Latest Podcasts - Story Radio Podcast

Interview with Amanda Owen, the Yorkshire Shepherdess

In this episode, Martin Nathan interviews Amanda Owen, the Yorkshire Shepherdess, about what writing means to her, and she reads an extract from her new book, Celebrating the Seasons with the Yorkshire Shepherdess, about the harsh but rewarding realities of living in tune with the seasons on one of the highest, most remote hill farms in the country.

A best-selling author, Amanda is also a full-time shepherdess with 800 sheep, a vintage tractor owner, sheepdog breeder, conservationist (the farm is a haven for nesting birds such as curlews and lapwings), horsewoman, and mother of nine.

Amanda and her family have worked the rugged land at Ravenseat Farm in Swaledale on the Yorkshire Cumbria boarder for more than 25 years and are passionate caretakers of the countryside.

This episode was produced by Martin Nathan. 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 3 September 30, 2022October 9, 2022 audio fiction, Claire Lubert, depression, exile, Hungarian, Kae Hart, podcast, short story

Eventide by Kae Hart

A young woman spends time with her younger sister Anya in a deserted playground, while wrestling with her inner demons.

The story was written by Kae Hart. Kae is a university student who learned to speak by telling stories to everyone who would listen. The cashier at the local grocery store was her first fan. Since then, she has written stories, poems, and novels, and hopes to continue to do so.

The story was read by Claire Lubert.

Claire has been working for Humanitarian Organisations for the last eight years (currently Médecins Sans Frontières). She is also involved in writing projects and is a voice artist, having previously trained at Rada and worked as an actor in TV, Film and theatre. She is based in SW London.

Eventide was produced by Tabitha Potts.

The photograph used in this episode is courtesy of Cherie Durbin.

Picture of boy in tree, vintage, film camera

Season 3 August 31, 2022September 19, 2022 Australia, boyhood, childhood, doug jacquier, podcast, religious cult, short fiction, short story

Killing the Serpent by Doug Jacquier

A young Australian boy learns some difficult lessons about temptation and faith when he meets another boy from a local religious cult.

This story was written and read by Doug Jacquier. He has lived in many places across Australia, including regional and remote communities, and has travelled extensively overseas. His poems and stories have been published in Australia, the US, the UK and Canada. He blogs at Six Crooked Highways.

This episode was produced by Tabitha Potts.

Recording of artist Jimmie P Rodgers under Creative Commons License 0 from qubodup at Freesound.org

Photo by Vintage Film Pics at Morguefile.com.

Season 3 August 1, 2022August 12, 2022 Afsana Press, audio fiction, glass wall, Goran Baba Ali, prejudice, refugee, short story

The Glass Wall by Goran Baba Ali

Goran Baba Ali, author of The Glass Wall, talks to Martin Nathan, Tabitha Potts and Miki Lentin about his novel and reads a brief extract.

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The Glass Wall is about a teenage refugee who must relive the pain of his past to enter the land waiting behind a glass wall. Will his story be convincing enough to guarantee his safety?

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Goran Baba Ali has written and published various literary and journalistic works in Kurdish, Dutch and English. The Glass Wall is his debut novel in the English language.

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As an ex-refugee, originally from Iraqi Kurdistan, he has personally experienced some of the protagonist’s hardship in this novel, including a few weeks living in a desert.

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The producer of this episode was Martin Nathan.

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Sound effects taken from Freesound.org and licensed under the Creative Commons 0 license.

Season 3 June 30, 2022September 19, 2022 alcoholism, alienation, Declan Geraghty, short fiction, Spain

Waiting for Pilar by Declan Geraghty

In this short story, a man waits in an anonymous hotel room in Madrid drinking beer and watching television while he waits for his lover, Pilar, to arrive.

This story was written by Declan Geraghty. Geraghty is a writer, poet and spoken word performer from Dublin.

It was first published by Epoque Press Ezine 2021.

The story was read by Miki Lentin, and produced by Tabitha Potts.

Sound effects taken from Freesound.org and licensed under the Creative Commons 0 license.

Photo by Pedrojperez at Morguefile.com

Season 3 May 31, 2022June 13, 2022 Afsana Press, foodkind, marriage, masculinity, mental health, mid-life, refugees, short stories, short story collection

Miki Lentin talks about his collection, Inner Core

Martin Nathan, Tabitha Potts and Goran Baba Ali talk to Miki Lentin about his short story collection, Inner Core, recently published by Afsana Press. Includes a short reading by Miki Lentin. This interview was produced by Martin Nathan.

Inner Core 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 running a café again. Find him on Twitter @mikilentin or read his work on his website.

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

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