Storytime

Are you interested in sharing your story with this warm, thoughtful community? 

Here's what you need to know.   

DAC Storytime is a one-hour session on Saturday morning, July 19, 2025, during HCAF's Domestic Adoption Camp in Estes Park YMCA, when 6-8 community members read their story, each approximately 5 minutes long. 

This is not an open mic type of event, but rather a planned, curated in advance line-up of stories from you, our community members. 

If we receive more stories than we can use during the live storytelling event, please know that all stories we receive will be included in a special DAC Storytime binder, which will be available near the coffee and DAC "Bookstore", for your reading pleasure, as a delightful break during camp!  This is the only place the DAC Storytime Binder will be available.

There is a submission process for all stories, as well as a  selection process for the 6-8 storytellers; please see below for the details.

YOU are warmly invited to submit YOUR story!  

Important Info:

• The first step is to fill out this simple form, indicating your interest in participating in this event, either as a written story you submit or as a storyteller during the live event. This will help us identify who we should be in contact with, about this new event!  You are NOT committing yourself to anything by completing this form, just indicating interest.
  
  
• The second step will be an email submission of your written piece.
  
  
• Send us an email at melissa @ innerwisdomparenting.com with the word audition in the subject. You can share a Google doc with us at that address, embed your piece into the body of the email, or attach a Word doc.
  
  
• Your piece should be approximately 5 minutes when read aloud. This is roughly 600-1100 words, but will vary widely depending on content and speaking style. Please edit appropriately to achieve the desired time.
  
  
• The deadline to email your story is Friday, June 20, 2025. Note that all stories will be shared with the community, in the binder. We will need to identify approximately eight storytellers to read their stories aloud during the live event, and will check with you via email, to see if you are willing to do that! 
  
  
• A note about confidentiality:  We are only going to be sharing these stories, during the DAC camp and future DAC camps (in the written form); they will not be made public in any way. You are welcome to change names and other pertinent details, to maintain more confidentiality, if you wish.
  
  
• We encourage you to check out these guidelines for ethical storytelling. We want to share our stories while also protecting our children, birth families and everyone involved.  We encourage you to be very thoughtful and intentional about telling the story that is yours to tell -your experience as a parent/caregiver of an adopted child (or children), and not your child's story, or their birth family's story etc. 
  
  
• If you have any questions, just email: [email protected] 

For those of you who think there is no way that YOU have a story to share, we want to remind you:

If you are a parent or caregiver, you have a story to tell about raising little to big humans.  

Your story may be the one that touches someone in the audience who needed to hear it.

Your story is unique. Your story is needed.

Here are a few more things to keep in mind before submitting your story:

• The central theme of the story must be parenthood or caregiving. 
• We are aiming for a diverse mix of stories—we look for funny, poignant, and everything in between. We welcome all stories of parenthood and caregiving from all people and celebrate diversity in our team of storytellers.
• It can be a story that is specific to parenting through adoption, or parenting in general.
• The length of time, just five minutes, is really quite short!  So be sure to consider a very specific story you wish to tell; it is more challenging editing down our parenting experiences to such a short window, so you won't be able to tell your whole parenting experience :)
• You do not have to have your piece memorized. In fact, we prefer it if you do not, as this show is a series of live readings (not performances).
• You do not have to consider yourself a writer or have any experience on stage – we welcome all levels of experience with writing and speaking. This is a low-key, fun event; a time for us to gather and hear stories, so the stakes are low! And the audience is so warm, kind and welcoming!
• Previously published work may be accepted as long as you have full rights to read it at this event.

NOTE: This is a closed event, open only to those who are officially a part of DAC, and an adult/parent/caregiver through adoption. 

This event will not be recorded or made public in any way; we will create a strong container of safety and confidentiality, so that we can show up and share our stories with ease.