Pitch Your Story! Call for Stories for "A Finding Aid to My Soul" Virtual Event in April

"Storytelling provides safe conditions for daring decisions." 
—Micaela Blei 

SAA’s Committee on Public Awareness (COPA) is pleased to announce the 2026 storytelling event, “A Finding Aid to My Soul,” coming in late April. 

Got a story about an archives and how it impacted your life? We want to help you share it!

Archives are stories, but they also change OUR stories. In this spring’s SAA storytelling show, we will hear from five archivists sharing stories of their personal experiences of archives. You could be one of them—no storytelling experience required. 

Think about:

• What’s a time your perspective on archives changed, a little or a lot?
• When did something in an archives surprise or challenge you?
• What is a unique, serendipitous, moving, mysterious, special, or humorous experience you've had as an archivist?
• What’s an aspect of your archives that has had an emotional impact?
• When people tell you your job sounds fun, what do you love to talk about?
• And how did your experiences in the archives change YOU?

We want all kinds of stories: whether spooky, fun, or deeply emotional.  And if you have an idea of an experience to share, but you’re not sure how you’d do so, don’t worry, we’ll help you get ready to share it!

The Event

During "A Finding Aid to My Soul," archivists from a variety of institutions and experience levels will share 5-minute true, personal stories of their connections to archives they have encountered. The virtual event—on Thursday, April 30, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. CT—will be hosted by award-winning storyteller and educator Micaela Blei (The Moth, Risk). 

Who Should Submit

We're looking for a wide range of voices to share their experiences. Absolutely no storytelling or performance experience necessary. Bonus: Micaela will be available to support you as you practice your story.

You may think that your story is not "dramatic" enough. We beg to differ! We want to hear stories with high stakes as well as small, intimate stories of the work you do and the personal ways it connects to your life. Think about a moment you’ve had or an experience with one document or archives that has impacted your life. If it matters to you, it will matter to us, too. (If you need some inspiration, listen to the stories from the 2025 “Finding Aid to My Soul: For the Love of Archives” event.)

Please note: If you participated in the Master Storytelling Workshop in February, we especially invite you to submit! 

How to Submit

Submit your story for consideration. In 100 to 200 words, tell us about your archives story. (No cliff-hangers, please! Summarize the whole story.) Great pitches will include what happened, what changed for you, your community, or the world, and what was at stake.

Story submissions are due by March 16. Selected storytellers will be notified in late March.