McKee, Robert. 1997. Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. Regan Books.
For 13 years McKee has taught Hollywood screenwriters techniques for creating compelling stories. This book details his approach. Particularly informative are his suggested elements for increasing audience engagement: creating protagonist empathy, creating time pressure, making the antagonist more formidable, and many others.

Storytelling Magazine
National Storytelling Association (1-800-525-4514)
Monthly journal (24 pages) detailing NSA events and newsworthy items from the storytelling world. Includes relevant internet links, tips on storytelling, conference and membership information.

Polti, Georges. 1916 (translation). The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations. The Writer, Inc., Boston, 1916, 1917, 1921, 1931, 1940.
"It has long been known to the writing profession that there are no new plots ... that all the conceivable situations have been used, and that all modern plots are but variations and adaptations of certain original situations. Georges Polti renders a valuable services to authors when he discovered and classified the 36 dramatic situations; and his contribution has remained an outstanding literary achievement.... The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations outlines the basic situations or plots, and traces them to their first known appearance in print, with examples oftheir use in ancient and modern literature...."