You don’t have to read before you can love reading.
Usually it works the other way around.
I’ve spent two decades telling and writing stories, often for young people who I’m warned are “reluctant readers”, “unlikely to engage”, or simply “not into stories”, and the feedback I almost always hear from grown-ups afterwards is,
“How did you keep them engrossed for so long?!”
All of which has taught me something many have found life-enhancing…
Share a story with your audience rather than to them, and amazing things will follow.
Recreational reading. Impromptu writing. Drawing. Talking. Improved listening. Even voluntarily putting down a screen every now and then.
That’s what Storyteller Chip’s Story Tips are all about. $;-)
What’s your need?
Perhaps you’re a parent of a child who happily spends hours on their tablet, but who regards ten minutes sat with a book as a violation of their human rights.
Perhaps you’re an educator or librarian looking for practical ways to make reading, writing, and storytelling feel less like the results-driven work the authorities want it to be, and more like something children actually want to do.
Perhaps you’re a writer or storyteller trying to work out why one story has audiences still talking about it years later, while another story quietly slips out of their minds.
Or perhaps you simply like stories.
If any of the above applies to you, you’ll feel welcomed, valued, and served right here.
Why subscribe?
You’ll benefit from discovering the things I’ve spent my working life fine-tuning. Things like…
how to enthrall with stories – in text, in person, or both
activities for enhancing your imagination – and by extension your world
storytelling techniques you can actually use right away
Sometimes that might arrive as an article. Sometimes a podcast. Sometimes a game you can try with a young person with just a little preparation. Sometimes a peek behind the scenes of the life of a storyteller and author.
But note: I won’t send you an article just because the internet says I should send an article on Tuesdays. You’ll hear from me regularly, but when I’m sure it’ll be of value to you.
I would love to guarantee the continuation of these Tips, though – and there are a couple of ways you can help with that…
Comment on each post you enjoy, even with just a single word. Doing this will increase the visibility of this website, meaning you’ll help others benefit from it and support me at the same time.
Become a paid subscriber. The annual price is the cost of a typical hardback from a bookshop, and may one day enable me to achieve the dream of putting you first when deciding my tasks for the week. $;-)
Do the paid thing, and get even more…
Exclusive bonus stories
Behind-the-scenes extras
Occasional Live meet-ups where you can excavate my brain
Occasional treats, such as first-come-first-served book giveaways
And if you go all-in as a Founding Member, you’ll receive extra special bonuses crafted just for you: first-come-first-served writing critiques, special preview copies, and other juicy ideas as they occur to me. $;-)
However you subscribe, you have my mahoosive gratitude – by being here, you’re directly supporting me and my work. $:-)
“Who’s this Chip bloke anyway?”
Since 2007, I’ve been a professional storyteller, enthralling audiences young and old in 11 countries across four continents.
I present regularly at Glastonbury Festival, produced the Oxford Reading Tree’s globally-renowned Traditional Tales online resources, represented Roald Dahl for ITV, and earned a Guinness World Record for my contribution to the longest continuous storytelling performance at the 2025 World Storytelling Festival.
Since 2009, I’ve been a family theatre playwright. In 2012, one of my shows was a finalist in the British Awards for Storytelling Excellence, and in 2018 my Edinburgh Fringe show was a Primary Times Children’s Choice pick.
Since 2016, I’ve authored 20 children’s books. Some parents and teachers found my books to be unusually accessible by their ‘reluctant readers’, the result of which was a commission from a Dept for Education English Hub to write the world’s first lesson scheme for inspiring reading for pleasure – something for which, at the time of writing, I’m a finalist in the Teach Primary Awards 2026.
I’ve shared stories and storytelling training with literally hundreds of schools, organisations like BookTrust and Coram Beanstalk, and even individual mentees through my work with the National Centre for Writing.
Everything I do is underpinned by the same basic principle:
Stories are something we’re all attracted to, because our minds know they’re good for us.
My latest children’s novel, The Bestest Story in the World… Ever!, inspired by the true story of an almost non-verbal boy who grew the confidence to tell stories in public after encounters with my storytelling, is possibly my most serious example of that principle – while being thoroughly unserious about everything else… $;-)
Three things I believe about stories
Every story, fact or fiction, begins with a need to be shared.
The best way to receive the attention of an audience is to give them yours.
Sharing stories makes us more human.
What others have said about me
“Children, parents, and teachers all benefited. I wish more institutions will contact Chip to develop their curricula.”
– Diego Zaffaroni, Programme Director for ICS Diaz Schools, Milan
“He even sleeps with intensity!”
– Martin Smith, author of Olaf the Viking, catching me asleep on one of the overnight stops during a pantomime tour
“We’ve noticed a big improvement in our children’s confidence from Chip’s intervention, and parents have really got onboard.”
– Louise Lightley, Deputy Head of Amble Links Primary
“I need to work out how you do that.”
– Matt Killeen, Costa Book Award finalist, after watching some 100 or so children materialise in front of me at a school fete
“I can’t believe you kept them engaged for so long!”
– at least one Early Years, Primary, and/or Secondary teacher from pretty much every school I’ve ever visited, after I’ve had their class spellbound for an hour.
“Your feet are weird.”
– Emma, my wife
What others have said about my work
“At last! A fresh, accessible guide to storytelling encouraging young people to read for the joy of it. Should be part of every teacher’s toolkit.”
– Ian Whybrow, author of the award-winning Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs, on All the Better to Read You With: Stories & Lessons to Inspire Reading for Pleasure
“Staff are fighting over who will get to use it next.”
– a review on Waterstones.com about All the Better to Read You With: Stories & Lessons to Inspire Reading for Pleasure
“Even the children who usually don’t listen as carefully as some of the others were totally involved in it.”
– Sarah King, Year 6 Teacher, on The Bestest Story in the World… Ever!
“Chip is an excellent writer with an obvious depth of historical knowledge as well as being an incredible storyteller. I personally felt like i could hear the words I was reading and will definitely be sharing some of the tales in this book.”
– a review on Amazon about Cambridgeshire Folk Tales for Children
“Have been reading this at bedtime to a 9 year old and a 6 year and they are both loving it, and I am too!”
– another review on Amazon about Cambridgeshire Folk Tales for Children
Come and nick my Story Tips
You don’t need to be a writer.
You don’t need to be a teacher.
You definitely don’t even need to think of yourself as interested in ‘literacy’.
If you care about stories – particularly what they can do for young people – you’re in the right place.
Subscribe free, and I’ll send you the good stuff. $;-)
