About Susanna

Susanna "Granny Sue" Holstein

Susanna “Granny Sue” Holstein’s stories reflect her life in the hills of West Virginia where she gardens, writes, sings, and spends time listening to the stories of people around her. A graduate of WV State College and the University of South Carolina, Holstein is also a published writer. She maintains an active online journal, Granny Sue’s News and Reviews, a poetry blog Mountain Poet, and was a monthly columnist for the regional magazine Two-Lane Livin’ for ten years. She was named a West Virginia History Hero in 2015, and received the McWhorter Award for Service to West Virginia Storytelling in 2014.

A Sample of Programs Offered:

Appalachian Ghost Stories and Ballads: Haunts from the hills come alive in story and song. Appalachian Sampler: A potpourri of family stories, traditional tales, tall tales, and ballads.

Here We Come A-Caroling: with musician Jeff Seager, includes the stories behind carols both well-known and unfamiliar, offering sing-along opportunities and audience participation.

Weird and Wonderful West Virginia: Strange but true tales from our state’s history

Celtic Tales and Ballads: Stories, songs and folklore; includes multimedia presentation.

Jack, The Appalachian Superhero: All about our man Jack and his many adventures. Includes some historical background on this beloved folk hero. For audiences of all ages.

Around the World with Granny Sue: Stories from around the world with sing-along, puppets, participation and more.

Summer Reading: Programs developed each year for the annual library theme.

Your Program Here: Have an idea for a program? Programs can be developed for specific themes or for special events.

Selected List of Performances:

WV Storytelling Festival, Jackson’s Mill, Weston, WV; Three Rivers Storytelling Festival, Pittsburgh, PA;

Timpanogos Storytelling Conference, Ogden, Utah; Inland Waterways Festival, Marietta, OH;

Augusta Old-Time Week Storytelling Workshops and Augusta Festival, Elkins, WV

Mountain State Arts and Crafts Fair, Ripley, WV; WV Sesquicentennial Celebration, WV State Capitol, Charleston, WV

WV State Folk Festival, Glenville, WV; WVU Brown Bag Lunch-Time Multicultural Series, Morgantown, WV

Harpers Ferry Old-Time Christmas, Harpers Ferry, WV; Rose Valley Storytelling, Media, PA

Stories in the Village, Chevy Chase, MD; Southern Ohio Storytelling Festival, Chillicothe, OH

Shepherd University, Fairmont State University, University of Charleston, WV State Technical College, Marshall University ESL class

School presentations for schools across West Virginia; WV Library Association conferences

Summer Reading Program performances for many WV libraries

Ghost Walk, Ripley, WV: developer and presenter since 2012

Stories in the Round, Hagerstown, MD; Appalachian Children’s Chorus, Charleston, WV

Speak! Storytelling Series, Shepherdstown, WV;  Rose Valley Storytelling Series, Media, PA

BadyHouse concert Series, Brooklyn, NY; 1001 Nights of Storytelling Toronto, Ontario, Canada

More Than Words Speaker Series, Hurricane, WV

Workshops:

Appalachian Storytelling

Telling Ghost Stories

Storytelling for Beginners 

Creative Writing

Appalachian Ballads

Selected List of Publications:

·         Storytelling in the State Parks. Storytelling Magazine, NSN Press, March 2006.

·          Filling the House. WestEd high school  sophomore test booklet for Massachusetts, 2008-2015.

·          Storytelling with Puppets. Telling Stories to Children. NSN Press, 2005.

·         Young Writers Group. More Teen Programs that Work. Honnold, Rosemary. Neal-Schuman, 2005.

·         Gracie’s Cabin;  Burning the Trash. Zinnia Tales: An Anthology of Strong Women Stories, Mountain Girl Press, 2006.

·         Yellow Roses. Self-Rising Flowers, Mountain Girl Press, 2008.  The Way It Was. Appalachian Journal, 2005.

·         Granny’s Front Porch. Monthly column for Two Lane Livin’, 2008-2017

·         Sago. Fed from the Blade Anthology. Woodland Press, 2012.

·         Love’s Old Sweet Song. Diner Stories: Off the Menu. Mountain State Press, 2015.

·         Fruitcake. Voices on Unity: Coming Together, Falling Apart. Mountain State Press, 2017.

Awards:

National Storytelling Conference, 2000: Featured Regional Teller

WV Storytelling Conference, 2001: McWhorter Award for service to storytelling in West Virginia

WV Writers Conference Writing Contest 2006: 2nd Place, 3rd Place (2), Honorable Mention (2)

Author Enablers National Creative Writing Contest, 2nd place, 2005

WV Writers Conference Writing Contest 2004:2nd Place and Honorable Mention (2)

WV Writers Conference Annual Contest 2006: 2nd Place, 3rd Place (2), Honorable Mention (2)

WV Writers Conference Annual Contest 2007: 2- 3rd Place and 2 Honorable Mentions

WV Writers Conference Annual Contest 2008: 2nd place, 2 Honorable Mention, 1st place People’s Choice Poetry

WV Writers Conference Annual Contest 2009: 2nd place, Appalachian, 2 honorable mention, 1st place People’s Choice

WV Writers Conference Annual Contest: Honorable Mention, 2011, 2015

WV Writers Conference Annual Contest: 2nd Place, People’s Choice Poetry, 2012, 2013, 2014

WV Storytelling Guild McWhorter Award for Service to Storytelling, 2014

WV History Hero, 2015

People's Choice Prose and People's Choice Poetry, WV Writers Conference 2018