A Creative Convention
1455’s Virtual & In-Person Event Series: Created for Storytellers & Story Lovers
Events to Inspire, Educate & Connect Through Story
StoryFest and StoryFestLive are a series of events hosted by 1455 aimed to bring together authors, poets, artists, and storytellers from all walks of life to connect on creativity, celebrate the power of story, and find solidarity. Our recent events, held in July and October of 2023, featured a variety of international artists and thinkers from a variety of genders, cultures, ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds.
2023 STORYFESTLIVE GALLERY
1455’s virtual programs continue to attract talent—and audiences—from around the world, but we also treasure the ability to feature live events. During the previous year, we’ve had more in-person programming than at any time before 2020, and here’s hoping this new normal is permanent, post-Covid. With gratitude to our friends and partners at Kalero Vineyard, we are proud to have pulled off our second StoryFestLive! Featuring local poet laureates and a perfect combination of scholars and writers, this year’s program explored relevant trends in the technology and academic spaces, as well as the implications on art and education. We also heard brilliant poets reading their work, and enjoyed some incredible wine.
Whether online or in person, the key word that informs everything 1455 does is Community with-a-capital-C. We see our mission at 1455 as helping champion voices that might otherwise go unheard, while connecting communities in an increasingly bifurcated climate that creates barriers and isolation. Speaking of “new normal,” our world is not getting any less confusing or fractured, so 1455’s mission remains steadfastly transparent and positive: we celebrate storytelling and connect communities, by any means possible. Our commitment to keeping all programming free is non-negotiable; this includes our annual festivals, our Young Poets Contest, our monthly Author Series, our digitial e-zine Movable Type, and all public events.
Our duty, as individual creatives and fans, is to tell our stories, listen to other’s stories, and do whatever we can to generate awareness and enthusiasm. At 1455 we believe story matters, and that stories are the antidote for despair and/or apathy. We will continue fostering dialogue, encourage healthy debate, and see if we might save our world, one exchange at a time.
Check out our photo gallery and stay tuned for the forthcoming issue of Movable Type, which will include more from Storytellers featured in this event!
2023 STORYFESTLIVE SESSIONS
VA Poet Laureates:
Poetry Matters
Holly Karapetkova, Courtney LeBlanc, Zeina Azzam,
and Kim B. Miller
Featuring local poet laureates, this panel showcased four writers reading their work and discussing their roles as artists, teachers, and advocates for poetry.
Storytelling at Shenandoah University
Sean Murphy, Kelly Crowley,
and Mackenzie Rose
1455 Executive Director Sean Murphy discusses the new storytelling initiative at Shenandoah University with Dr. Kelley Crowley and Mackenzie Rose.
Ai Inside (and Outside) the Classroom
Shawn Dubravac, Debra Lattanzi Shutika,
and Sean Murphy
Dr. Shawn DuBravac and Dr. Deb Shutika join host Sean Murphy to discuss the implications of AI on teaching, research, student learning, and creativity.
2023 VIRTUAL STORYFEST SESSIONS
Keynote Discussion with Lou Bayard
Lou Bayard and Sean Murphy
Featuring New York Times Notable author Lou Bayard, whose novel The Pale Blue Eye was adapted into the global #1 Netflix release starring Christian Bale.
Young Poets Contest Winners Reading
Sean Murphy, Zeina Azzam, Maia Siegel, Naomi Ling, Claudia Maurino, Audrey Moyer, Sanchita Sahoo, Chloe Wong
Featuring the winners of the 5th Annual 1455 Young Poets Contest writing about Connection. The poems reflected on the contemporary sociopolitical and cultural environment.
Inspiration Information: Black Women Poets
Adrienne Christian, Khalisa Rae Thompson, L. Renée, and Monica Prince
Each poet’s themes cover generational curses, identity, body image, reproductive rights, culture, and the fight for racial justice. They share work that has urgency, agency, and inspire an awakening.
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About 1455 StoryFest
StoryFest is 1455’s flagship event series was created to serve its mission to provide an authentic “space” enabling writers to thrive and connect. These events are designed to make the sense of community commonly found only in academia or online book clubs accessible to everyone. 1455 aims to serve as a refuge and incubator for personal creation, collaboration and kinship. Over the past five years, 1455 has presented this series of virtual and in-person events sponsored by generous contributors to the arts and humanities. Our nonprofit has showcased resiliency in our ability to adjust our programming to persevere through the challenges of the pandemic, and we continue to flexibly find ways to create community online and at various locations in the greater Washington, D.C. area.
PAST STORYFEST EVENTS
