The Spiracle Podcast: Recent Episodes
Spiracle Audiobooks
Spiracle Audiobooks is a curated platform for the UK's best literary audiobooks, with a focus on small and independent publishers. The sound of great writing. Each month, new podcast episodes delve into the world of our audiobooks.
Discover the story behind Night Owl Books in East Linton as owner Rebecca Wall shares how she transformed her mum’s antique shop into a thriving independent bookstore. In this interview, we explore the rise of indie bookshops, community-driven events, and the success of Audiobook in Card.
Inside the Audiobook Business Epsiode 5"Audiobooks are for everyone; we're long past the point of people seeing it as [just] an accessibility format"Dominic Gribben is the Co-Director of the Hachette UK audio publishing team, responsible for audio publishing across a number of Hachette's imprints, including Hodder & Stoughton, Headline, John Murray Press, Quercus, Hachette Ireland and Dialogue Books.
Henry Layte, founder of The Book Hive in Norwich speaks to Antonia Stassi on his background and start in bookselling to opening a successful indie bookshop that's just celebrated its 15th Anniversary.
Discover the story of Libreria Bookshop in London through an insightful interview with operations manager, Lloyd and bookseller, Erika. Listen to their approach curating unique collections, hosting creative events, and fostering a vibrant cultural community in the heart of London.
Antonia Stassi speaks with Antonia Lloyd-Jones, translator of Polish to English on her approach to translation across diverse genres, from gothic horror to children's literature. LLoyd Jones shares her experience working closely with authors, particularly Olga Tokarczuk, and the significance of understanding the writer’s vision to deliver faithful translations. They also delve into Antonia Lloyd Jones' recent project, Warsaw Tales, an anthology of Polish short stories and non-fiction, and her process for curating voices that resonate.
Director of Spiracle, Kate Bland speaks to author AL Kennedy's 1999 book On Bullfighting. Written during a difficult time in her life, Kennedy reflects on the book’s symbolic exploration of life, death, beauty, ugliness, risk, and cultural traditions, while both discuss its lasting relevance and Kennedy’s personal and literary evolution. We learn about Kennedy's writing process and personal growth during an extremely painful and challenging time.
Discover the inspiration behind Mark Bowles' debut book and audiobook, 'All My Precious Madness', in this engaging conversation with Francesca Peacock.Recorded live at Hewson Books in Brentford.'All My Precious Madness' is Shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize 2024.
Inside the Audiobook Business Epsiode 4Katherine Fenton is professional American Voice Actor and Audiobook Producer based in the UK. She has been working in the industry for over 20 years and has narrated for Air Italy, The Guardian, Betty Crocker, CNBC, and multiple award winning audiobooks.
Antonia Stassi speaks with Michael Lacey, Manager of Deadink Bookshop in Liverpool, about fostering a book community and running a successful shop , producing an engaging programme of events, and how his experience as an Artist and Gallerist has helped him foster the literary community in his City and beyond."Audiobooks have been an absolute lifeline- as a retailer it's great to do something more accessible".
Publisher and events curator, Tasja Dorkofikis talks to Spiracle's Antonia Stassi. Tasja reveals her reasons for setting up a new independent publishing house, Linden Editions, started with Nermin Mollaoğlu, and Geraldine D’Amico, which focuses on literary works of fiction, narrative nonfiction, reportage, and essays, primarily in translation, from Europe, the Francophonie, and the Mediterranean region.
Inside the Audiobooks Business episode 3Gareth Price-Lewis, Founder Director of Chatterbox Audio discusses the process of audiobook production with Spiracle's Kate Bland. He also discusses costs and the prospect of AI.
Paul Hilton is an English actor on stage, radio, and TV. He is currently in rehearsals as ‘Joxer Daly’ in JUNO & THE PAYCOCK (Gielgud Theatre, West End).
Will Dady of Renard Press talks to Spiracle's Antonia Stassi.The conversation begins with Will's background and his start in publishing, what inspired the name 'Renard Press' and opens up to a conversation on the wider independent publishing scene and his reason for creating the Indie Press Network.
Anthony is the managing director of Naxos Audiobooks. Celebrating their 30 year anniversary, he discusses the growth of the audiobook market, from cassettes to MP3s and streaming services, and what the future of audiobooks may look like in another 30 years.
Marion Detjen talks to Spiracle about her great aunt, Helen Wolff - author, translator, publisher and founder of Pantheon Books.Marion describes her fascination with her great aunt as a writer and as one of Germany's 'New Women', a term which refers to the intellectually pioneering women who shaped German culture from the early 20th century - born in the same year as Wolff is the German philosopher Hannah Arendt.Marion has written (and we have recorded!) the fascinating companion essay to Background for Love by Helen Wolff in which she delves into the basis of the novel in Wolff's own life as well as the political and social forces that led her to abandon hope of publishing it.
Jeremy is a freelance director and producer working mainly for radio and theatre. He has produced and directed over 220 radio plays and features for BBC Radio. Recent productions include dramatisations of James Joyce’s Ulysses and Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. Jeremy has won a number of awards including (several times) the Sony Award for Best Drama production and the Prix Italia.
Translator Sophie Lewis talks to Spiracle's Antonia Stassi. From her start in translation with French and Portuguese, to reflections on the treatment of translators within the industry and how their roles are evolving and changing.
Antonia Stassi speaks with Ross Hoey, Manager of Hewson Books in Brentford, about fostering a book community in a new town, the process of building the bookshop from scratch, upcoming events, and his experience with our Audiobook in a Card scheme.
Translator Nichola Smalley talks to Spiracle's Antonia Stassi. From translating the Swedish short story collection 'Purity' by Andrzej Tichý (published by And Other Stories) and how she fell in love with Scandinavian languages through her friendships abroad.
Olivia Darnley talks about her experience recording the audiobook of Background for Love, written by Helen Wolff. She also discusses the book itself, its themes, and how refreshing it was to see the world through a young Wolff's eyes.
Adam Freudenheim, Director and Publisher of the burgeoning Pushkin Press, talks to Spiracle's Antonia Stassi about Background for Love, a fascinating novella written by publisher Helen Wolff - the co-published audiobook is narrated by Olivia Darnley.
The first instalment of the first season of new podcast series The Writer's Dilemma, in which psychotherapist Susie Orbach sits down for a therapy session with writers. In this episode, Susie hears from Polly Barton.Polly is author of two non-fiction books, Fifty Sounds and Porn: An Oral History. She has also translated Japanese literature and non-fiction. As well as books, her translations are featured in various journals and newspapers. She also writes about art.Full session available from January 11th on Spiracle Audiobooksspiracleaudiobooks.com
Stephanie Racine is a similar age to Bibbs, the protagonist in Tone Schunnesson's Days & Days & Days, and is struck by the different lives they lead. Alongside her stage, screen and radio drama work, Stephanie is a Carleton Hobbs winner.
Tone Schunnesson, Author of Days&Days&Days, talks to Luca Anderson-Muller about her interests and motivations.https://www.spiracleaudiobooks.com/audiobooks/days-days-days
We speak to Abi Palmer, author and reader of Sanatorium, about how the book (and subsequent edition audiobook) came to be. She describes the 'piecing together' of the text as 'forensic', after the original research was done as video collection rather than as writing, a lot of the first narration being recorded verbally before it was ever on paper. She talks about her mentors in the process, including Tom Chivers of Penned in the Margins which is now on an indefinite hiatus.
We spoke to Olja Knežević, author of Catherine the Great and the Small, about being the first woman writer to be translated into English, the influence of war on Balkan literature and culture, and the characters in the novel. Catherine the Great and the Small is translated brilliantly into English by Paula Gordon & Ellen Elias-Bursac, and Heather Craney's reading brings Catherine's world to life – but here Olja speaks in her own words about knowing and loving her roots.Listen to Catherine the Great and the Small on Spiracle now.https://www.spiracleaudiobooks.com/audiobooks/catherine-the-great-and-the-small
Angelo Paragoso, reader of Venom by Saneh Sangsuk (translated by Mui Poopoksakul), reflects on growing up bilingual, and the simlarities and differences between Thai and Philippine pronunciation.
Mui Poopoksakul, translator of Thai to English, talks with producer Kate Bland about translating Saneh Sangsuk's work, in particular Venom. The relationship between author, translator and reader in this case is strong, with Mui able to discuss the Thai with Saneh Sangsuk and the pronunciation for the audiobook with Angelo Paragoso. She reflects here on her work as a translator and the state of Thai literary culture as perceived by the rest of the world.
Jack Holden and producer Kate Bland reflect in the studio after finishing recording Love, Leda.
We speak to Sam Fisher, bookseller, writer, and publisher at Peninsula Press, bringing Love, Leda to listeners with Spiracle this month. His bookshop Burley Fisher is a champion of independent presses. He speaks about walking the line between bookselling and publishing, creative nonfiction, and discovering the right book at the right time.
Kate Bland speaks to Diane Whitty, the translator of Banzeiro Òkòtó: The Amazon as the Centre of the World from the Portugese by Eliane Brum. Banzeiro Òkòtó is itself a transformative journey – the pull, whirlwind, eddy in the water – with an elusive meaning. Diane channels Eliane, bringing her passion and the lyricism of her writing to an English speaking readership.
Toby Litt interviews Eliane Brum, author of Banzeiro Òkòtó: The Amazon as the Centre of the World, an edition audiobook now available from Spiracle. It is a book transporting and transforming in equal parts. Eliane is an award-winning Brazilian journalist, writer, and documentarist, and a founder of Sumaúma: Journalism from the Centre of the World, a trilingual news platform based in Altamira, in the Amazon rainforest, where she lives. Eliane reflects powerfully on living in the Amazon, and on amplifying indigenous voices rather than speaking for them.We are not lacking voices, she says, we are lacking ears.
After the incredible three and a half days of recording The Birthday Party, Lydia Leonard and audiobook producer Kate Bland sit together in the studio and discuss the book, set over the course of one thrilling day.
The Birthday Party has been described as 'a thriller in slow motion', with short moments stretched over many pages. Lydia Leonard, reader of The Birthday Party, interviews Daniel Levin Becker, translator from French of the text by Laurent Mauvignier. Daniel and Lydia share what it is to translate an original text in their respective ways, of finding a voice, narratively and aurally. Daniel is a member of the oulipo movement.Listen to The Birthday Party on Spiraclehttps://www.spiracleaudiobooks.com/audiobooks/the-birthday-party
Raad Rawi, reader of The Mariner by Taleb Alrefai (translated by Russell Harris), talks about conjuring the setting of The Mariner from his own experience, voicing the sea, and how different the languages of Arabic and English are. He reflects on the sense of pride that calls out of this story which opens up a pre-oil Kuwait running on the demanding work of fishing for oysters and pearls.
Banipal promotes and celebrates publication of contemporary Arab authors in original English or in English translation, and encourages, in the UK and beyond, readership of Arab writers and poets for both the particularity and the universality of their voices. It was founded by two people passionate about literature, Iraqi author Samuel Shimon and British editor Margaret Obank, to publish inspiring, unknown works of contemporary Arab authors in English translation.We spoke to Margaret ahead of publishing audiobook edition for December, The Mariner by Taleb Alrefai (translated by Russell Harris), read by Raad Rawi.
John Sam Jones speaks to the repression of his Welsh language, how despite it being a 'more ponderous language', he could never describe being gay in Welsh due to it's historical use in only the church or at home. Some languages are better for talking about some things than others, but we asked which he feels reaches closer to his truth.
The Journey is Home is a Spiracle Guest Edition for November.
Some books only make themselves known to the narrator during the recording. This was the case for William Hope, reading Joseph Fasano's The Dark Heart of Every Wild Thing (Spiracle Edition for November) as discussed in conversation together.
'It's not a crime novel, it's a novel about a crime' – Graeme Macrae Burnet, author of October's guest edition, His Bloody Project, talks to Leigh Wilson, publisher at Spiracle.
A translator between French and English, Cécile Menon (Lee) is the founder of Les Fugitives and its director. We spoke to Cécile about the roots of the press and publishing French works in translation from primarily female authors. Les Fugitives published guest edition for September, Eve Out of Her Ruins by Ananda Devi (translated by Jeffrey Zuckerman).
We spoke to Stefan Tobler, publisher at And Other Stories, about being the first independent publisher to drive works in translation to an English-speaking readership. And Other Stories is co-publisher of Spiracle Edition for September, 'Ti Amo' by Hanne Ørstavik (translated by Martin Aitken).
For Murmurations, we spoke to Simon Russell, illustrator of the Spiracle edition audiobook of Ti Amo, about his process of making art, empathy, and the 'dance' of creating a final illustration.
For Murmurations, Spiracle's Leigh Wilson talks to the author of Eve Out of Her Ruins, a guest edition for September. Ananda shines a light on how her background in anthropology feeds into her work, into a book with such insight into the way that oppression and poverty work alongside the legacies of colonialism.
In the beginning was the word, not the number. Founder of Fitzcarraldo Editions, Jacques Testard, reflects on the efforts of this family-owned literary publisher: to remain focused on the writing rather than the commerce, while making the business work. He talked to Spiracle's Kate Bland.
With Playthings as the August edition, Alex Pheby's gripping, fictional take on the 19th-century German judge Daniel Paul Schreber's experience of psychosis, we talk to Susie Orbach. With Orbach, we open out from the Schreber case to ask about the value of psychotherapy... the importance of 'the session', whether it's writing or talking, how it works and whether it can help an individual join the wider the community.
Before Sigmund Freud's formal psychoanalysis began, Schreber (1842-1911) set about writing out his experience of mental illness in "Memoirs of My Nervous Illness" which would become an important source account for Freud and others.
Susie Orbach is a psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, writer and social critic.
Chipo Kureya, reader of Spiracle edition, These Bones Will Rise Again by Panashe Chigumadzi, reflects on her experience of reading the book. Where is home, Chipo asks, when you have lived your whole life in the diasporic limbo? "What Panashe has managed to capture is this feeling of belonging and not belonging."
For the Spiracle Podcast, Curator Leigh Wilson talks with Panashe Chigumadzi, author of the Spiracle edition for June, These Bones Will Rise Again. They talk about issues of colonialism, language and national and personal identity in Chigumadzi's essay on the uprising of the Zimbabwean people against Robert Mugabe.
Our curator speaks to the celebrated author of When We Cease to Understand the World in a discussion which spans the book’s restless genre hybridity, the tensions between truth and fiction, myth and science, and the electrifying endeavour of attempting to write beyond the bounds of human rationality.
We spoke with Adam Freudenheim, Publisher and Managing Director of Pushkin Press, about the ups and downs of running an independent press and how he found Benjamin Labatut’s When We Cease to Understand the World, now available as an audiobook on Spiracle.
Meike Ziervogel, founder of Peirene Press, remembers Birgit Vanderbeke with Leigh WIlson for the Spiracle Podcast.
Meike has recently moved from Peirene to co-found Alsama: education centres, sports hubs and social enterprises in refugee camps in Lebanon. (Peirene Press today is run by Stella Sabin and James Tookey)
Kristin Atherton is an actress across stage, screen and audiobooks. After her brilliant reading of You Would Have Missed Me by Birgit Vanderbeke, a Spiracle edition for June, we spoke to Kristin about how she finds a voice for her characters.
When Kristin Atherton read You Would Have Missed Me by Birgit Vanderbeke, translated by Jamie Bulloch, it struck a chord very close to home. Here she dedicates her audiobook narration to her mother and her German family, whose own experiences are mirrors of the child's in the novel.
Jamie Bulloch is a historian and has worked as a professional translator from German since 2001. His works include books by Paulus Hochgatterer and Alissa Walser. He is the translator of Spiracle edition for June,You Would Have Missed Me.
We spoke to Jamie about the process and challenges of translating literature.
Galley Beggar's Eloise Millar and Sam Jordison talk to Leigh Wilson about the other side of publishing, the matter of printing. Here they recall the challenge of Lucy Ellman's Ducks, Newburyport, a thousand pages.. in a sentence.
Reading this epic work - 45 hours and available from the Spiracle Collection - is Stephanie Ellyne.
Eloise Millar and Sam Jordison founded Galley Beggar 10 years ago. Here they describe some of the nitty gritty details of what it took for them to get going and stay on track. Not surprisingly, it's a tale of desire, grit and passion.
The publisher of James Clammer's Insignificance is Galley Beggar, based in Norwich and run by Sam Jordison and Eloise Millar. Here they give Spiracle Curator Leigh Wilson fascinating insights to running their small, independent press.
In Insignificance, a Spiracle edition for May, James Clammer writes about his protagonist's work as a plumber in a way rarely seen before in literature. Expanding on the world of the audiobook for Spiracle murmurations, Ryan Powers from The Pimlico Group talks about life as a plumber.
Based in Cardigan, Wales, Parthian Books is an independent publisher. Founded in 1993 by Rich Davies and Gillian Griffiths it is editorially-led, publishing a range of contemporary fiction, poetry, non fiction and drama. Parthian's motto is "A Carnival of Voices in Independent Publishing".
Parthian has published this month's edition I Eric Ngalle by Eric Ngalle.
The writer Jon Gower introduces the publishing work of Parthian Books.
Jon is a Hay Festival International Fellow and a former BBC arts and media correspondent who has been making documentary programs for television and radio for 30 years. He is the author of several books, including An Island Called Smith and The Story of Wales, and is the recipient of a John Morgan Award.
I, Eric Ngalle is a Spiracle edition co-published with Parthian.
Leigh Wilson, Curator, and Charlotte Fairbairn, Collection Editor, discuss Stephen Johnson's book for the Spiracle Podcast.
Leigh Wilson, Spiracle's Curator talks to Charlotte Fairbairn, Collection Editor, about The Squire for the Spiracle Podcast.