Bring the gift of storytelling into your life, career and Community
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
Apprenticeship in Folk Tale & Living Tradition
Story Mentoring is an ongoing apprenticeship for aspiring storytellers and people who’d like to engage more deeply with folk tales, myth, and ancestral traditions.
This mentorship may appeal to storytellers, teachers and parents, facilitators and group leaders, as well as people on a path of ancestral enquiry, with an interest in mythopoetics. Individuals who simply love old stories and would like to get better at telling them are also welcome.
The art and craft of storytelling has near universal application. This programme specialises in crafting and traditional tales for telling, engaging oration and cultural understanding.
This process approaches story as: craft, communication, entertainment, cultural custodianship, and way of being.
“The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.”
— Brandon Sanderson
“There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories.”
— Ursula Le Guin
Steep yourself in old stories.
Learn to carry them.
Tell them well.
There's a living tradition of storytelling in Scotland — and beyond it, a vast inheritance of folk tales, traditional tales, and myths that have been told, shaped, and passed on for centuries.
This nine-month programme is for people who want to become part of that tradition. Not to study it from the outside, but to steep themselves in it — and to develop the craft and confidence to stand up and tell these stories in rooms that need them.
WHO THIS IS FOR
This programme is for anyone drawn to the old stories — and ready to make them their own. Whether you're coming to traditional tale for the first time, or you're an experienced facilitator, teacher, or public speaker who wants to bring myth and folk tale more fully into your work — this is a space to go deeper.
You might be a teacher who senses that storytelling skill will transform your classroom. A facilitator who wants narrative to do more than illustrate a point. A public speaker ready to move beyond information and into something that genuinely stays with people. Or someone who has always felt the pull of these tales — and is finally ready to learn how to tell them.
THIS MAY BE FOR YOU IF:
You feel drawn toward folk tales but don’t know where to begin
You want to tell stories live — personally or professionally
You are exploring your ancestral roots and cultural inheritance
You are a teacher, facilitator, celebrant, or creative seeking deeper foundations
You sense that story is more than entertainment
No prior experience is required. Only commitment and curiosity.
THE JOURNEY
1 Finding stories (Learning Phase)
Memory, imagination, sources
Learning where the old stories live — how to find them, choose the versions that speak to you, and begin to make them yours. Exploring Scottish tradition alongside the wider world of folk tale and myth.
2 Crafting stories (learning & Practice)
Structure, language, eloquence emotion
The architecture of traditional tale — how these stories are built, why they hold, and how to shape a version that carries the bones of the original while becoming something alive in your hands.
3 Telling stories (Practice, Feedback, Learning)
Voice, rhythm, presence
Developing your voice, finding your rhythm, and building the kind of presence that makes people lean in. The live act of telling — where the story stops being text and becomes something in the room.
4 Stepping out (Practicalities and Vision)
Audience, opportunities, identity
How to read different audiences, find the opportunities that suit you, and own your identity as a teller — rooted in tradition, but with a voice that's distinctly your own.
5 Walking the Talk (Live telling & Support)
Real world storytelling experience+ feedback
You'll be telling — at sessions, at gigs, in the world — and bringing that experience back to the group for honest feedback, support, and celebration. This isn't a classroom anymore. It's a launchpad.
What You Will Learn:
Over time, mentees learn to:
Find and choose stories suitable for live telling
Research and understand their cultural and historical roots
Memorise stories in a living, embodied way
Work with structure, rhythm, and repetition
Craft adaptations whilst staying true to the tale
Develop presence and confidence in live telling
Navigate audience, setting, and context
Step consciously onto the path of the storyteller
This is not about reciting text, but living and breathing
the stories we tell.
WHAT YOU'LL WALK AWAY WITH
By the end of the programme, you won't just know more about storytelling — you'll have changed your relationship with the old stories, and with yourself as a teller.
A repertoire of crafted, stage-ready traditional tales — shaped, rehearsed, and yours to keep telling.
A deep understanding of how traditional tale works — structurally, rhythmically, and in the room.
Real experience telling to real audiences — and the confidence that comes from knowing you can do it again.
Your own distinct storytelling voice — rooted in tradition, but unmistakably yours.
A community of fellow tellers who know your work and have your back when you step out into the world.
PROGRAMME DETAILS
Duration
9 months
Sessions
Fortnightly
Cohort size
8–12 people
Small enough to build genuine trust. Big enough to bring real variety to the room.
INVESTMENT
Early bird Book before 6 August and Receive a second 1-to-1 session
Book your place before 6 August and you'll receive a second dedicated 1-to-1 with me — in addition to the one included for all participants. An extra hour to go deeper into your own telling, at whatever point in the programme you need it most.
Sliding scale
£900 — £1,200
£900
For those on lower incomes, unwaged, or in the early stages of building a practice.
£1,050
A middle ground — if you're in part-time work or a transitional moment financially.
£1,200
For those in stable employment or with organisational support behind them.
ALL PLACES INCLUDE
18 fortnightly group sessions over 9 months
Curated study materials throughout the programme (PDF, Video & Audio)
One dedicated 1-to-1 session with Dougie
Support finding and organising storytelling opportunities in Phase 5
Need further support?
If even £900 feels out of reach right now, please get in touch before applying. Further concession places and instalment arrangements are available — access shouldn't be the thing that stops you.
Additional Context- Realistically 4 paid storytelling gigs at industry standard rates would pay for this whole course
The Story Guide/Mentor
Dougie…etc
Frequently Asked Questions
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We offer a range of solutions designed to meet your needs—whether you're just getting started or scaling something bigger. Everything is tailored to help you move forward with clarity and confidence.
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Getting started is simple. Reach out through our contact form or schedule a call—we’ll walk you through the next steps and answer any questions along the way.
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We combine a thoughtful, human-centered approach with clear communication and reliable results. It’s not just what we do—it’s how we do it that sets us apart.
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You can reach us anytime via our contact page or email. We aim to respond quickly—usually within one business day.
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We offer flexible pricing based on project type and complexity. After an initial conversation, we’ll provide a transparent quote with no hidden costs.
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Collaborative, honest, and straightforward. We're here to guide the process, bring ideas to the table, and keep things moving.
UESTIONS
Do I need experience to join?
No prior storytelling experience is needed. The programme welcomes complete beginners alongside more experienced practitioners — the cohort format means everyone learns from the range of voices in the room.
How much time will I need between sessions?
There's no fixed homework load, but an hour or two a week — reading tales, drafting, practising — will make a real difference to what you get out of it.
What happens in a typical session?
Sessions combine short craft input with live telling and group feedback. The balance shifts as the programme progresses — earlier sessions are more workshop-style, later ones give more space to telling and reflection.
Is this suitable if I'm not planning to perform publicly?
Yes. While Phase 5 includes support around gigs and opportunities, there's no obligation to pursue public performance. Many participants find the programme transforms how they use traditional tale in their work without ever stepping onto a stage.
How does the concession pricing work?
Concession places are available for those on low incomes, unwaged, or in the early stages of a portfolio career. If the full fee isn't accessible right now, get in touch before applying.
Can I pay in instalments?
Yes — get in touch and we can discuss what works for you.
What if I miss a session?
Life happens. We ask that you aim to attend as many sessions as possible, as continuity matters in a cohort programme. If you need to miss one, we'll make sure you're not left behind.
When does the next cohort start?
Details of the next cohort dates will be listed here. Places are limited — if you'd like to be notified when applications open, get in touch.
This isn't a workshop. It's a commitment to a craft as old as people gathered around fires — and a community that'll hold you to it, cheer you on, and help you get good.
Apply for a place
Places are limited · Concessions available · Instalments welcome
We lean on timeless traditions, oral cultures, hearthside storytelling, mythic pattern, ancestral imagination while also navigating the realities of the contemporary world:
Professional storytelling contexts
Schools and community settings
Creative practice
Personal development
Ethical relationship to source material
Good storytelling involves navigation between gravity and lightness, poignancy and joy.
What you Get
75–90 minute 1:1 online sessions over a 3 month devoted container
Tailored guidance based on your experience, desired outcome and specific learning style
Story recommendations and reading pathways for practice and depth of study
Reflective and interactive prompts between sessions
Ongoing encouragement, and constructive critique and creative practices to build skill and confidence
I only offer a handful of these spaces per year to ensure depth, intimacy and focused learning.
The world needs more storytellers, and if you’re feeling the call, I encourage you to reach out, and explore what this gift and skill can bring to your life and your community. When the times are tough, we need to tell better stories.
You never know what you may discover about yourself, and the world.
B. What Mentorship Includes
Developing your repertoire
Embodied storytelling
Mythic understanding
Narrative craft
Personal ecology
C. How It Works
One-to-one sessions
Online delivery
Seasonal group circles
Optional in-person intensives
Each point with an icon.