An inspiring keynote speaker and workshop leader, Rafe Martin has spoken at countless international, national, regional, and statewide conferences, institutes, and corporate seminars.

Rafe speaks eloquently about power of the imagination as he shares a uniquely practical and exciting vision of stories in words—both written and told. He demonstrates how reading, writing, and storytelling are actually the greatest adventures, capable of taking us on a journey deep into our own imaginations. He makes clear that storytelling, reading and writing may be the oldest technologies on this earth, but they remain the best—most effective and powerful—tools we have, even today, for teaching us not just how to become literate, but how to create meaningful lives.

Some Conference Appearances

International Conference of the International Reading Association
American Library Association National Convention
National Council of Teachers of English
Literacy Compass (formerly Bill Martin’s conference series)
Tennessee Library Association
Alabama Reading Association
The National Storytelling Institute
Vassar College Summer Institute on Children’s Book Publishing
Ohio State Literacy Conference
Mazza Collection Summer Institute, Findlay University
Michigan Association for Media in Education (MAME)
American Orff-Schulwerk Association National Conference
Seventh Generation
Greenpeace: Change It!
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Agency) Ames
Utah Educational Library Media Association
Mid Hudson Reading Council
New York City Storytelling Festival
Peabody Essex Museum
Albright Knox Art Gallery
The Texas Book Festival
The Tennessee Library Association
The National Storytelling Institute and National Storytelling Congress
The Alabama Library Association
The Ark, Ann Arbor MI
The Utah Educational Library Media Association
American Museum of Natural History

Rafe can teach you or your staff how to bring a story to life. Rafe’s workshops include:

• “One of the most outstanding programs we’ve ever had.”
  Hudson Valley Library Association
• “Exciting! An expert!”
  New York State Council for Children
• “When Rafe Martin comes to speak order more books than you planned to. We sold out—the first time this has happened at our conference in our seven years’ experience.”
  Grace E. Donoho, Media Coordinator, Northeast Arkansas Education Service Cooperative
• “What a wonderfully terrific Storytelling Institute you led! Thanks for sharing your brilliance with us. I will savor it for years to come.”
  Dr. Flora Joy, Director, International Storytelling Institute, East Tennesee State University
• “Making 1,000 strangers in a Las Vegas ballroom feel as though they were in an intimate setting is no small feat. Not only was your presentation entertaining, you provided just the right tone for the closing of a long afternoon of programming on an important theme.”
  Joint Committee of the American Booksellers Association and the Children’s Book Council
• “I’m getting many positive strokes from teachers whose students were at Young Authors and came back today all enthused about their experience. THANKS again for being such a wonderful inspiration.”
  Joyce Hinman, Conference Chair, 23rd Plains Regional Conference, International Reading Association
• “Our heartiest thank you for a job well done. The Fourth Mazza Summer Institute was a huge success by any measure due, in no small measure, to your wonderful presentations. There were so many favorable—no, make that ecstatic comments about your visit . . . that we wish we had been able to tape them so you might bask in their glow.”
  Jerry Mallett, Ed. D., Director, Mazza Collection Galleria, The University of Findlay
• “We send a big Nebraska THANK YOU for coming to speak with us! The audience raved over your storytelling as well as what you had to say about language and stories and their importance today.”
  Sylvia Yoder, Eastern Nebraska Reading Council
  
• Read More reviews of Rafe’s conference and seminar work.