Press
World Storytelling Café has become a meeting place for storytellers, artists, travellers and curious minds from Morocco and around the world.
From our home in the Marrakech Medina to the Marrakech International Storytelling Festival, we are passionate about keeping the ancient tradition of oral storytelling alive and bringing people together through stories.
Here you can find a selection of press coverage and articles about the World Storytelling Café, the Marrakech International Storytelling Festival and the storytellers who help keep this remarkable tradition alive.
Featured Press
The Irish Times — 2023
‘We have seen the joy of storytelling here. It’s beautiful’
The Irish Times follows a group of Irish storytellers visiting Marrakech and explores the city’s extraordinary storytelling tradition, the World Storytelling Café and the Marrakech International Storytelling Festival.
National Geographic — 2023
How a new generation is reviving hikayat, Morocco’s ancient storytelling tradition
National Geographic explores the revival of Morocco’s ancient storytelling tradition and the new generation of storytellers working to keep hikayat alive. The article features the World Storytelling Café, its founders Mike Wood and Lucie Andersen-Wood, and the Marrakech International Storytelling Festival.
Condé Nast Traveller Middle East — 2025
Meet the people reviving the ancient art of storytelling in Marrakech
A feature exploring the people working to preserve Marrakech’s ancient storytelling tradition, including festival director Zouhair Khaznaoui and the international storytelling community. The article also highlights the Marrakech International Storytelling Festival’s Guinness World Record achievement in 2025.
Time Out — 2023
Marrakech’s International Storytelling Festival broke a world record this year
Time Out reports on the second Marrakech International Storytelling Festival, the revival of Moroccan hikayat and the 50-hour Hikayathon in Jemaa el-Fnaa.
The article also highlights the World Storytelling Café’s work supporting Moroccan storytellers and creating opportunities for a new generation.
Hespress English — 2022
1st Marrakech International Storytelling Festival to launch on February 12
Coverage of the inaugural festival, including its partnership between the World Storytelling Café, the Storytellers Union for Cultural Innovation, the British Embassy and Al Muniya Association.
BBC World Service — Richard Hamilton
The Storytellers of Marrakesh
In 2006, BBC World Service journalist and Morocco correspondent Richard Hamilton reported on the traditional storytellers of Marrakech’s Jemaa el-Fnaa. His encounter with the city’s last storytellers inspired his acclaimed book The Last Storytellers: Tales from the Heart of Morocco.
More than a decade later, Richard joined the World Storytelling Café, performing stories online during the Café’s first months in 2020.
Richard Hamilton — World Storytelling Café
Richard Hamilton — The Last Storytellers
PRIOR — 2021
Preserving Morocco’s Rich Storytelling Tradition: From the Djemaa el Fna to the Digital Age
An early feature exploring the decline and revival of Morocco’s storytelling tradition and the role of the World Storytelling Café during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Café brought hundreds of storytellers together online when traditional venues were closed.
Recognition
Guinness World Records — 2025
Longest storytelling show – multiple storytellers
In January 2025, the Marrakech International Storytelling Festival achieved a Guinness World Record for the longest continuous storytelling session, with 100 storytellers from 33 countries taking part in 80 hours, 32 minutes and 58 seconds of storytelling in Jemaa el-Fnaa.
View the Guinness World Records entry →
Media Enquiries
For press enquiries, interviews, photography, filming or information about the World Storytelling Café and the Marrakech International Storytelling Festival, please get in touch with our team.