Dan Yashinsky

Dan Yashinsky, born in Detroit, is a Canadian author and storyteller.

Born in Detroit, Dan Yashinsky was educated in Santa Barbara, then moved to Toronto at the age of 21. In 1979 he established the Toronto Festival of Storytelling which he directed for four years. He is also the cofounder of Storytelling Toronto, formerly known as the Storytellers School of Toronto.

He created and hosted the CBC radio show "Talking Stick" in 1999. and has been performed at hospitals and festivals around the world. he has performed and taught the art of story telling at numerous festivals in Canada, The U.S., Asia and Europe. He has also been a storyteller in residence for numerous institutions such as UNICEF Canada, Queen's University at Kingston, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care and many others.

His inspiration derives from his Jewish, Turkish, Romanian, American and French heritages as well as his world travels.

Works

Story Collections

Tales for an Unknown City : Stories from One Thousand and One Friday Nights of Storytelling, Montréal, McGill-Queen's University Press, 1990, 265 p. . The Storyteller at Fault, Charlottetown, Ragweed Press, 1998, 254 p. . Suddenly They Heard Footsteps : Storytelling for the Twenty-First Century, Toronto, Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2004, 317 p. . Swimming with Chaucer : A Storyteller's Logbook, London, Insomniac Press, 2013, 238 p. . At the Edge : A Book of Risky Stories, Charlottetown, Ragweed Press, 1998, 254 p. .

Collaborations

Next Teller : A Book of Canadian Storytelling, Charlottetown/East Haven, Ragweed Press/Inland Book, 1994, 246 p. . Ghostwise: A Book of Midnight Stories, Charlottetown, Ragweed Press, 1997, 223 p. .

Other

The Telling Project, Mississauga, Peel Board of Education, 1993, 47 p. .

Awards and honors

1999: Winner of the first Jane Jacobs's Prize. 2009: Recipient of the Chalmers Arts Fellowship from the Ontario Arts Council.