Matthew Dicks
Matthew Dicks
Matthew Dicks is the internationally bestselling author of the novels Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, Something Missing, (the 2014 Dolly Gray Award winner and was a finalist for the 2017 Nutmeg Award in Connecticut), Unexpectedly, Milo, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs, Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling, Twenty-one Truths About Love, and the upcoming The Other Mother and Cardboard Knight. His novels have been translated into more than 25 languages worldwide.
Matthew is a 35-time Moth StorySLAM champion and 6-time GrandSLAM champion whose stories have been featured on their nationally syndicated Moth Radio Hour and their weekly podcast. He has also told stories for This American Life, TED, The Colin McEnroe Show, The Story Collider, The Liar Show, Literary Death Match, The Mouth, and many others. He has performed in such venues as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Wilbur Theater, The Academy of Music in North Hampton, CT, The Bynam Theater of Pittsburgh, The Bell House in NYC, The Lebanon Opera House, The Cutler Majestic, Boston University, and Infinity Hall in Hartford, CT.
Matthew Dicks is also the co-founder and creative director of Speak Up, a Hartford-based storytelling organization that produces shows throughout New England. He teaches storytelling and public speaking to individuals, corporations, and school districts around the world. He has most recently taught at Yale University, The University of Connecticut Law School, Purdue University, The Connecticut Historical Society, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Miss Porter’s School, The Berkshire School, and Graded School in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Matthew is also the author of the rock opera The Clowns and the musicals Caught in the Middle, Sticks & Stones, and Summertime. He has written comic books for Double Take comics. He is a columnist for Seasons magazine and has published work in Slate magazine, Reader’s Digest, The Hartford Courant, Parents magazine, The Huffington Post, and The Christian Science Monitor. The Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists awarded him first prize in opinion/humor writing in 2015, 2016, and 2017.
Matthew is the creator, producer, and co-host of Speak Up Storytelling, a podcast that teaches people to tell their best stories. Matthew is also the creator and co-host of Boy vs. Girl, a podcast about gender and gender stereotypes. He is a regular guest on several Slate podcasts, including The Gist, where he teaches storytelling.
When not hunched over a computer screen, Matthew fills his days as an elementary school teacher, a storyteller, a speaking coach, a blogger, a wedding DJ, a minister, a life coach, and a Lord of Sealand. He has been teaching for 20 years and is a former West Hartford Teacher of the Year and a finalist for Connecticut Teacher of the Year.
Matthew Dicks is married to friend and fellow teacher, Elysha, and they have two children, Clara and Charlie. He grew up in the small town of Blackstone, Massachusetts, where he made a name for himself by dying twice before the age of eighteen and becoming the first student in his high school to be suspended for inciting riot upon himself.
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Trade Paperback
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Moth GrandSLAM all-time champion storyteller, writer, and business coach Matthew Dicks presents a guide to using the power of storytelling for success in business of any type or size. Matt has found that the basic principles of effective storytelling are universal, teachable, and more crucial than ever for business communication. Jam-packed with ex...
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Trade Paperback
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I am not imaginary...
Budo is lucky as imaginary friends go. He's been alive for more than five years, which is positively ancient in the world of imaginary friends. But Budo feels his age and thinks constantly of the day when eight-year-old Max Delaney will stop believing in him. When that happens, Budo will disappear.
Max is different from ...
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Autism in Education As a teacher with more than a decade of experience working with autistic children, Matthew has developed insights and strategies for assisting autistic and special needs students to realize success in the classroom. Through storytelling and humor, he shares these insights with teachers, parents, and special needs advocates.
Arts in Education For the past 15 years, Matthew has integrated theater, music, the visual arts, and more into the classroom using authentic and highly effective teaching strategies. He speaks to audiences of educators and parents about how to integrate the arts seamlessly into a classroom in order to provide a richer, more meaningful, and more instructive experience for children.
Shakespeare for the Elementary School Student Matthew has been teaching Shakespeare to elementary school students for the past fifteen years, using the original text. Through storytelling and humor, Matthew discusses the process by which Shakespeare became an integral part of his classroom and his students’ lives.
Parenting Made Easy (or at Least, Easier) It’s a bold statement to make, but Matthew believes that for most parents, it can be a reality. Utilizing his experience as a parent, a former step-parent, and a teacher, he speaks about simple but effective strategies to make parenting easier and (more importantly) fun.
Family Life A successful family life depends upon the relationships within the home. Matthew’s talk deals with strategies for strengthening these relationships and streamlining the household operation for the benefit of all involved.
Everyone Can and Should Be Writing Though it makes his editor crazy when he says this, Matthew believes that everyone can and should be writing. This talk seeks to inspire and inform audiences to do just that.
How to Launch Your Career as an Author Looking to begin a writing career? Matthew offers practical advice and insight into the world of publishing, as well as the means by which amateur writers can earn their first book contract or paid writing gig.
The Writing Process Discover the myriad of ways that writers work, including those not spoken about nearly enough.
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Listen to Matthew’s expert storytelling on The Moth.
Check out Matthew & Elysha Dicks’ storytelling organization, Speak Up.
Browse Matthew’s most recent work for The Huffington Post and Parents Magazine.
Listen to Matthew’s features on The Gist , WNPR, and This American Life podcasts, as well as his own podcast, Boy vs. Girl.
Learn more about Matthew on his website, blog, and follow him on Twitter.
“Matthew Dicks was the featured speaker at our company Holiday Party. He did his usual bang-up job at storytelling – but in addition, gleaned enough information from our conversations preceding the event to create a wrap-up that really hit home with the employees. I didn’t even know he was going to do that, but it perfectly married his final story to the jobs that our employees do on a day-to-day basis. It ended the whole event on a poignant and intimately personal note for each person in the room.”
— Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit DistrictPraise for Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend
“Wholly original and completely unputdownable. Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend is a captivating story told in a voice so clever and honest I didn’t want it to end.”
— Eleanor Brown, New York Times bestselling author of The Weird Sisters“[A] fun read and engaging exploration of the vibrant world of a child’s imagination.”
— Publishers Weekly“Quirky and heartwarming”
— Kirkus“An incredibly captivating novel about the wonder of youth and the importance of friendship, whether real or imagined. Delightfully compelling reading.”
— Booklist
