THE STORYLINES PROJECT

Founded in 2007, the Storylines Project champions literacy, libraries, and the healing power of story. 

There has never been a culture, religion, or history on earth without its own set of stories.  Story conquers fear, bears sorrow and joy, and teaches.  Story is how we make sense of ourselves and the world around us. We carry stories inside us, and, through them, preserve, witness, and pass on what matters most.  

Hearing another person’s story broadens horizons, brings empathy and understanding. It takes courage to learn something new—a language, an idea, a way of life.  It takes courage to tell a story. 

And to tell our stories, we need words.   

The Storylines Project heralds the importance of literacy.  Beautiful and utilitarian, words pay bills, explain medicine bottles, identify streets, and make everything from poems to newspapers to birth certificates possible.  Most important of all, words allow us to know each another, to communicate, to learn and grow.  

The Storylines Project was created by author Neela Vaswani of the NCV Foundation—a nonprofit research and education organization based in New York.