Brief Bio & Photos

Amanda Lawrence is from Blairsville, Georgia. She grew up in a family of storytellers and enjoys sharing folk and fairy tales, tall tales, ghost stories, and personal narratives. A regular teller at the John C. Campbell Folk School, she has also performed at the Women’s Storytelling Festival, National Storytelling Network Conference, St. Louis Fringe, and countless other events, and she has been a finalist in the National Storytelling Festival slam. Amanda is the 2026 recipient of the J.J. Reneaux Emerging Artist Award, given every other year to an artist of major and unique performing talent who is deserving of national recognition. She also co-founded and directs the Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival, now in its twelfth year.

Storytelling Resume

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Selected Performances and Recognitions

Acworth Books & Storytelling Festival

Alleghany Highlands Story Fest

Appalachian Stories at the Peacock Playhouse

Bear on the Square Festival

Better Said Than Done storytelling shows

Cherokee County Arts Council storytelling shows

No Rusty Ears (Hampton, VA)

Florida Storytelling Festival Fringe

Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival

The Good Liars Club

The Grapevine (Folklore Society of Greater Washington)

Hagood Mill Storytelling Festival

Haunts and Harvest: An Evening of Appalachian Ghost Stories

John C. Campbell Folk School: Fall Festival, Friends & Family Day, Ghost Stories, and Monthly Appalachian Storytelling Nights

National Storytelling Network Conference

Rose Valley Storytelling

St. Louis Fringe

Stone Soup Storytelling Festival

Stories by the Millstream Festival

Women’s Storytelling Festival

2018 Finalist: National Storytelling Festival Slam

2023 People’s Choice Award Winner: Stone Soup Storytelling Festival

2024 Winner of the Hagood Mill Liar’s Competition (for the title “Biggest Liar in South Carolina”)

2025 Winner of Six Feet Apart Productions’ Story Slam (theme: survival)

2026 J.J. Reneaux Emerging Artist Award

What People Are Saying