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Wednesday 11th September
Noon & 8pm & 4am
PLAYS/DRAMA
CORMORANT BY SARAH HUTCHINGS and HIL COOKE
Unworldly John and injured sailor, McKinney wash up on an uninhabited island, the only survivors of a terrifying shipwreck. When the pair is finally rescued John isolates himself in an anonymous bed-sit owned by the grotesque Mrs Paskins. Haunted by the sounds of the island, he shies away from human contact communing only with the disturbing voices in his dreams. John’s new neighbour Crow sees life through a haze of delusional paranoia and finds it hard to respect John’s need for solitude. Edgy, secretive John is the perfect focus for Crow’s over-active imagination and he becomes obsessed with investigating John’s nocturnal rituals. However, his surveillance soon turns to clumsy overtures of friendship. Despite his protestations John is forced to turn to Crow for help when his ‘voices’ start to blur his sense of reality.
1pm & 9pm & 5am
IN CONVERSATION…ROBERT COOVER
Robert Coover has been described by The New York Times as, “one of America’s quirkiest writers, if by ‘quirky’ we mean an unwillingness to abide by ordinary fictional rules and a conviction that a novel is primarily a verbal artefact unconvertible to other media.” His novel, The Public Burning, is a long and fantastic fictional account of the events surrounding the executions for espionage of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in 1952, whose principal narrator identifies himself as the then-Vice President of the United States, Richard Milhous Nixon. His other publications include Spanking the Maid, Gerald’s Party, Pinocchio in Venice, and Briar Rose.
2pm & 10pm & 6am
POETRY…AUGUST KLEINZAHLER
August Kleinzahler‘s poetry is described by the New York Times as “a modernist swirl of sex, surrealism, urban life and melancholy with a jazzy back beat. His personality combines Allen Ginsberg’s goofball charm and Norman Mailer’s inveterate pugnacity.” He has published eight books of poetry,
3pm & 11pm & 7am
GORGEOUS WOMEN
Women – we are the gentler sex or the deadlier of the species but universally it is agreed that we are good talkers, as Radio Gorgeous aptly delivers for ABR. Sometimes frivolous but always fabulous and today features LOUISE PENNY, best selling Canadian author and JODY DAY, the Founder of Gateway Women – the global friendship and support network for childless-by-circumstance women. Her book ‘Rocking the Life Unexpected’ introduces some radically new ways for childless women, and those who care about them, to think and feel about their situation.
4pm & Midnight & 8am
SHERLOCK HOLMES CLASSICS
ABR is proud to present two classic episodes, this time starring Tom Conway as Holmes. ‘The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor’ is followed by ‘The Boscombe Valley Mystery.’
We close the hour with an author interview from KOBO and today’s guest is JOWITA BYDLOWSKA.
5pm & 1am & 9am
SPARK LONDON
The concept is stand out simple. Real people telling real stories. Today’s are: Nobody’s Home by Alisdair Hurst, Down Post Office Lane by Andy Bodle and The Rabbit by Glen Long.
A WORD IN YOUR EAR
Word in Your Ear are a Bath based collective of writers who gather to tell their stories. They liked the way our ancestors enjoyed stories – by listening to them. We totally agree with them so let’s have a listen to: Winners and Losers by Pauline Mawurel and Black Sheep by Hannah Teasdale.
TAKE FIVE
We asked the same five questions to a range of writers – today it’s…POLLY COURTNEY, the bright and engaging novelist and commentator whose brilliant latest novel, Feral Youth, is critically acclaimed as both book and audio book.
6pm & 2am & 10am
HOLLYWOOD STAGE
Hollywood is indelibly printed in our minds as a go to place for entertainment and has been for decades. We take you back in time as The Hollywood ringmaster himself, CECIL B DE MILLE unveils…The Perfect Specimen featuring ERROL FLYNN.
7pm & 3am & 11am
SHORT STORIES
GEORGIE PORGIE BY RUDYARD KIPLING. READ BY EDWARD FOX.
A man breaks his promise to his Burmese wife, whom he bought essentially as a housekeeper. He bemoans his low station in such a remote colonial outpost, however, and returns to England to marry a proper British wife before moving to India and a higher diplomatic posting. The faithful Burmese wife, thinking he is in danger, seeks him out and follows him to India.
THE GARDEN OF TRUTH BY E. NESBIT. READ BY HARRIET WALTER.
Edith Nesbit was an English author and poet whose children’s works were published under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a precursor to the modern Labour Party. She is regarded by some as the first ‘modern writer for children’ but this short story can certainly be enjoyed and appreciated by adults as well.
25oon & 8pm & 4am
PLAYS/DRAMA
A KINGDOM FOR A STAGE PART I BY TONY DIGGLE
We are delighted to be broadcasting the radio premiere of A Kingdom for a Stage, originally performed at the Chelsea Theatre. It celebrates and commemorates the anniversary of Shakespeare’s birthday and death on 23rd April.
In Part I Ben Jonson discovered Shakespeare in the heavens in a catatonic state. Literary luminaries explained that he had made an unauthorised visit to the world and was horrified that mankind had not progressed so decided to torment them. Placated by his contemporaries reminding him of his own flawed life Shakespeare returns to the heavens to write his 38th play!
1pm & 9pm & 5am
IN CONVERSATION with MARY OLIVER
Mary Oliver’s poetry, with her lyrical connection to the natural world, has firmly established her in the highest realm of American poets. She is renowned for her evocative and precise imagery, which brings nature into clear focus, transforming the everyday world into a place of magic and discovery. Her recent books include Owls and Other Fantasies, Why I Wake Early, and New and Selected Poems, Volume Two. As poet Stanley Kunitz has said, “Mary Oliver’s poetry is fine and deep; it reads like a blessing.” Oliver lives in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
2pm & 10pm & 6am
POETRY & POETS with MICHAEL ONDAATJE
Michael Ondaatje, poet, novelist, and noted editor and film maker, was born in Sri Lanka in 1943, spent his teenage years in England, and moved to Canada in 1962 where he graduated from the University of Toronto and then Queen’s University, Ontario. He taught English Literature at York University, Toronto, from 1971 to 1990. While mostly known and admired as a novelist, due in part to the worldwide success of The English Patient that was awarded the Booker Prize in 1992 and was later made into the Academy Award-winning film, Ondaatje first won critical acclaim as a poet. Numerous collections include The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-Handed Poems (1970), There’s a Trick With a Knife I’m Learning To Do: Poems, 1963-1978 (1979), both of which won the Canadian Governor General’s award; The Cinnamon Peeler: Selected Poems (1989); and Handwriting (1998).
ALTERNATIVE RADIO with LAVERNE COX
Here at Audiobook Radio we are keen to provide a range of voices – very literally as well as in terms of opinions and views of the world. This strand created by Alternative Radio does just that. We will hear from some of the most informed minds and greatest social activists of our time whose take on justice and power does not chime with those that hold the power and don’t provide justice for all so we rarely get to hear from them in mainstream media. Different opinions always help inform our own and we are always eager to hear from listeners about this or any other strand. Contact us on the tab at www.audiobookradio.net
Today’s talk is by Laverne Cox, an actor starring in Orange is the New Black, documentary film producer and LGBTQ advocate. She talks about Transgender Visibility and whether Trump might revoke recent gains for the LGBTQ community.
4pm & Midnight & 8am
SHERLOCK HOLMES CLASSICS
ABR is proud to present two classic episodes, once again starring Tom Conway as Holmes. ‘The Reigate Puzzle’ is followed by ‘A Scandal in Bohemia.’
We close the hour with an author interview from KOBO and today’s guest is HIROSHI MIKITANI.
5pm & 1am & 9am
TAKE FIVE with CHLOE ESPOSITO & Audiobook Extract from BAD
We asked the same five questions to a range of writers – today CHLOE ESPOSITO, the author of the trilogy Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know which prompted a Hollywood bidding war. This is followed by an extract of the audiobook, Bad.
TAKE FIVE with JONAS HASSEN KHEMIRI
We then move to the award winning Swedish writer Jonas Hassen Khermiri who is the author of four novels, six plays, and a collection of essays, short stories – some of his work has already been translated into more than 25 languages and I’m pretty sure that number will continue to grow especially for the brilliant Everything I Needed to Know
TAKE FIVE with MAX PORTER
Finally we top the hour with Max Porter, poet and writer. His works include Grief is the Thing With Feathers which won the Sunday Times PFD Young Writer of the Year Award the Books Are My Bag Readers’ Award for fiction and the International Dylan Thomas Prize.
6pm & 2am & 10am
HOLLYWOOD STAGE
Hollywood is indelibly printed in our minds as a go to place for entertainment and has been for decades. We take you back in time as The Hollywood ringmaster himself, CECIL B DE MILLE unveils Seven Keys To Baldpate featuring JACK BENNY.
SHORT STORIES – HARDY & JEROME
This comes to you courtesy of Deadtree Publishing who have an excellent range of quality short stories from the masters of the craft. Do search for Miniature Masterpieces at any digital store for further information or at https://www.deadtreepublishing.com/ This hour opens with The Grave by the Handpost by Thomas Hardy read by Jake Urry followed by The Cost of Kindness by Jerome K Jerome read by James Taylor. Vol 13