PRICES & press

What I tell

These days I am known for my oral storytelling version of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. At recent festivals I have told my original stories such as HONEY CAKE (an adult retelling of Hansel and Gretel), RAT TALE ( a Stephen King-like horror story of an author with writer's block vs. an indestructible lab rat), and THE WISCONSIN TROWEL MURDERS (a prank on an archeological dig kindles a string of Halloween murders).

Audience: Elementary, Teens, Families, Adults

Genres: Folktales, Personal Stories, Humorous Tales, Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction, Urban Legends, Family Stories.

Performance Fees

Performance Fee: $200 for up to an hour.

Travel Fee Outside of Indianapolis in 2024:  $0.67 per mile.

WORKSHOP FEES:

Workshop Fee: $400 per day plus travel. 

CONSULTING FEES:

FIRST TIME CUSTOMERS:   The first half hour consult will be FREE and used to: - Establish the specific nature of the help you want. - The results you are shooting for. - Determine the time frame. - We will go over options and method of payment.

HOURLY CONSULTING RATE: $60 per hour.

Testimonials 2026

“Every eye in the room is focused on Ken. Facial expressions of the children and adults change quickly as his story enraptures the audience.  As a retired professor I wholly recommend Ken Oguss as a storyteller. The artisan that Ken has become crafting a story and sharing it has been honed through years of "telling" experience. As an experienced librarian himself his ability to adapt for his audience whomever or wherever they are is finely tuned. His ability to craft what is needed makes him exceptional. A scary tale, one from folklore, a historical account or an original piece are all part of his repertoire.Ken carries a tale with his smooth sounding voice. You can hire Ken with confidence that your event will become unique and memorable!”

Elizabeth Meyer

Retired Communications Professor Indiana University

MA Digital Storytelling

Indianapolis, Indiana 

_____________________________________________________

It is a true privilege to get to know Ken Oguss not only as a fantastic

professional storyteller, but also as an excellent writer and coach for

creative writing, not to mention his other artistic talents.

His stories, whether written or told, are full of imagination, humor

and empathy for his fellow creatures, may they be human, four-legged or

from the realm of mystery.

It is always a great pleasure to listen to the abundance of ideas and

details, to his various voices so real that his audience experiences the

joy of an entire movie in their mind.

His feedback has always been incredibly precious to me, whether in free

oral storytelling or creative writing. It is helpful not only for its

precise observations, but also for the kind and respectful way he gets

his comments across. There is always a lot to learn from his rich

experience, and he will make sure that learning is empowering and fun!

Moira Thiele,

Storyteller, Coach, Facilitator of Intercultural Dialogue

Munich, Germany

_____________________________________________________

June 20th 2026 

“I am pleased to provide this reference for Ken Oguss. Ken has served as my writing coach, guiding me through my storytelling and writing with patience, insight, and professionalism. He carefully reviewed my book, Boucaud in the Story: 2013–2017, and provided thoughtful feedback that helped me better understand my work. As the leader of a group of writing storytellers and an active participant in the storytelling community, Ken consistently offers clear, thorough, and constructive analysis of stories and written works. He is dependable, organized, and always prompt in his commitments to me. Ken is also generous in sharing community resources and opportunities; one of the resources he recommended proved particularly helpful to me. I have found him to be an excellent teacher, an effective mentor, and a supportive colleague, and I recommend him to the storytelling and writing community without hesitation.”

Susan Ida Boucaud

Professional Storyteller

Author

Toronto, Ontario   Canada

____________________________________________________

“I have known Ken for many years and consider him one of the best storytellers, and story creators, that I have met. As a head of school I have hired storytellers with a nationwide reputation  and I don’t hesitate to put Ken in the same professional group, in terms of his ability to *read* his audience and respond appropriately. I have also seen him on stage, both in Indianapolis and at Bloomington events. He is always able to enthrall his audience with his telling. His range of stories is great, with traditional stories from many countries to a wide variety of personal stories.

I have not met anyone with a greater ability to spontaneously create a credible story from disparate items given to him by his audience. Ken likes to meet and interact with his audience before his telling, if possible. Some tellers need to separate themselves from the audience in order to get in the mood to tell well. Ken has the ability to snap into the telling more quickly, which enables this wonderful rapport with the listeners.”

David Peerless,

Storyteller with 40 years of experience.

Headmaster of St Richard's School, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Gateway School Santa Cruz, California.

November  23, 2025

____________________________________________________

Reference Letter for Ken Oguss, Storyteller and Teacher 

To Whom It May Concern,

Ken Oguss is a talented and dedicated storytelling performer, as well as an expert teacher of the art form. I have had the privilege of listening to Ken Oguss’ stories for over three and a half years in various online venues, conferences, as well as in a weekly storytelling group I organize.  I am consistently impressed with his skills, passion for the art of storytelling and his sincere abilities to engage, inspire, and educate audiences of all ages, including ages 5 to 84.  

Storytelling Performance Excellence

Mr. Oguss possesses a natural gift for captivating listeners. Through his use of expressive voice, dynamic body language and gestures and his imaginative narrative techniques, he brings stories to life in a way that not only captures listeners’ attentions but also lives in our memories. Whether performing for children, adults, or mixed groups, Ken adapts seamlessly to the needs and interests of each audience, ensuring every performance is memorable.

As a teacher of storytelling, Ken demonstrates remarkable patience, creativity, and a genuine commitment to student growth. He designs engaging classes and meetings that empower learners as well as practitioners to find their own unique voices, develop narrative skills, and gain confidence in public speaking.

In addition to Mr. Oguss’ performance and teaching abilities, he is a consummate professional.  He is reliable, organized, and always prepared.   He is  willing to help other storytellers and to collaborate with a positive attitude.  I have always found Ken a pleasure to work with.

Recommendation

I highly recommend Ken for any position or opportunity involving storytelling performance or instruction.  I have attended some of Ken’s online classes and have no doubt he will undoubtedly be a wonderful asset to any program or organization needing his skill, dedication, and love of storytelling.

Sincerely,

Gail N. Herman, PhD

Storyteller and Enrichment Consultant

Former teacher of Storytelling  and Movement at Lesley University, Garrett College, University of Connecticut, Keene State College

____________________________________________________

‘Storyteller Ken Oguss has been working and honing his craft for decades. 

He is blessed with a great imagination and the ability to express ideas, characters, settings and emotions in spoken and written story.  You SEE the images. You KNOW the characters!

As a coach and facilitator, Ken is generous with his skill, knowledge and kindness toward others. He has helped encourage the talent in many wannabe and budding writers and tellers.’

Mij Byram,

Professional Storyteller, Early Childhood Educator, Writer.

Boca Raton, Florida

____________________________________________________

Master storyteller.

See Ken run,

With a story.

Curiosity stirs from the heart at the start when Ken begins.

His rich baritone voice soothes and invites.

Irresistible. 

Really.

Each word

out of thin air

another surprise.

Magically Ken makes shouldering

a heavy load of literary devices look and sound like childs play.

And the Shakesperean/seductive tickles…subtle and special….

And, then all too soon: 

The End 

Yikes!!!!  

Suddenly the story is over and you can’t wait for Ken to begin another one.

This is Ken.

Patrick MacDonald

Macdonald is a retired photographer, copywriter, and poet.

who has had the good fortune of being in the audience of Ken many times.

Indianapolis, Indiana

____________________________________________________

“I have been participating in Ken's Prompt, Write, Read writing group for 3 years now.  This format is very effective for bringing ideas to the page and for identifying strengths in each other's writing.  Ken encourages a positive, supportive environment in which any criticisms can be turned into constructive improvements of our work.  Even when I feel that what I have written is not very "good" or useful, by the end of the discussion I can see something I did well, so that even if I can't use that bit of writing in my novel or other work, I understand that writing it was good exercise for me.  The group's scheduled meetings and time-limited writing exercises create motivation to get to work, while flexibility about what our writing is meant to achieve encourages creativity.  Ken is not so much teaching us to write as showing us what we can do when we try and helping us recognize the skills we already have.  His facilitation using the PWR method would be excellent for any group, of any age, seeking to improve, appreciate, and increase their own writing and to build relationships around mutual appreciation of each other's ideas and expression.

Ken's pleasant voice, excellent pacing and inflection, and sense of wonder make him an excellent storyteller, narrator, and oral history interviewer.  He is as comfortable in a lead-speaker role as he is working one-on-one with a young child to imagine something new!”

Becca Stallings, 

Head writer and editor of articles.earthlingshandbook.org and aspiring novelist.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

____________________________________________________

“I have known Ken Oguss since the 1980’s and have worked with him on several different types of projects since then. I know him best as a fellow professional storyteller. I’ve both been on stage with him as a fellow performer, and, in my former capacity as a Co-Founder / previous Director of Storytelling Arts of Indiana, I have hired Ken for various events. His storytelling is always creative and delightful.

A few years later I worked side by side with Ken, using his skills as a videographer and editor for a documentary project I did for the not-for-profit organization, Indy Reads. I have also had the pleasure of including Ken as a cast member in a faux radio show before a live audience as part of an Indy Fringe Festival show; and, most recently, Ken was among a number of storytellers I used in a production I created for a Frank and Katrina Basile Emerging Stories Grant, in which Ken used both his acting and storytelling chops.

I know Ken has also honed other numerous skills including writing, pod-casting, and more over the years. Ken would be an asset to any project or organization looking for someone who is both personable and possessed of a multiplicity of talents.”

Sincerely,

Bob Sander,

Professional Storyteller, Co-Founder - Former Director of Storytelling Arts of Indiana. Musician, Author, Actor, Creative Director.

Indianapolis, Indiana

____________________________________________________

“I've enjoyed Ken's story telling for many years. His stories are rich in detail and draw you into their settings as though you were a part of them yourself. His writing reveals much about the human experience. He will have you alternately captivated and laughing out loud.”

William Zinn 

Educator

Choral Musician and Conductor 

Citris Heights, California

____________________________________________________

“I have known the work of storyteller Ken Oguss for many years and heartily recommend him as a true professional who takes listeners of all ages on voyages far and near. His velvet voice carries traditional folktales and literary works (such as Washington Irving’s “Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow”) as skillfully as his own brilliantly original compositions, as he ranges from suave narrator to a dozen quirky characters. Accents and vocal sound effects colorize his tellings. “Tree Rats” and “The Wisconsin Trowel Murders” are as chilling in his Sound Cloud recordings as they are around a campfire.

Ken knows how to handle an audience. I have seen how he arrives early to befriend his listeners before a program starts, and stays afterwards to hear their tales stirred by what he told. He can deal with restive small-fry and too-cool teens, bringing them into the story with the rest of us. Puppets? He can “animate “anything from a knit hat to a dog squeaky toy.

I think his most extraordinary gift is his creativity, seen in improvisations rivaling the late Robin Williams. A “flash fiction” prompt or 3 items suggested by the audience will trigger a fresh new yet well-formed tale as fast as he can tell it! New-minted gold.”

Fran Stallings,

Freelance Professional Storyteller

Eco-Teller Educator.

Bartlesville, Oklahoma

____________________________________________________

“Ken Oguss visited our school to share stories connected to our 1st grade unit on Animals and Habitats, and his presentation was an incredible experience for both students and staff. Mr. Oguss captivated our students by sharing real-life stories from his work with chimpanzees—an especially meaningful topic since our students were highly interested in chimpanzees following their recent addition to the Indianapolis Zoo.

His storytelling was animated, interactive, and engaging from beginning to end. One of the highlights for our students was learning sign language signs that Mr. Oguss used while working with the chimpanzees. Students not only gained a deeper understanding of chimpanzee characteristics and care, but they also learned practical American Sign Language signs they could continue using in their everyday lives.

I highly recommend Mr. Oguss as a storyteller and educational presenter. He arrived well-prepared, connected naturally with students, and created an experience that extended far beyond what students typically encounter in the daily curriculum. His presentation was memorable, educational, and inspiring.

Samantha Farrington

School #61 Instructional Coach, Indianapolis Public Schools. 

Indianapolis, Indiana

____________________________________________________

"Ken is a brilliant story-teller, which is precisely why he is a fantastic video producer and editor. He always does his best to bring out the best in other people. If I were to compare Ken to someone else, it would be Mr. Rogers, because he is so gentle and caring with a good and kind sense of humor. I would wholeheartedly recommend Ken as the perfect person to lead in a creative position." 

Lynn Dinnigan 

e-Learning Professional.

Indianapolis, Indiana

____________________________________________________

"Ken is extraordinarily talented. He is a wonderful speaker and story-teller with a powerful stage presence. Anyone looking for a person who can entertain an audience with his insightful observations about people (Ken writes his own material) will be hard-pressed to find anyone better suited than Ken Oguss. I cannot recommend him enough...!" 

Darlene Pekul

Author, Illustrator, Artist.

Mt. Gilead. North Carolina.