Latest Podcasts - Story Radio Podcast

Season 3 April 30, 2022May 3, 2022 anxiety, crime, divorce, keying cars, masculinity, mid-life crisis, podcast, short story

Efflorescence by Miki Lentin

Efflorescence, a short story by Miki Lentin takes us into that time when a man bumps into a friend unexpectedly while on an evening walk, with surprising consequences.

Efflorescence is part of a collection of short stories released by Miki Lentin called I er Core, published by Afsana Press that is available to buy as an ebook and paperback with proceeds of all sales going to the refugee charity foodKIND.

Miki Lentin took up writing while travelling the world with his family a few years ago. He completed an MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck in 2020 and was a finalist in the 2020 Irish Novel Fair for his first book Winter Sun.

He has been placed highly in competitions including Fish Publishing Short Memoir 2020 and 2022 and Leicester Writes and has been published in Litro, Storgy, Story Radio, MIR amongst others. Miki volunteers with refugee charity foodkind in Greece, and dreams of one day ru ing a café again. Find him on Twitter @mikilentin or read his work on his website.

https://www.mikilentin.net/my-writing

The reader was Francis Gilbert.

Francis Gilbert has been writing fiction for many years. He is best known for his memoir, I’m A Teacher, Get Me Out of Here (2004 Short Books), his story of working as a young, incompetent i er-city school teacher in the 1990s. It was serialized as Radio 4’s Book at Bedtime, and spawned a sequel, Teacher on the Run (2006 Short Books).

His novel The Last Day of Term (2011 Blue Door Press) is also set in school. However, more recently he has explored more personal topics in his fiction: Who Do You Love (Blue Door Press 2017) is about a middle-aged man reflecting upon a university romance, and Snow on the Danube (2019) is about a brother and sister torn apart by the Second World War.

For the past few years, he has been working on writing short stories. He was delighted to read Miki Lentin’s powerful short fiction, which he feels shares many similarities with his own work in its depiction of tortured, emotional men. He really loved Miki’s story Efflorescence, and hopes other people enjoy his reading of it, as much as he liked recording it.

His day job is as senior lecturer in education at Goldsmiths, but his heart truly remains in writing and reading fiction.

http://www.francisgilbert.co.uk

http://www.bluedoorpress.co.uk

This episode was produced by Tabitha Potts.

Season 3 March 31, 2022May 3, 2022 audio fiction, funeral, ghost story, Ireland, Joan Treacy, podcast, short fiction, wake

A Mean Spirit by Joan Treacy

A group of mourners attend a funeral and a wake for a shopkeeper and we learn more about his past and relationships.

This short story was written and read by Joan Treacy.

Joan Treacy has been writing for about five years. She has written many short stories and several of them have been published in Irish magazines. She is a member of Leixlip library writing group and they have helped and encouraged her writing. She is also the author of a horror novel, Orchard House.

Produced by Martin Nathan

Martin Nathan has worked as a labourer, showman, pancake chef, fire technician, and a railway engineer. His short fiction has been published by Tangent Press, HCE and Grist and his poetry has appeared in Finished Creatures, Erbacce and Aesthetica. His novel – A Place of Safety is published by Salt Publishing.

Season 3 March 1, 2022May 3, 2022 a summoning spell, bivalves, costa short story prize, Lindsay Gillespie, Lindsay Gillespie interview, molluscs, short story, short story prize

Interview with Lindsay Gillespie and A Summoning Spell by Lindsay Gillespie

This month Martin Nathan interviews Lindsay Gillespie who was a finalist in the Costa Short Story prize this year with her story Pholas Dactylus. The Costa prize involves them recording the three stories and then a public vote.

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You can also listen to one of the stories she wrote for Story Radio two years ago, A Summoning Spell, read by Saskia Butler.

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If you would like to read her prize-winning story you can download Pholas Dactylus here.

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Warning: A Summoning Spell contains some adult language and is not suitable for under-18s.

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Season 3 February 2, 2022February 3, 2022 Brookwood, fiction, ghost story, ghost train, Gothic, historical fiction, Necropolis Railway, short story, Victorian

The Necropolis Railway by Tabitha Potts

A clerk goes to a funeral and meets a mysterious young woman in this short story set on the famous Victorian ‘Ghost Train’.

This story was written and produced by Tabitha Potts.

The story was read by Nigel Fyfe.

Nigel Fyfe is an actor and voiceover artist. Alongside stage and screen work, he has recorded audio drama with Wireless Theatre and Ragged Foils, and a number of audiobooks.

The photograph used to illustrate this podcast is by John Cunliffe of Scope Enterprise and is from the Hathaways of Haworth blog.

Sounds under CC-BY 3.0:

Steam Train 1.wav by Benboncan

Podcast, Season 2 December 1, 2021December 7, 2021 audio fiction, content mill, rat trap, Rebecca Lee, short fiction, writer

Rat Trap by Rebecca Lee

A young female writer is commissioned to write a post about a lethal rat trap for a content mill.

This story was written by Rebecca Lee. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her current project “selfie” is a series of medical poems. Her body of work can be found in The British Medical Journal, CHEST physicians, Dartmouth’s Life Lines and Harvard’s medical school journal, Third Space.

The story was read by Jessica Nettles. Jessica is a voice-over artist and a writer. Her influences range from Ray Bradbury to Flaery O’Coor and Shirley Jackson. She reads as voraciously as she can while balancing her career as an English Instructor and a writer of SouthernGothic and Historical Fantasy. Her first novel is Children of Menlo Park.

She is also featured in the gothic horror anthology, Off the Beaten Path 4 and has a story in the upcoming Georgia Gothic horror anthology produced by the Atlanta Chapter of HWA (Horror Writer’s Association). To hear more of her voice, check out Episode 775 of the horror podcast, Pseudopod, where she reads Michael McDowell’s “Miss Mack.”

To find more about her and her work check out jessicanettlesauthor.com. You also can find her on Twitter @steampunkengl and Instagram steampunkenglish.

The producer was Tabitha Potts.

The cover art is Mouse (1821) by Jean Bernard (1775-1883). Original from The Rijksmuseum. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel. Public Domain Free CC0 Image

Story Radio is taking a short break in the New Year so we will be back on February 1st. We’d like to wish you all a safe and happy holiday and New Year.

Podcast, Season 2 November 1, 2021November 7, 2021 art, artist, dreams, Marie O'Shea, muse, painting, patriarchy, unconscious

Underground Places by Marie O'Shea

The scene is a retrospective exhibition of the work of a famous male artist. As the young female curator is interviewed by a journalist, we start to suspect there is more to his paintings than meets the eye.

Marie O’Shea is a short story writer living on the Beara Peninsula. Her work has appeared in, ‘Popshot’, ‘The Galway Review’, ‘The Blue Nib’, ‘The Caterpillar Magazine,’ ‘Literary Mama’ and ‘Storgy’.

Catherine Allison is a voice artist and actor living in SE London. She trained as part of the Battersea Arts Centre’s Development Theatre Company, working with directors such as Paul King, Steven Canny and Phil Wilmott. She also runs Master the Art, a training consultancy that helps people communicate with more confidence, influence and authority in the workplace and beyond.

Produced by Martin Nathan

Martin Nathan has worked as a labourer, showman, pancake chef, fire technician, and a railway engineer. His short fiction has been published by Tangent Press, HCE and Grist and his poetry has appeared in Finished Creatures, Erbacce and Aesthetica. His novel – A Place of Safety is published by Salt Publishing.

Photograph is by Martin Nathan.

Podcast, Season 2 September 30, 2021November 7, 2021 child loss, farm, farmer, grief, Ireland, short story, Steve Wade, violin

Stray Dogs and Cowboys by Steve Wade

An Irish farmer, Liam Og, decides to leave his farm to his unknown American nephew.

This short story was written and read by Steve Wade.

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Steve Wade’s short story collection, ‘In Fields of Butterfly flames’, was published in October 2020 by Bridge House Publishing. His fiction has been published and anthologised in over fifty print publications. His short stories have won, been placed and shortlisted in numerous writing competitions.

Winner of the Short Story category in the Write By the Sea Writing Competition in 2019. First Prize Winner of the Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown Writing Competition 2020.

www.stephenwade.ie

This short story was produced by Tabitha Potts.

Sounds under CC0:

Sad Violin.wav by Cunningar0807

Image of violin:

Photo by lucas mendes on Unsplash

Podcast, Season 2 September 1, 2021September 27, 2021 abandoned village, Audio drama, childrens' home, Martin Nathan, Newhaven, Sussex, Tide Mills

Salvage by Martin Nathan

SALVAGE is set in Tide Mills, an abandoned village near Newhaven on the Sussex coast.

The traces of the mill and the childrens’ home can still be seen on the shingle beach.

Content warning: this drama contains some material listeners might find distressing

The piece was directed by Luke Blackwood-Stevenson

Cast:

JANE – Rubie Ozanne

BILL – Lewis Jenkins

SAM – Kieran Dooner

IAN – Hamish Brewster

FRED – Luke Blackwood-Stevenson

Recording engineer: Max Jukes

Script, music and location sounds: Martin Nathan

A location-based piece with audio triggered within the Tide Mills site will be released soon.

Martin Nathan’s short fiction and poetry has appeared in a range of journals and his novel – A Place of Safety is published by Salt Publishing. His dramatic writing has been shortlisted for the Nick Darke award and the Woodward International Prize.

Season 2 July 31, 2021September 27, 2021 Lindsay Gillespie, podcast, short story, Soul music, soul singer

Loverman by Lindsay Gillespie

Livingstone Franklin, a hospital cleaner, has a side hustle as a soul singer – and a crush on a beautiful colleague.

This story is written by Lindsay Gillespie, a Lewes-based writer. It is read by Luke Blackwood-Stevenson.

The producer is Martin Nathan. Martin Nathan has worked as a labourer, showman, pancake chef, fire technician, and railway engineer. His short fiction has been published by Tangent Press, HCE and Grist and his poetry has appeared in Finished Creatures, Erbacce and Aesthetica.

His novel – A Place of Safety is published by Salt Publishing. In 2020 he has been shortlisted for the Woodward International Playwriting Prize and the Nick Darke Award.

Sounds under CC-BY 3.0:

Janie Joelle accapella.wav by juskiddink

Photo by Octavio Lopez at Morguefile.com

Season 2 June 30, 2021July 11, 2021 family secrets, Sheila Kinsella, sisters

Maddy by Sheila Kinsella

In this month’s short story, rebellious Maddy’s reunion with her much older and more conventional sister goes disastrously wrong.

About the writer

Belgium based writer Sheila Kinsella’s short stories draw inspiration from her Irish upbringing. An avid watcher of people’s behaviour, and blessed with abundant natural curiosity, Sheila lures the reader into a shrewdly observed world via imagery.

Sheila graduated with an MA in Creative Writing (Distance Learning) from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom in 2017. Her stories have since been published in The Galway Review, The Blue Nib and Severine Literary Journal amongst others.

The producer was Tabitha Potts.

Photo by schurch at Morguefile.com