Ranging from mountain tall tales to poignant personal stories, Granny Sue’s adult and family performances often include singing British and Appalachian ballads. Performances for children are highly interactive and participatory, frequently including the use of puppets and other props to enliven the telling. She travels widely to present stories and workshops at conferences, festivals, and other events from Boston, MA to Bellingham, WA. Her love of storytelling began as a child in a family of 13 siblings; television was usually not part of their lives and the children entertained themselves by reading, telling stories and making up games that often lasted for several weeks. Family gatherings then and now were times for sharing stories and sing-along.

“Granny Sue” is a member of the National Storytelling Network, the West Virginia Storytelling Guild, and several regional storytelling and writing organizations. Her writing interests were rekindled when she started a youth writing group in 2000. Since that time she joined WV Writers, Inc and Appalachian Wordsmiths Creative Writing Group. Her writing awards and publications include:

The new title from Mountain Girl Press, Self-Rising Flowers, includes a story by West Virginia storyteller Granny Sue Holstein.  The price of the book is $12.95, and it can be purchased by contacting Granny Sue at susannaholstein@yahoo.com

Self-Published:

·         Mountain Story, Mountain Song (CD); 2004

·         Tell It Together: Participation Stories for Family Audiences, 2003

·         Homeplace: Poems from the Mountains, 2004; View From the Ridgetop, 2004; Granny’s Ghost Stories, 2004

·         Natural Views: Poems from West Virginia’s State Parks, Skull Run Stories (one of 6 editors), 2006 .

·         Granny Sue’s News and Reviews, quarterly newsletter since 1999

·         www.grannysu.blogspot.com : an online writing and storytelling journal

Articles, stories and poems:

·         Storytelling with Puppets. Telling Stories to Children. NSN Press, 2005.

·         Young Writers Group. More Teen Programs that Work. Honnold, Rosemary. Neal-Schuman, 2005.

·         Gracie’s Cabin and Burning the Trash. Zinnia Tales: An Anthology of Strong Women Stories, Mountain Girl Press, 2006

·         Simplicity. Gambit Literary Magazine, 2006 edition, WVUP.

·         The Way It Was. Appalachian Journal, 2005.

·         Brown Paper Lunch Bag. Museletter, WV Writers, Inc. 2005.

·         Telling Stories in the Parks. Storytelling Magazine, 2005.

·         Filling the House: a retelling of an old folktale. Storyteller.net, 2004

·         Various stories and poems, MountainEchoes.com, 2003-2004

Awards

·         National Storytelling Conference, 2000: Featured Regional Teller

·         WV Storytelling Conference, 2001: McWhorter Award for service to storytelling in West Virginia

·         WV Writers Conference Writing Contest 2004:2^nd Place and Honorable Mention (2)

·         Allegheny Echoes Creative Writing Workshops Scholarship, 2005

·         AuthorEnablers Creative Writing Contest, 2^nd place, 2005      

·         WV Writers Conference Writing Contest 2006: 2^nd Place, 3rd Place (2), Honorable Mention (2)

·         WV Poetry Society 2006 Poetry Competition: 1^st place, 2^nd place, 3^rd place, 1^st and 2^nd

Honorable Mention