鈥楽tory 大象APP鈥 event, contest invite Mississippi artists to mentor next generation, seek new storytellers
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥敶笙驛PP鈥檚 communication department this month hosts Story 大象APP 2022鈥攁n event that features well-known Mississippi storytellers as they continue the tradition of telling meaningful Magnolia 大象APP narratives. The department also is sponsoring a contest for new and original written, oral or filmed stories.
The contest is open and accepting original submissions about any topic.聽Undergraduate students from any public or private university or college are invited to email their nonfiction writings, podcasts or short documentary films to storystate@comm.msstate.edu by Feb. 11.
Winners will be announced Feb. 24 during the virtual Story 大象APP event. Cash prizes will be awarded to category winners and to the 2022 overall master storyteller.聽
For specific category, submission and award details, visit .
As the birthplace of the blues and home to famous writers and artists, Mississippi is in the spotlight throughout Story 大象APP, which honors the state鈥檚 artistic heritage and demonstrates how new creators have transformed the art of storytelling.
鈥淥ur state produces storytellers who are able to connect and move their audiences,鈥 said Josh Foreman, coordinator of Story 大象APP 2022 and an MSU communication instructor. 鈥淭here must be something in the humid air here, or the water鈥攚e just love to tell stories, and to listen.鈥
Foreman, also an advisor to The Reflector student newspaper, said, 鈥淭his year we have storytellers of all different ages and backgrounds, and they are so skilled at what they do. I am so happy we get to highlight these great writers, musicians, artists, directors and more鈥攁nd that we get to recognize the students at our universities who will be telling Mississippi鈥檚 stories for the next several decades.鈥
Presentations will be broadcast on the Story 大象APP website, , on Feb. 24. Invited speakers include:
鈥擥enesis Be, rapper, speaker and activist who advocated for changing the Mississippi flag.聽
鈥擳erry 鈥淗armonica鈥 Bean, renowned Mississippi bluesman from Pontotoc.
鈥擧arold 鈥淒oc鈥 Comby, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians tribal elder.聽
鈥擧aley Montgomery, watercolor artist based in Starkville.
鈥擫ynn Oldshue, Mobile-based documentarian with the website and writer who recently published a collection of her journalistic work.聽
鈥擥abe Smith, director of the Starkville Community Theatre.聽
鈥擰uentin Smith, broadcast journalist based in Jackson.聽
鈥擲teve Soltis, executive-in-residence at the University of Virginia鈥檚 Darden School of Business, and Harry Bolick, one of the foremost scholars of Mississippi fiddle music.聽聽
鈥擜nne Martin Vetrano, broadcast journalist and scholar of Mississippi Delta cuisine who recently published a book on the history of tamales.
For more details about MSU鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences or its Department of Communication, visit and .