A senior research scientist turned award-winning author and storyteller, Haven has become a recognized expert on the structure of stories, on the process of writing, and on the use of stories in education.
STORY WRITING
Learning to identify and create the Eight Essential Elements that define successful stories is the key to mastering all expository and narrative writing. Student writing assessment scores can be dramatically improved by learning to effectively create stories first, and other expository forms second. All expository writing is based on the internal architecture of stories. Time spent mastering that architecture is time spent preparing for all forms of narrative writing.
STORY TELLING
Storytelling is at the core of human learning and communication. Recent research reaffirms that storytelling enhances analytical and organizational skills as well as all aspects of language arts development. Stories are a powerful and efficient vehicle for teaching. Students remember stories told to them. They also remember the information contained in those stories.
Only West Point graduate to ever become a professional storyteller, Haven also holds a Masters Degree in Oceanography and spent eight years as a Senior Research Scientist for the Department of Energy before finding his true passion for storytelling and a very different kind of “truth.”
Performed for over 3 million children and 800,000 adults in 42 states over 20 years of telling, and has won numerous awards both for his story-writing and story-telling. Haven has conducted workshops for 25,000 teachers and 100,000 students on powerful, break-through strategies for teaching narrative writing. He is a nationally recognized expert on story structure and on the use of story in education, and has performed at over 40 national conferences and festivals, 100 state level events, and 50 corporate and professional conferences.
Published 24 books and dozens of articles with over 1,000,000 words in print. Recent releases include three instructional books on writing and storytelling: Get It Write! and Write Right!, on teaching creative and expository writing, and Super Simple Storytelling, on using and teaching storytelling. Other recent releases include one children's fiction novel, two science story-activity resource books, and ten collections of themed historically-accurate stories: Close Encounters with Deadly Dangers, New Year's to Kwanzaa, Amazing American Women, Marvels of Science, Marvels of Math, Voices of the American Revolution, That's Weird! Stories of Amazing Science Mysteries, Voices of the American Civil War, Women at the Edge of Discovery and Alexander Graham Bell. Haven has also published five audio storytelling tapes and created a three-hour high adventure radio drama style mini-series for National Public Radio on the effects of watching television which has won five major national awards.
Recent awards include the 2003, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1997, 1996, and 1995 Storytelling World Silver Award for best Story Anthology, the 1993 International Festival Association Silver Award for best Educational Program at a major national festival, the 1992 Corporation for Public Broadcasting Silver Award for best Children’s Public Radio Production, and the 1991 Award for Excellence in California Education. Haven has twice been designated an American Library Association “Notable Recording Artist,” and is the only storyteller in America with three entries in the American Library Association’s "Best of the Best for Children."
Has created stories for many nonprofit organizations, including The American Cancer Society, the Institute for Mental Health Initiatives, several Crisis Centers, the Children’s Television Resource and Education Center, one regional hospital, and the Child Abuse Prevention Training Center of California.
Former member of the Board of Directors of the National Storytelling Association, is a member of the Educational Advisory Committee of the National Storytelling Association, and is the founder and Chair of the International Whole Language Umbrella Storytelling Interest Group. He is a co-director of the Sonoma Storytelling Festival, past four-year Chair of the Bay Area Storytelling Festival, and founder of Storytelling Festivals in Las Vegas, NV, and Boise, ID.
Lives with his wife in the rolling Sonoma County vineyards of rural Northern California.
• Listed In:
-Who's Who in U.S. Writers, Editors and Poets, 2001 edition, American Biographical Institute
-Contemporary Authors, 2001 edition, Gale Research
-International Contemporary Authors, 2001 edition, Institute for International Research, London
-Contemporary American Authors, 2000 edition, Gale Research
• Selected
for inclusion on the 2005, 2004, and 2003 California Collection of honor books by California Readers.
• Selected
as a 2003 Teller-in-Residence by the International Storytelling Center.
• Selected
to record a five-part video series of his acclaimed Write Right! student writing workshop for the Sonoma County Office of Education, Northern California, 2001.
• Winner
2003, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1997, 1996, & 1995 Storytelling World Silver Award for Storytelling Anthology.
• Script Writer
for 1998 award-winning children's program, Bingo & Mollie,The Learning Channel.
• Two Audio Tapes Selected
Twentieth Edition Elementary School Library Collection (1997).
• Listed With Three Entries
1996 American Library Association’s premier, comprehensive five year literature review, “Best of the Best for Children.”
• Elected
Board of Directors of the National Storytelling Association (1993-98).
• Winner
1993 Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Public Radio Silver Program Award. Finalist 1993 NY Int. Radio Festival. Both for the National Public Radio broadcast radio drama, “The Adventures of Christina Valentine.”
• Winner
1993 International Festival Association Silver Award for best educational event (Boise student storyteller program).
• Notable Recording Artist
American Library Association 1992 & 1989.
• 1989 American Cancer Society's Special Recognition Award for “Frog Pond Blues,” a grade school antismoking story created and recorded for the California Division of the American Cancer Society.
• Winner
both author and performer, of the 1987 prestigious award for “demonstrated excellence in mental health education programming” for “Voices” and “Bully” by the California Conference of Local Mental Health Directors.
• Selected Western Regional Teller
1986 National Storytelling Festival.
• Winner
major Western Regional storytelling competitions (1986 and 1989) cosponsored by the American Library Association.
• Winner
1987 National Storytelling Competition sponsored by General Mills.
