Joel ben Izzy

Traveling storyteller and author of The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness

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Biography

Though Joel has been telling stories all his life, he began his professional career in 1983, after graduating from Stanford with a degree in English, creative writing, and storytelling. After a year performing in and around San Francisco, he set off to travel the world, gathering and telling stories …

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Though Joel has been telling stories all his life, he began his professional career in 1983, after graduating from Stanford with a degree in English, creative writing, and storytelling. After a year performing in and around San Francisco, he set off to travel the world, gathering and telling stories.

His first job as a storyteller took him to a little village outside Rome, where he worked in a camp that turned out to be haunted. You can hear the story of his adventures in The Green Hand. Just as one story leads to another, so one trip led to another, as Joel found himself traveling, teaching and telling stories in England, Wales, Ireland, France, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Spain, Israel, Japan, Hong Kong, and China.

In 1991, Joel produced his first recording, Stories From Far Away, which went on to win a Parents’ Choice Gold Award and was chosen as an ALA Notable Recording. He has produced six recordings since that time, all of which have won awards, including his most recent, Lights & Laughter: Joel ben Izzy Spins Hanukkah Tales, which received a Parents’ Choice Gold Award, NAPPA Gold Award, and received a starred review from Booklist magazine.

In addition to his geographical travels, Joel’s stories have carried him to many places rarely frequented by storytellers. His work as a story consultant has him coaching and teaching story skills to people in fields ranging from film to high-tech, from banking to advertising, from medicine to law.

Joel’s own story took a sharp twist in the summer of 1997, when he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Though usually a treatable form of the disease, in his case there was a strange complication: When he awoke from surgery, he discovered that he could no longer speak. So Joel began an adventure as strange as any story he had ever told, which was to become the basis for his book. As he says in the prologue: “Sit back and let me tell you my tale, of a journey that took me through dark times, yet gave me a gift that I treasure. That gift is this story, which I now pass on to you—a tale of lost horses and found wisdom, of buried treasures and wild strawberries, of the beggar king and the secret of happiness.”

Check out Joel’s website here.

 
Speaking Topics
  • Curses into Blessings
    Sometimes the greatest obstacles we face can become unexpected gifts. Drawing upon his own amazing story, recounted in The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness, Joel tells what happens when he awoke from a medical procedure to discover that he could no longer speak. From this hilarious and heartwarming tale, Joel shares lessons and stories to help all of us create meaning from the challenges in our lives.
  • Origin, Impact & Vision
    These are the three types of stories that every organization—and everyone who is part of that organization—should know. Drawing upon his years as a story consultant and teacher for companies ranging from Pixar to the Federal Reserve Bank, Joel leads this interactive presentation filled with stories that will help those in the audience find their own.
  • The Numbers Don’t Speak for Themselves
    Storytelling techniques are particularly effective for those presenting information that tends to be dry, complex, or both. Based on Joel’s years of work coaching in law, banking, technology, and numerous not-for-profit organizations, this presentation teaches techniques to get to the heart of the matter and bring your material to life. Filled with jokes and stories, it is every bit practical as it is fun.
  • Buried Treasures
    Though we may not realize it, each of us is rich in stories. Some of the best ones are those we never tell, which lie just beneath the surface of our lives. Through many stories, and some simple exercises, this interactive presentation draws out those stories from everyone in the audience in a way that is exceptionally entertaining and completely nonthreatening. The audience will leave wiser, richer, and more connected.
  • People of the Story
    While Joel has gathered and told stories from around the world, many of the tales closest to his heart are those from his own Jewish background. In this presentation, Joel takes us on a journey through Jewish lore to understand some of the roles that stories have played in the survival of the Jewish people. Filled with warmth and humor, this talk is accessible to Jews and non-Jews alike, building bridges of laughter between people through time and across generations.
  • For Common Reading Programs—Connecting Through Our Stories
    One of best ways to bring a community together is the sharing of stories. The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness invites them to do just that. In this highly acclaimed memoir—now translated into more than a dozen languages—Joel recounts the incredible journey that began when he was told after a medical procedure that he would never speak again, and that his career as a traveling storyteller was over. Weaving his own story together with tales he has collected from around the world, he leads us along the path toward meaning and the discovery of our own stories.
  • With over a thousand stories in his repertoire, Joel has crafted presentations on a vast array of topics for a wide range of audiences. If you are looking for him to make a presentation on a particular topic, please inquire with Penguin Speakers Bureau.