368: Leeanne O'Donnell - Sparks of Bright Matter

Another collection of narrators in today's show as we celebrate the voices who bring RNIB Talking Books to life, including two very personal tales for becoming a narrator, how an epic stream of consciousness was recorded over months, and we get the Books of Your Life from Yoto Carnegie Shadower Award winner, Tia Fisher. Plus some new books entering the RNIB Library.

Influencer Meredith Lee didn't teach Aspen Palmer how to blossom on social media just to be ditched as soon as Aspen became big. So can anyone really blame Mer for doing a little stalking? Nothing serious, more like Stalking Lite. Jesse Sutanto joins Robert Kirkwood to talk about her new black comedy thriller, You Will Never Be Me. Plus we'll find some brand new books in the RNIB Library.

A compilation episode today of the times Read On was recorded live on stage in front of an audience. We hear from Booker Shortlisted author Graeme Macrae Burnet, former presenter Red Szell, comedian Juliette Burton and there's an extended interview with actor and writer John Gordon Sinclair.

Two tales of recording books today. Julia Donaldson works out how to make an audio version of a very visual book, and Elizabeth Proud talks about how audiobook narration has changed over the years. Plus we'll find some new books in the RNIB Library.

This week Robert Kirkwood chats to Sophie Gravia about her Glasgow Kiss trilogy and her new book Hot Girl Summer, and why she started writing while working as a nurse during the pandemic. Plus we find some new book in the RNIB Library.

This week, Robert Kirkwood chats to Isabel Ashdown about her new book One Girl, One Summer which sees a return to Highcap in Dorset and a reappearance of DS Ali Samson. We also find some brand new audiobooks available from RNIB.

Today's Read On features three very distinctive voices, Adjoa Andoh on being the voice of the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Derek Jacobi on bringing characters to life off the page and we get a masterclass in narration from Martin Jarvis. All that plus some new books available in audio from RNIB.

The Bridgerton books are available from RNIB in accessible formats, but how do you make the TV version accessible? Robert Kirkwood takes a deep dive into the world of Audio Description with Liz Gutman, head Audio Description writer at IDC and finds out if writing 'that scene' make Liz feel like a romance novelist! And, as always, we find some new books in the RNIB Library. Liz's podcast is available here 

This week we chat to Kirsten Miller, author of The Change, about her new book, a gripping and deeply moving novel of bravery, friendship and standing up against censorship, Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books. Plus we find some new books in the RNIB library.

This week, bestselling author and award-winning journalist Jo Piazza, talks about a novel rooted in the author's own family history about a trip to Sicily, a disputed inheritance, and a family secret that some will kill to protect, plus Amelia Hilton chats to blind author and world traveller, Tony Giles. All that plus some new books in the RNIB Library.