A small monastic outpost in 13th Century Wales is rocked to its core when a gruesome discovery is made on the nearby shoreline: a severed human head. It's the first of several to wash up along the surrounding coast, and not long after, the holy brothers stumble across the smouldering ruins of a bardic school with a pile of decapitated bodies inside. Only one survivor, barely alive, is found hiding nearby. He is Cian Brydydd Mawr, the greatest bard of his age, who holds in his head the four `branches' of an ancient, epic Welsh myth cycle: The Mabinogion. Physically weak but strong willed, he asks the monks to put aside their rigid Christian doctrine and commit his oral tales to parchment - before the stories of spirits and shape-shifters, giants and time-travellers, curses and spells, are lost forever...

For 35 years, Hugh Lupton has been at the forefront of the storytelling movement in Great Britain. The renewed interest and subsequent flourishing of this tradition is in no small way a result of Lupton’s work, vision and commitment. Underpinning this is a deep understanding of the essential role stories play in the human psyche. From this career-spanning collection, including fiction, poetry, reviews, articles, talks and praise-songs, what emerges is a broad account of why our species remains so deeply connected both to the stories we tell and the land we inhabit; of the relationship between landscape and the way we communicate. This is a story as old as earth itself. Drawing on his vast knowledge of folklore and legends from around the world, as well as an unrivalled experience of live storytelling, Lupton shows us how stories - always formed on the breath before the page - have nourished, taught and guided us for millennia.

In this infectiously lively reworking of a Hebridean folk tale, Hugh Lupton tells the story of two friends, Pirican Pic and Pirican Mor, who fall out over a pile of walnuts. One has eaten the other's share. 'I'm going to find a stick and whack and thwack you for that!' says Pirican Mor. But revenge is not so quick or easy as it seems. The tree directs him to an axe, the axe to a stone, the stone to water, the water to a stag...soon the whole landscape is caught up in the tale, and Pirican Mor is drawn further and further from his moment of fury.

Set sail with Odysseus as he fights to find his way back home after the brutal Trojan War. On his ten year journey, he endures harrowing ordeals, battles monsters and learns what it means to be a hero. Award-winning professional storytellers Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden's gripping retelling breathes new life into Homer's classic The Odyssey.

Delight in reading these quirky tales aloud to the under-five crowd. Each of the seven stories imparts an important lesson while using humor and lovable characters to keep listeners engaged.

Introducing a bewitching world of mystery and magic, this collection of stories includes tales of singing elves with magical feet, skeletons that move of their own accord and a heroic blackbird who outwits a powerful king. Includes storytime CD read by the author.

Sharpen your wits and dazzle your friends with this fabulous collection of riddles, puzzles and riddle-stories. The Barefoot Book of Riddles won't just make you laugh out loud -- it will give you new ways of thinking about the world.

Norfolk is steeped in story. Whether we are treading fields, fens, beaches or streets, the landscape is pregnant with secret histories. The collective imagination of countless generations has populated the county with ghosts, saints, witches, pharisees, giants and supernatural beasts. Stories have evolved around historical characters, with Horatio Nelson, Oliver Cromwell, Anne Boleyn, Tom Paine and King Edmund becoming larger than life in folk-memory. This book is a celebration of the deep connection between a place and its people.

Master storytellers Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden bring three of the most famous myths of the ancient Greek world to life. Vividly illustrated by award-winning French illustrator Carole Henaff, Greek Myths is a captivating introduction to the stories of Demeter and Persephone, Theseus and the Minotaur, and Orpheus and Eurydice.

Set sail with Odysseus as he fights to find his way back home after the brutal Trojan War. On his ten year journey, he endures harrowing ordeals, battles monsters and learns what it means to be a hero. Award-winning professional storytellers Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden's gripping retelling breathes new life into Homer's classic The Odyssey.