Story Radio Podcast

The Story Radio team interview Sally Page, best-selling author of The Keeper of Stories, whose new novel The Book of Beginnings has just been published by HarperCollins. We talk to her about stationery, fountain pens, romance and ghosts. The Book of Beginnings tells the story of Jo, who is hiding from her past when she agrees to run her uncle’s beloved stationery shop. Glimpsing the lives of her customers between the warm wooden shelves, as they scribble little notes and browse colourful notebooks, distracts her from her bruised heart. When she meets Ruth, a vicar running from a secret, and Malcolm, a septuagenarian still finding himself, she suddenly realizes she isn’t alone. They each have a story that can transform Jo’s life… if only she can let them in. 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. After studying history at university, Sally Page moved to London to work in advertising. In her spare time she studied floristry at night school and eventually opened her own flower shop. Sally came to appreciate that flower shops offer a unique window into people’s stories and she began to photograph and write about this floral life in a series of non-fiction books. Later, she continued her interest in writing when she founded her fountain pen company, Plooms.co.uk. In her debut novel, The Keeper of Stories, Sally combined her love of history and writing with her abiding interest in the stories people have to tell. In her second novel, The Book of Beginnings Sally draws on her love of stationery. Sally now lives in Dorset. Her eldest daughter, Alex, is studying to be a doctor and her younger daughter is the author, Libby Page. Both are keen wild swimmers.

This month we are featuring short stories and flash fiction written at a creative writing workshop in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park. The stories are loosely inspired by the gravestones of people who were buried in the cemetery. They include Charlie Brown, boxer and publican, Alec Hurley, boxer, singer and husband of Marie Lloyd, the Woods family, who all died from influenza leaving only one surviving child and Maurice O'Connor, a workhouse doctor who committed suicide in mysterious circumstances. Thank you to all the writers who participated in the workshop for lending us your imagination for the day, and to Claire Slack the Heritage Officer for telling us the compelling real-life stories of some of the people buried in the cemetery park. This episode contains swearwords so has been marked as explicit.

A young girl is fascinated by the story of a magical being hidden in the forest outside her home, and goes out at night to look for her. Written by Patrica Furstenberg and read by Lysandra Furstenberg. With a medical degree behind her, writer and poet Patricia Furstenberg authored 18 books imbued with history, folklore, legends. The recurrent motives in her writing are unconditional love and war. Her essays and poetry appeared in various online literary magazines. Romanian born, she resides with her family in South Africa. Follow her on Twitter @patfurstenberg Find her on Facebook patriciafurstenbergauthor The story was produced by Tabitha Potts. Photo credit swatcop on Morguefile.com.

Martin Nathan and Tabitha Potts interview Tracey Rose Peyton about her beautiful and heart-breaking debut novel, Night Wherever We Go, published by The Borough Press. Night Wherever We Go is an intimate look at the domestic lives of enslaved women in 1800s America, and an evocative meditation on resistance and autonomy, on love and transcendence and the bonds of female friendship in the darkest of circumstances. It tells the tale of six women who are forced to become impregnated by their owners but decide to take matters into their own hands to prevent this from happening. Review by Sarah Waters - ‘a haunting evocation of the routine brutalities of slavery that is also a powerful celebration of friendship, community, resilience and rebellion. A hugely impressive debut.’ Tracey Rose Peyton also reads from her novel for us. This episode was produced by 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 was shortlisted for the Woodward International Playwriting Prize and the Nick Darke Award.

A woman at home with her baby during lockdown hears the unsettling sound of dogs fighting in the street. It isn't long before she is in danger herself - and she has to decide how to fight back. Dogs by S P Murphy was first published in Litro Magazine. S. P. Murphy is an American writer and arts consultant living in London. He has served on the board of PEN America and the Victoria and Albert Museum. He writes short stories and contributes articles on culture and politics to various publications. He is working on his first novel, a love story set in the US in 1970, when the nation was, like today, tragically divided. This episode was produced by Tabitha Potts.

Martin Natha interviews spy insider turned author Ava Glass about her debut novel, The Chase, published by Penguin. Listen to this podcast to find out more about how Glass found her inspiration, and hear her talking about how she structured her novel which has been highly praised by various critics for its gripping plot and breathless pace. She also reads from The Chase for Story Radio. 'A thrilling read ... I could not have loved it more!' Lisa Jewell 'A high-octane, warp-speed thriller' Guardian This episode was produced by 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 was shortlisted for the Woodward International Playwriting Prize and the Nick Darke Award.

In this episode Martin Nathan and Tabitha Potts speak to best-selling crime novelist Helen Fields, criminal law barrister turned writer, about her new book The Institution. The Institution is a nail-biting psychological thriller about a criminal profiler, Dr Connie Woolwine, who goes undercover in a high security prison hospital while she tries to solve the brutal murder of one of the nurses, and find her missing child. Helen also reads the opening chapter of The Institution. Content warning: some listeners might find this distressing. This episode was produced by Martin Nathan.

It is March 1941 during the Second World War, and a young evacuee, Tabitha, is fascinated by the stories about a famous author who lives nearby. Content warning: contains references to suicide. The story is written and read by Elinora Westfall. Influenced by David Bowie, Virginia Woolf and Sally Wainwright, Elinora Westfall is a lesbian writer of stage, screen, fiction, poetry and radio from the UK. Her novel, Everland, was selected for the Penguin and Random House WriteNow Editorial Programme, and her short films have been selected by Pinewood Studios & Lift-Off Sessions, Cannes Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Camden Fringe Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival, while her theatre and audio shows have been selected by The British Library and performed in London's West End and on Broadway, where she won the award for Best Monologue. The story was produced by Tabitha Potts. Music used courtesy of Timbre of Freesound.org Photo of Virginia Woolf By George Charles Beresford - Filippo Venturi Photography Blog, Public Domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50293324

This short story is about a young woman whose heart is stolen by a mysterious magician. The story is written and read by Elinora Westfall. Influenced by David Bowie, Virginia Woolf and Sally Wainwright, Elinora Westfall is an Australian/British lesbian actress and writer of stage, screen, fiction, poetry and radio from the UK. Her novel, Everland has been selected for the Penguin and Random House WriteNow 2021 Editorial Programme, and her short films have been selected by Pinewood Studios & Lift-Off Sessions, Cannes Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Camden Fringe Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival, while her theatre shows have been performed in London's West End and on Broadway, where she won the award for Best Monologue. Elinora is also working on The Art of Almost, a lesbian comedy-drama radio series as well as writing a television drama series and the sequel to her novel, Everland. The story was produced by Tabitha Potts.

Tabitha Potts and Martin Nathan interview best-selling novelist and short story writer Kate Mosse and playwright and debut novelist Greg Mosse, whose novel The Coming Darkness (Moonflower Books) is publishing on the 10th November. Early praise for Greg Mosse's dystopian thriller have included Lee Child's review: "Greg Mosse writes like John le Carre's hip grandson" We interviewed both writers about their writing techniques in a wide-ranging discussion of their work. Kate Mosse is the best-selling author of ten novels and short story collections including the multimillion-selling Languedoc Trilogy - Labyrinth, Sepulchre and Citadel - and Gothic fiction including The Winter Ghosts and The Taxidermist's Daughter, which she has adapted for the stage for 2022. Greg Mosse is currently the founder and leader of the Criterion New Writing script development programme at the Criterion Theatre, London, Since 2015, he has written and produced 25 plays and musicals, often in collaboration. During the coronavirus lockdowns, he wrote two-and-a-half novels, of which The Coming Darkness will be the first to be published. The producer was Tabitha Potts. She is a writer living in East London. She has had several short stories published in print and online and short-listed for various awards, most recently the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize. In a previous life, she was a BBC Radio Drama producer. Read more at http://www.tabithapotts.com.

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.

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.

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.

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. 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? 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. 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. The producer of this episode was Martin Nathan. Sound effects taken from Freesound.org and licensed under the Creative Commons 0 license.

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

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

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 Inner 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 running 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 inner-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.

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.

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. You can also listen to one of the stories she wrote for Story Radio two years ago, A Summoning Spell, read by Saskia Butler. If you would like to read her prize-winning story you can download Pholas Dactylus here. Warning: A Summoning Spell contains some adult language and is not suitable for under-18s.

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