Dr Martin Maudsley
Educational Storyteller
Martin Maudsley is a storyteller and writer with a doctorate in ecology. He hails from Bridport in the UK—a town you may not have heard of, but one whose landscape is a living storybook. It was there he fell in love with its evocative places—“the Grey Mare and her Colts,” “the Hellstone,” and “the Singing Barrows” —learning to listen to the narratives the land itself has to tell.
Performances
Martin’s storytelling performances are specifically tailored to each school, group, and setting. He can deliver sessions ranging from whole-school assemblies to individual classes, and from nursery through to secondary level. Content can be matched to the school’s own topics, or he can draw from a range of storytelling themes that group stories together to explore related ideas.
Creative Workshops
Martin offers tailored storytelling workshops where pupils develop confidence and creativity by learning to find, create, and tell their own stories. Using techniques like word-play, visualisation, story maps, and personal memories, these sessions are designed to unlock imagination and can be themed to specific topics, optionally culminating in a group or individual performance.
Story Strolls
Martin merges his professional ecology training with his passion for storytelling to create unique outdoor learning experiences. If your school has a garden, he can lead a story-making walk, empowering students to become storytellers by crafting spontaneous narratives from the geography and natural elements of their own space.
Repertoire
Martin’s collection of stories spans legends, epic sagas, magical myths, and traditional folktales from across the globe, with a special focus on the rich storytelling heritage of the British Isles. Sometimes, he incorporates poetry and a selection of both traditional and his own original songs, playing his ukulele to add musical charm.
Books
Available now: Telling the Seasons – Myths, folklore, and tales for every season, celebrating the rhythms of the year and the stories the natural world has to tell.
Coming in 2026: A new book of monsters. Experience a preview today with Martin's thrilling, Monster-themed storytelling program.
Stories Meet Science
Martin's career as an environmental storyteller began unexpectedly while he was a research ecologist. "I remember school groups visiting the research station, and no one else wanted to show them around. I loved the challenge of making science exciting and memorable. Once, I used the Little Red Riding Hood story to explain how beneficial beetles act as predators of crop pests—showing their adaptations like the big bad wolf: ‘big eyes, all the better to see with; long legs, all the better to run with; huge jaws, all the better to eat with.’"
Quotes
"Martin did a fantastic job of blending his stories with improvisation and involving the students." - Ashley Yoder, I-Shou International School