Kathy Wallis is the National President of NASUWT, the Teachers Union;  A teacher of many years standing with specialisms in Special Needs, Behaviour Management, English and Drama.  Kathy is passionate about supporting teachers and school leaders to deliver the best for the children and young people in their care. She is combining a visit to the Literary Festival with a visit to meet NASUWT members in Gibraltar.

Outside of education Kathy is an accomplished traditional  singer and storyteller and, as well as performing at festivals all over the UK,  has performed in the US and Canada. A storyteller in the Bardic tradition, Kathy is steeped in the fabric of the legends of Cornwall, such a delight to listen to in these days when storytelling seems to consist mainly of the telling of elongated jokes. Her proficiency is shown by the fact that she held the Sidmouth International and Chippenham Festival Storytelling trophies at the same time [the latter for three years running and which she now holds in perpetuity], and is now the storyteller in residence at the Moira Festival.

Kathy  runs workshops and storytelling sessions which combine story and oral history, emotional literacy and just telling stories because they are there to be told. Her love of painting pictures with words creates an atmosphere which is tangibly felt by all around. Kathy has published ‘Spirit In the Storm, The true story of Joan Wytte, The Fighting Fairy Woman of Bodmin’, which she created as a performance piece, as well as having many of her stories published in collected tales.

She is currently working on a story and song cycle to commemorate the life of Hedd Wynn, Ellis Evans, the Welsh poet who was awarded the Chair at the National Eisteddfod in 1917 , but who was killed at Passchendaele before it could be awarded.