mainly by Michael Skindrud, lawyer, and Loren Niemi
  • First official annual meeting of general membership is held in Mineral Point, WI
  • Newsletter becomes “Grapevine”
  • Spring gathering formally named first “Conference” in Vol. 2 No. 3 of Grapevine
  • “Storytelling from the Heartlands” created with Co-producers Mark Wagler and Wisconsin Public Radio
  • Storytellers’ Roundtable of the Iowa Library Association established by Patricia Coffie, Dave Ashcraft, Duffy DeFrance
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
1984
  • Politics and Media: Storytelling in 1984. Northlands
  • First Illinois Storytelling Festival in Spring Grove, IL Jim May
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
  • Elkader, IA (12)

1985
  • Stories: Bridges in Our Lives
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
1986
  • Storytribe Gathers at the Oasis
  • Elaine Wynne and Larry Johnson begin work to “Make NAPPS National”
  • Northlands Audio Conference
  • First School of Storytelling
  • Playboy asks to participate at Northlands and is told “NO”
  • First “Stories from the Heartland” in Austin, MN
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
1987
  • From Mountain to Mountain: Nurturing Grassroots Storytelling in the Midwest
  • First School of Storytelling is organized by Cindy Guthrie
  • NAPPS 1st National Congress St. Louis, MO with NSN a part of the planning and realization that “We are NAPPS.”
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
1988
  • A Wellspring of Stories
  • Jimmy Neil Smith from NAPPS attends Northlands Conference
  • Storytelling & Cultural Diversity co-sponsored by NSN and Metro State University in Minneapolis
  • NAPPS 2nd National Congress in Santa Fe, NM. Ethics.
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is established with Michael Cotter, Donald Davis, and Patricia Coffie first tellers
  • Iowa Library Association president Patricia Coffie has Jim May as first general session storyteller
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
1989 - Opening the Circle
  • NAPPS 3rd National Congress in Raleigh, NC. Storytelling and the Performing Arts
  • National Storytelling Journal becomes Storytelling Magazine
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 2nd
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg

1990 - Priming the Pump
  • Northlands Co-sponsored with NAPPS the 4th National Congress in St. Paul, MN
  • Alternating Currents. Storytelling, Community, and the Electronic Age
  • Co-coordinated by Larry Johnson and Elaine Wynne in Minneapolis
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 3rd
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
1991 - Forging New Links
  • Corn Days Parade in Dows, IA features Northlands Board
  • NSN Co-sponsors Cindy Guthrie and Sarah Meybaum on trip to USSR
  • NAPPS 5th and final Congress in Groton, CT.
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 4th
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
1992 - Spinning Stories—Weaving Worlds
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 5th
  • Two Chairs Telling begins in January in Minneapolis by Loren Niemi
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
1993 - Net of Gems
  • Patricia Coffie elected to NAPPS Board
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 6th
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
1994 - A Flood of Stories
  • $25 honorarium—first payment—for conference presenters is initiated
  • “Heads and Tales: Storytelling in Education” Madison, WI. Co-coordinated by: Mark Wagler and Larry Johnson.
  • National Association for the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling (NAPPS) becomes National Storytelling Association (NSA) 1994-1998.
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 7th
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
1995
  • Tales and Tellers: Ten Years at Elkader (Actually 11)
  • First paid newsletter, membership records, mailings, etc.
  • National Storytelling Association establishes first awards: Lifetime Achievement, Circle of Excellence, Regional Service, and Regional Leadership.
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 8th
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
1996
  • Stories—Sparks from the Fire
  • Themed issues begin for Storytelling Magazine
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 9th
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
  • Dubuque, IA (3)
1997
  • Stories: Bridges to the Future
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 10th
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
1998
  • Stories: Celebration of Imagination
  • National Storytelling Association divides into International Storytelling Center and National Storytelling Membership Association (NSMA) 1999. National Storytelling Festival is mutually owned. National Storytelling Center is International Storytelling Center
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 11th
  • First “Cocktails for the Wicked” hosted by Loren Niemi at Northlands
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
1999
  • Telling Timeless Tales
  • Meanwhile back in Waverly, IA. Last Cedar River Storytellers Festival 1975-1999
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 12th
  • Loren Niemi elected to National Storytelling Membership Association’s Board of Directors
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
  • Madison, WI (8)
2000 - Stories for the New Tellenium
  • No Cedar River Storytellers Festival in Waverly, IA as Iowa’s first lady Christie Vilsack’s Stories 2000 in every library in Iowa begins
  • National Storytelling Membership Association (NSMA) becomes National Storytelling Network (another NSN) 2000 to present
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 13th
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival Waverly/Wartburg
2001
  • Growing the Future, Rooted in the Past
  • Cedar River Storytellers Festival 1975-1999 with a 2001 special by First Lady of Iowa Christie Vilsack given award in person by Loren Niemi of National Storytelling Network.
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 14th
2002
  • Nurturing Storytelling, Linking Storytellers
  • Business Manager, Karen Wollscheid, added!
  • Northlands Journal begins
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 15th
  • Madison, WI at Edgewater Hotel
2003
  • Nurturing Storytelling, Linking Storytellers
  • Edgewater Hotel Madison
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 16th
  • National Conference Sunday Concert in Chicago “A Taste of the North Lands”
2004
  • A Recipe for Success
  • Last “Cocktails for the Wicked” hosted by Loren Niemi at Northlands
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 17th
  • National Storytelling Network establishes Brimstone Grant for Applied Storytelling.
  • National Storytelling Network establishes J. J. Reneaux Emerging Artist Grant
2005
  • Hands across the Northlands
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 18th
2006
  • Join the Circle
  • Meanwhile back in Story City, IA. “Story!” First Annual Festival, Michael Cotter and Bev Jackson
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 18th

2007
  • Well-worn Paths & Roads Less Traveled
  • 25th Annual Northlands Storytelling Conference
  • National Storytelling Conference returns to St. Louis after 20 years
  • Northlands Storytelling Network presents “Storytellers Unleashed” at Minnesota Fringe Festival
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 19th
  • Story! Continues with 2nd Festival in Story City, IA
  • Green Lake, WI
2008
  • Northlands Storytelling Network Conference
  • 30th Anniversary of Founding of Northlands
  • National Storytelling Network cuts staff severely and plans move to urban city
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 20th
  • 3rd Annual Story! in Story City, IA
2009
  • Our Circle is Always Open
  • 27th Annual Northlands Storytelling Conference
  • Year of the Regions designation and grant from National Storytelling Network
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 21st Annual
  • 4th Annual Story! in Story City, IA
2010
  • The Tale’s the Thing.
  • Los Angeles for the National Storytelling Conference
  • Story! Continues with 5th Annual Festival in Story City, IA
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 22rd Annual.
  • Illinois Storytelling Festival continues at Dominican U in Illinois with Janice Del Negro
  • Iowa Library Association Storytellers’ Roundtable establishes “Power of Story” Award
  • Iowa Library Association Storytellers’ Roundtable sponsors 2 concurrent sessions by WonderWeavers at Iowa Library Association’s annual conference
  • Lake Geneva, WI at Grand Geneva Resort
2011
  • No Theme
  • Stories ‘till the Cows Come Home
  • Northlands reorganizes, reducing size of board and revising bylaws
  • Year of the Regions designation and grant from National Storytelling Network.
  • International Storytelling Center bankruptcy results in ISC’s appropriation of all proceeds to National Storytelling Festival.
  • National Storytelling Network regroups and reconsiders what it is to be a National membership organization with a Conference.
  • Northlands Journal and Membership Directory in print is last one
  • Story! 6th Annual in Story City, IA
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 23rd Annual.
  • Iowa Library Association Storytellers’ Roundtable features TWO storytellers (Tim Tingle and Pippa White) at ILA Annual Conference in Council Bluffs
2012
  • No Theme
  • Stories ‘till the Cows Come Home
  • Story! 7th Annual in Story City, IA
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, IA is 24th Annual
  • Cincinnati for the National Storytelling Conference in 2012 by National Storytelling Network
2013
  • No Theme
  • Stories ‘till the Cows Come Home
  • Story! 8th Annual in Story City, IA
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa is 25th Annual
  • Richmond, VA for the National Storytelling Conference in 2013
  • Lake Geneva, WI at Geneva Ridge Resort
2014
  • No Theme
  • Stories ‘till the Cows Come Home
  • Story! 9th Annual in Story City, IA
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake is 26th Annual
  • Phoenix AZ for National Storytelling Conference
  • National Storytelling Network moves headquarters to Kansas City, MO.
  • National Black Storytelling Festival and Conference Chicago
2015
  • Northlands Confabulation
  • Two Chairs Telling continues in Minneapolis with Loren Niemi
  • Story!10th Annual in Story City, IA
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival in Clear Lake is 27th Annual
  • Includes a workshop by Storytellers’ Roundtable of ILA
  • National Storytelling Network first Conference in Kansas City, Mo PATHWAYS
2016
  • Confabulation
  • Story! Revamped in Story City
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival 28th Flood in Park and Fire on Boat
  • National Storytelling Network second Conference in Kansas City, MO
2017
  • Confabulation
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival 29th No Boat and 2 sessions City Park. Fire on boat and flood in park!
  • National Storytelling Network third Conference in Kansas City, MO
2018
  • Northlands Confabulation with Beth Horner
  • 40 years from founding of Northlands
  • National Storytelling Network Summit in Kansas City, MO
  • Iowa Storytelling Festival 30th Boat and 3 sessions City Park
  • Pyle Center, Madison, WI
2019
  • Northlands Confabulation with Tim Lowry
  • National Storytelling Network in Fremont CA
  • Pyle Center, Madison, WI
2020 - Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
  • Northlands Confabulation with Kim Weitkamp
  • Pyle Center, Madison, WI