IPNE Book of the Year winner; IPNE Informational Nonfiction Book Award winner, Storytelling World Award winner; Firebird Award winner; NAA Gold Award winner; Readers' Choice Book Awards Bronze Award Winner; IAN Book of the Year Award Finalist; Honourable Mention in the South Carolina Book Festival Awards; shortlisted for The People's Book Prize.

Part of The Unknown Storyteller Project

With a breathtakingly simple and yet profound handful of symbols, Conrad has created a flexible and precise system for analyzing the inner structure of stories. With this lens he lays bare the absolute essence of all the imaginable story forms, from fairy tales and quest stories to tragedies, riddles and koans. It's a powerful tool for storytellers and scholars and will change forever how you view the simple but profound act of saying "Once upon a time.."
Christopher Vogler, Author of The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers

Leon Conrad takes readers around the world to look at eighteen distinct story structures – from Quest to Tricksters, from Rags-to-Riches to Death-and-Rebirth. The idea that stories can be mapped using six symbols is fascinating. Yes, there are rules and laws that govern every story that’s ever been told. Anyone who loves to read stories – or loves to write them – will find much to learn and amuse in STORY AND STRUCTURE
Lisa See, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

A scholarly and intricately detailed analysis of the writing process.
Joan Singleton, Screenwriter/producer

Conrad spent years doing the heavy lifting of studying classic texts from around the world and pulling out the narrative and structural rules that any writer needs to know. Buy this book, read it, study it and write better stories inspired by the classic themes and structures.
Rich Krevolin, Filmmaker, playwright, artist, story lover

Harness the power of story to access more flow in your life.

Story and Structure tells the untold story of how story works. Using just six primary symbols, it outlines eighteen story structures and shows how they all contain optimal solutions to the different kinds of problems which give rise to each of them.

The book starts where Christopher Booker and Joseph Campbell leave off. It reveals hitherto unfathomed depths to narrative, demonstrates a much wider application of storytelling than is generally perceived and presents story as a dynamic force of life.

Writers, storytellers, creative writing teachers, folklorists, narrative therapists, anthropologists, poets, and readers interested in how story works will all find this book useful and informative.

Rethink your idea of story.

Leon Conrad is author of 'History Riddles', 'Odyssey: Dynamic Learning System' (with David Pinto), and 'Aesop the Storyteller'. He is a storyteller and story structure consultant, based in London, UK.