Innovations In Storytelling: Who's doing what, and why it's awesome

Storytelling has been a hot topic for some time now, with travel bloggers, publishers and brands alike being encouraged to explore new ways of engaging and relating to their audiences.

But what exactly is storytelling? Why is it important and how do you do it? We're joined by a number of leading lights in the travel storytelling movement, people working to translate it from buzzword into very meaningful action. Here we'll explore their philosophies and approaches, talk about what they do and how others can learn from their techniques.

Our panel of storytelling pioneers includes:

Mike Sowden: Im an Archaeology student turned storytelling consultant turned travelling disaster of no clearly fixed abode. I speak on writing and storytelling (including this free course!) 

Iain Manley: I'm the founder of VoiceMap, a platform and publishing tool for location-aware audio guides and one half of Old World Wandering, a travelogue focused on longform storytelling.

Candace Rose Rardon: I'm a writer, sketch artist, and illustrator with a serious case of wanderlust. I recount tales of my travels via stories and sketches on my blog, The Great Affair.

Jonny Miller: I'm a co-founder of Maptia, a beautiful way to tell stories about places. We are on a mission to build the most inspirational map in the world.

Dustin Main: I'm an entrepreneur, nomad, adventure traveller and widely-published travel photographer, telling stories via my blog A Skinny Escape and new venture, Lightmove Creatives.

You? What about you? How do you tell your stories? All are invited to chime in below and share your own techniques, or ask the panel anything on storytelling, travel, their favourite place to drink a cool beer, and anything else!