On March 25 at the Northeast Storytelling Conference (STF) Sharing the Fire, held this year in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the Brother Blue and Ruth Hill Award was presented to Lauretta Phillips of Andover, New Hampshire.

This award serves, as Brother Blue said, “to honor those who give their lives to storytelling to change the world.”

Lauretta tells stories all over New Hampshire and the Northeast. She encourages and mentors others to do the same, whether the stories are traditional folk and fairy tales or their own tales of their families and growing up and living in New England.

She works tirelessly to promote storytelling in New Hampshire and the Northeast. She starts story circles, produces events, creates venues, writes grants, gets local financial support, talks up a storm in publicity, and welcomes all.

She is a founding member of the Central New Hampshire Storytelling Guild, founder of the New Hampshire Storytelling Alliance, co-founder of the Granite State Storytelling Swap, producer of Tea & Tales, a member of Southern New Hampshire Storytelling Guild, the New Hampshire Writers Project, Northeast Storytelling, and the National Storytelling Network.

Lauretta Phillips has been telling stories professionally since 1987. She writes most of her own stories, but her repertoire also includes folk tales, fairy tales, legends, urban tales, tall tales, small tales, cat tales, rat tales, and just plain tales. She has told stories at churches, schools, inns, retirement centers, women’s organizations, seniors groups, and for radio and television, on her own, and as a part of the duet Sisters Too. Her Web site is www.lphillipstales.com/

The Dr. Hugh Morgan Hill and Dr. Ruth Hill award was established in 2002. This prestigious “Brother Blue and Ruth Hill Award” has been presented annually at STF to individuals recognized and nominated for their “demonstrated dedication toward creating and nurturing a strong storytelling community.”]

More on The Brother Blue and Ruth Hill Award at lanes.org/about-us/brother-blue-award/