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Literature professor Simon John James and physicist Richard Bower were both involved in the curating the exhibition, Time Machines – the past, the future, and how stories take us there. Their conversations quickly revealed to them the many, wildly various, meanings of “time travel”. Here, they discuss how time travelling in literary and scientific terms might, one day, coincide.
July 4, 2017
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Despite the growing technological panic at the cusp of the twenty-first century, my parents only owned one CD player. It was too big to move from the sitting room, so the audiobook was bought for me as six cassette tapes to listen to in my bedroom. At nine years old, I had already amassed an impressive collection of audiobooks on cassette - I've always struggled to fall asleep and need to be tricked into unconsciousness by distraction from overthinking and worrying. I had Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox and The Giraffe, The Pelly and Me memorised, and had been forced to give up my Thomas the Tank Engine cassette to my sister, who was, in fairness, deserving; she's younger than me and suffers from the same problem sleeping.
June 26, 2017
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It’s the final day of our book recommendations, and we’ve saved the best for last with six sensational stories to listen to! From crime to dystopian speculative fiction to humour, whatever you’re looking for, we’ve got an audiobook for you.
June 22, 2017
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There is a strange and troubled kind of intimacy between our own moment of climate change and 19th century Britain. It was there that a global, fossil fuel economy first took shape, through its coal-powered factories, railways, and steamships, which drove the emergence of modern consumer capitalism.
May 30, 2017
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Author David Almond has written over twenty books for children and young adults, with many receiving critical acclaim. He is perhaps best known for his 1998 novel Skelling, which has since been adapted into a play, an opera, and a film. His works are highly philosophical and thus appeal to children and adults alike.
January 3, 2017
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One hurdle that can be tricky for any writer to clear is identifying their target audience. Sometimes, figuring out exactly who’d like to read their book and the best way they can engage them is harder than it sounds. But imagine if you were writing for an audience who aren’t even born yet.
October 17, 2016
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Bill Dee, the Listening Books Director, gives us an insight into his role in the charity. From managing staff to seizing opportunities, here's what he had to say about what he does day to day.
April 26, 2016
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The population of the developing world is growing faster than anywhere else on Earth, and the futures of the people who live there are crucial to the collective future of the planet. But most of the futures depicted in science fiction writing do not include this hugely significant part of the world. To explore why, Richard Hodson spoke to Ivor W Hartmann – Zimbabwean writer, and publisher of the anthology AfroSF: Science Fiction by African Writers through his independent micro-press, StoryTime.
March 17, 2016
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Last month children from across the world wrote letters to a very special someone - Santa Claus.
January 12, 2016
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Sometimes you just need something uplifting - whether you're working through a hard time in your life or having a down day, a book can often be just the thing. Not only a distraction taking you to another place, but also offering hope, stories have so many positive qualities for mental health.
October 11, 2015
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