Brian Ellis

Brian "Fox" Ellis is an internationally acclaimed author, storyteller, historian, and naturalist. He grew up in Toledo, Ohio where he remembers telling tales tall and true in Mr. Johnson's mulberry tree, eating berries until his tongue was purple. For more than 40 years he has travelled the world collecting and telling stories. He has performed in all 50 states and more than a dozen nations. For more than 25 years he has been the Riverlorian for the Spirit of Peoria Riverboat. He has worked with The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, The Field Museum and dozens of other museums across the country. Fox is also the Artistic Director for Prairie Folklore Theatre a unique theatre company that celebrates ecology and history through original musical theatre productions. He has hosted, produced, written and researched several documentaries for PBS, and has recently launched a podcast Fox Tales International. He is the author of more than 2 dozen books including the critically acclaimed Learning From the Land: Teaching Ecology Through Stories and Activities, (Libraries Unlimited, 2011), a series of Chautauqua style autobiographies, History… In Person, and a series of folk tales, Fox Tales Folklore. Many of his stories are also available on his youtube channel Fox Tales International. He and his wife run a Bed and Breakfast in Bishop Hill, Illinois, The Twinflower Inn, where he also manages a pick your own fruit farm, prairie and orchard.