National Tell a Story Day is an occasion intended to encourage people to express their individuality and creativity through the sharing of stories. In commemoration of the day, we launched a “Tell a Story Competition” which allowed children to submit their favourite stories they had created on our website and potentially win prizes.

The history of Tell a Story Day

Tell a Story Day was started in 2009 by entrepreneur George Rafeedie, founder of a marketing agency, who sought to encourage the promotion of brands via storytelling. The event has since taken on a wider meaning and now primarily focuses on the cultural rather than the marketing significance of storytelling.

The history of the storytelling tradition

The first written story can be traced back to 2700 BC with the Epic of Gilgamesh. Whilst we do not have evidence of older written stories, it is clear that oral stories have been told for over 7 millennia in various forms such as song and poetry. 30000-year-old cave drawings found in France outline basic plots and it has been posited that they once served as prompts for storytellers. 

Storytelling is equally a universal human practice. Every culture has its own narratives striving to grapple with the complexities of the world, provide entertainment, instruct moral lessons or pass down knowledge. Stories provide a medium through which information may be transmitted in an engaging and memorable way to an audience and they have consequently played an important role in human civilisation for millennia.

The benefits of storytelling

Through storytelling, children can give voice to their creativity and learn of the different steps involved in devising a narrative. Moreover, by imagining the perspective of a fictional character, they can develop their empathy whilst also experiencing the magical illusion of travelling through space and time.