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photo credit: Maproom Systems

Recorded live and uncensored, LITOPIA AFTER DARK is a wide-ranging look at what’s new, hot or not in the worlds of writing, publishing, media and culture. Again, we can be found live on UStream at 8pm (GMT) on Friday evenings and there’s an opportunity to watch the Podcast being made and make comments during the programme.

In this week’s packed show we will be discussing Literary Prizes. How do the panel feel about the system of Prizes? AL Kennedy has just been awarded the Costa Prize and yet the book is a bleak read, not universally appealing. We discuss whether the system is fatally flawed from the outset and if it is possible to impartially judge these Prizes. And the panel look at the sales results after a book has been a prize-winner and the future career implications for the writer.

Also, Misery Lit, the relatively new best-sellers of the publishing industry. What is the appeal of these harrowing, shocking memoirs? And why do people love them? The panel discuss the dangers of life story accounts spiralling out of control and the race to be the most unpleasant yet.

This week’s guests are Dave Bartram, Berverly Gray, Richard Howse, Donna Ballman and Eve Harvey.

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photo credit: Chuckumentary

In this second programme of 2008 we are again live on Ustream and the chat room is open for comments during the recording of the Podcast.

This week the panel discuss the rather depressing news that further cuts are being made to funding for the Arts. The British Council has effectively been dismantled, its 20 specialist officers (including the much-respected Susie Nicklin, Head of Literature) have been made redundant and invited to re-apply for their jobs. Also is POD (Print on Demand) the future for mainstream publishing? Will the fast turnaround in printing and lack of warehouse costs be the answer to the environmental problems currently faced by publishers? The panel discuss self-publishing and the pro’s and con’s of doing it yourself. And lastly, writing for Children and Young Adults. What is the secret to writing a successful children’s book? What aspects should writers be concentrating on and are there any pitfalls to avoid? The panel give their opinions on hitting the big-time in this increasingly competitive and lucrative marketplace.

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In this first Litopia After Dark of 2008, we’re live on Ustream and there’s an opportunity watch the Podcast being made and make comments during the programme.

This week the panel discuss Chuck Norris. What? Has Chuck Norris decided being an action hero is no longer fulfilling and penned his own romance novel? Fortunately not. The discussion revolves around a book called “The Truth About Chuck Norris: 400 facts about the World’s Greatest Human” and the resulting law suit. Also, the far more serious issue of Books and the Landfill. What can we do about the environmental impact of the publishing industry’s wasteful sale or return policy? And could e-submissions be a small step forward towards better practice? And finally, Writers Conferences. Could they be a face to face opportunity for the unpublished writer? The panel discuss the pros and cons of speed dating Agents. (more…)

photo credit: BottleLeaf

Not Just Bifurcated, But Trifurcated!

For the first podcast of the new year, we peer into Peter’s crystal ball and attempt to forecast the fate of Amazon’s KINDLE - in particular, we take a long, hard look at the impact that digital rights management (DRM) may have on e-book publishing. Litopia’s Donna Ballman conducts a terrific in-depth interview with Brad Meltzer, author of the No. 1 New York Times bestseller, “The Book of Fate” and also the co-creator of the TV show, “Jack & Bobby”. And we have a tell-all interview with one of the brightest young stars of British children’s publishing, Orion’s Jon Appleton.

photo credit: sarahivec

For the last show of 2007 we’re doing something a little different. This week, VARIETY reports that more and more films are abandoning the classical 3-act structure in favour of nonlinear story construction. So the main question we’re going to address tonight is all about the future of story itself. Andrew Gillman, who will be familiar to many listeners of our earlier podcasts, is currently directing another series for BBC3 starring Rob Brydon. We asked Andrew and his producer, Alex Kavallierou, to give us their thoughts and some context on this most fundamental issue for all writers. Our panellists are Donna Ballman, Dave Bartram, Beverly Gray and Richard Howse.

photo credit: Johnny Grim

If you look at the bestseller charts on both sides of the Atlantic, it’s not hard to predict what you’re going to see. In the UK, 15 of the top 20 hardback non-fiction books are television spin-offs. Stateside, this week’s hardcover fiction list is equally humdrum - you’d be forgiven for thinking that we’d all been swallowed up in a time warp and gone back to the 1980s. So - has “safe” publishing finally taken over? We also tackle buzz marketing, the ten most manly writers ever, and the definitive American woman of our time. This episode’s guests are Donna Ballman, Dave Bartram, Brian Clegg, Beverly Gray, Richard Howse and Lynn Price.

photo credit: Coach O. (Formerly.. FoToMMeN)

Litopia’s Donna Ballman interviews the man who has been called the master of contemporary mystery writing - James W Hall is author of bestselling 15 novels and is professor of literature and writing at Florida International University.

We also interview one of the most powerful figures in British Children’s publishing, Sarah Davies, as she prepares to move to America to start a children’s literary agency.

And we have a writer’s master-class from Litopia’s Richard Howse on the subject of the Beat.

photo credit: Brian Vallelunga

Recorded live and uncensored, LITOPIA AFTER DARK is a wide-ranging look at what’s new, hot or not in the worlds of writing, publishing, media and culture.

This week, we tackle The Kindle - Savior of the publishing industry or Segway? Princess Diana’s biographer Andrew Morton’s takes on Tom Cruise. And we give Bloomsbury Publishing our best advice in coping with Potter bereavement. Plus our picks of the week, and sleepers of the week. Our pundits are Donna Ballman, Dave Bartram, Beverly Gray and Richard Howse.

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photo credit: inju

Recorded live and uncensored, LITOPIA AFTER DARK is a wide-ranging look at what’s new, hot or not in the worlds of writing, publishing, media and culture. Last week, we gave Amazon’s Kindle a good going-over - and we’re not finished with the subject yet - well take another look at it quite soon, when we can assess what kind of initial impact it’s made.

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