Sally Pomme Clayton is a writer and storyteller who has been performing for adults and children since 1984 and publishing since 1991. Her performances combine poetic language, startling imagery and playful humour. She founded The Company of Storytellers with Ben Haggarty and Hugh Lupton in 1985 and they spearheaded the revival of storytelling in the UK. She now tours throughout Britain and Internationally. She performs regularly with Medieval band Joglaresa. And has also worked with Welsh National Opera, London Sinfonietta, and SouthBank Gamelan Players.
During 2006 - 05 she was consultant for The British Library Inside Story project. In 2004 she wrote and performed Rama and Sita - Path of Flames with a band of Indian musicians for The Unicorn Children’s Theatre. She lectured on World oral traditions and creative writing at Middlesex University from 1994 - 2008. As well as writing children’s books, she writes plays for radio and theatre. Writing Stardust for The Unicorn Children’s Theatre in 2000. Most recently she wrote and presented The Whole Brain - tales told in Central Asia, BBC Radio 3, 2006.
Workshops and performances
Sally Pomme Clayton does storytelling performances (rather than workshops).
Performances can be linked to a theme, an exhibition, or one of her books. Her performances include a question and answer session on publishing, writing and storytelling. Her dynamic and energetic performances introduce both children and adults to the art of the spoken word, and develop imagination, listening and a sense of story structure, giving a powerful experience of how body, gesture and voice bring a tale to life.
Sally Pomme can do up to three performances in a day, with up to two classes per performance. 6 classes can see her perform during a day. A performance lasts about 60 minutes. She works with Year 1 - Year 6. A performance combines stories, unusual musical instruments, talk about oral tradition and writing, and ends with a few of the children telling their own tiny tale.
Sally Pomme does not do whole school assemblies. Sally Pomme does run workshops for teachers, and often leads INSET training sessions on the value and skills of storytelling. She teaches storytelling techniques and ideas that support teachers’ storytelling. She is a very experienced Further Education teacher and taught at Middlesex University for many years.
Awards
2008 - 2007 Lottery Award for Stories to Build Bridges, a community storytelling project in Peckham with Spread The Word.
2005 - 2004 Arts Council Literature award to write a collection of short stories.
2001 Performing Arts Lab award for new playwrighting for young people.
1997 Write Out Loud award from Arts Council/BBC for new writing for radio.
1994 & 1992 Arts Council awards for The Singing Bones with Helen Chadwick and Claire Hughes. Toured Nationally.
Book list.
Persephone. A journey from Winter to Spring. Sally Pomme Clayton. Illustrated by Virginia Lee. Frances Lincoln (2009) ISBN 978-1-84507-533-0
Amazons! Women Warriors of the world. Sally Pomme Clayton
Illustrated by Sophie Herxheimer. Frances Lincoln (2008) ISBN 978-1-84507-660-3
Tales told in tents - stories from Central Asia. Sally Pomme Clayton.  Illustrated by Sophie Herxheimer. Frances Lincoln (2004) ISBN 1-84507-066-6 Paperback edition (2006) ISBN 1-84507-278-2
The girl who went to the underworld. Pomme Clayton. Illustrated by Tony Ross. Orchard Books. (1999) ISBN 1-86039-682-8
The girl with golden fingers. Pomme Clayton. Illustrated by Tony Ross. Orchard Books. (1999) ISBN 1-86039-685-2
The girl who told a 1001 stories. Pomme Clayton. Illustrated by Tony Ross. Orchard Books. (1999) ISBN 1-86039-684-4
The girl who married a bear. Pomme Clayton. Illustrated by Tony Ross. Orchard Books. (1999) ISBN 1-86039-683-6