Alexa Champions

Amy Stapleton has long imagined a future where voice assistants and robots entertain us with compelling stories, while engaging us in meaningful conversation. With degrees in English and German Literature, Amy wanted to become a writer, but transitioned into an IT career and eventually worked at NASA managing enterprise software projects. When Alexa was launched, Amy began experimenting with interactive storytelling skills. She continues to champion a new form of storytelling that leverages voice technology to connect storyteller and listener. Her company is focused on building simple tools authors can use to create conversational story experiences. Amy works directly with writers to publish their original content on the Alexa platform, for listeners to engage with and enjoy. 

Stapleton holds a Ph.D. in German Language and Literature from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. 

• My Box of Chocolates: An anthology of bite-sized stories written by independent authors and narrated by one or more virtual chocolatiers. Each story includes a fun element of interactive conversation. New anthologies are published periodically and information on each assortment is available on the Tellables website.
• Tricky Genie: Listeners are challenged to beat the Tricky Genie in a quick story game that exercises problem solving skills. After hearing a short introduction about a person or persons in a sticky predicament, the Tricky Genie pops up holding three sacks. The listener has just two chances to find the sack with the best solution to the problem.
• Listening Comprehension Practice: Listen to a story from the life of a middle-schooler named Hutch. Then answer a few questions to test your listening comprehension skills. 
• Fake History: Hear about a real event, person, or place in history. You then have two chances to sort through three books and find the one that tells the real story. 
• Tricky Teacher: Learn fun facts about history and science, while trying to outsmart the Tricky Teacher. The teacher begins each lesson with real information, but then presents a choice of three different books. It's your job to pick the book that has the right answer.