We launched three audiobooks last night, and over the next couple of days we are going to share some of the recordings. To celebrate we have a 20% off special offer voucher for these three audiobooks if you buy them via our audio and eBook store, this isn’t valid for any other site. Just use the code AudioLaunch before the end of May!
and one of the actual audiobook files – combining the voices of all three narrators
we are deeply impressed with the skills of Sean Kennedy at Listening Books, who spliced this together so seamlessly from files recorded in 3 different home studios!
We have taken a leap into the world of Audio Books, with nine books due for publication this year to be simultaneously released as Audio books.
Arachne Press Director, Cherry Potts, says “Thanks to a grant from Arts Council England, we are able to take a broad spread of books into the audio market – short stories, poetry, a dystopian novel and a YA novel, plus three anthologies.
“We are pleased to be partnering with Listening Books for the mastering and remote production, while our actors work from a variety of home studios, from the professional to the airing cupboard! Lockdown has meant we needed to make the most of every route to the reader, and audio books fit well with our commitment to accessibility, and working with Listening Books means we are also supporting a charity with similar aims. An added bonus with this venture is that we can support actors prevented from working on stage.”
Claire Bell, Deputy Membership and PR Manager, at Listening Books says
“I’m delighted we are working with Arachne to produce these titles. Having launched our new website this year, we know how important accessibility is and are very happy to be working with Arachne to provide their titles in the audio format. Having provided an audiobook service to children and adults since 1959, this partnership will not only support the charity through Listening Books Productions, but will make a whole new range of titles available for the print impaired.”
Cherry Potts added “We are auditioning actors now, and are thrilled to announce that our YA novel, Zed and the Cormorants by Clare Owen, will be narrated by Sophie Aldred (Dr Who, Dennis the Menace).”
We could all do with some cheer in the bleak days of January, especially this year, so courtesy of Arts Council England, we are here to do just that.
We are the proud and happy recipients of a £45,000 grant from Arts Council England
This will pay for our next ten books, and (drum roll) audio books! Which means we can smack Covid on the nose by providing another way to enjoy our books without leaving home, and provide some work to actors who aren’t allowed into a theatre just now. I’m anticipating it will also be huge fun. Putting the plans together now with our audiobook partner Listening Books
Thanks to everyone who gave us their thoughts on whether this was the right way to go. It’s one of the fastest growing sectors in literature, but it’s tough to get right, and harder still to market, so the funding will also pay for …
A part-time marketing person, and a (separate) part-time admin person for a few months, so that I can concentrate on finding and supporting new writers and guest editors. We will be advertising these posts very soon. They will be remote working, so if you think that could be you, start polishing your CV, but don’t send anything until you see the advertisment please!
The Books
The books that are being supported by the ACE grant are:
This Poem Here – Poetry collection by Rob Walton (Just the audio book, as we’ve already done the rest)
Strange Waters -Short Story Collection by Jackie Taylor
Jackie
A Voice Coming from Then – Poetry collection (illustrated with collages) by Jeremy Dixon
An Anthology of poems and short fiction from UK based Deaf writers (no title yet) edited by Lisa Kelly and A N Other
Lisa
An Anthology of poems and short stories from UK based Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Writers (no title yet) edited by Laila Sumpton and Sandra A. Agard
Solstice Shorts 2021 Anthology (provisional theme: time is running out but we’ll come up with a better title!)
Editor Cherry Potts talks about Devilskein and Dearlove a young adult novel by Alex Smith, which was nominated for the Carnegie Medal on 2015. Includes Q&A with the author, animated trailer by Nick Page and a couple of readings by actors Greg Page and Peter Noble.
You can buy Devilskein and Dearlove from our Webshop. Use the discount code ARACHNEVERSARY at the checkout throughout August.
Here it is as last… the animated trailer for Devilskein & Dearlove. Please feel free to share on Facebook or anywhere else that takes your fancy, the more people who see it the better.
A fantastic crew: animation by Nick Page,inspired by Ed Boxall‘s cover design and a mass of photographs from Alex and Cherry. Voices from Sophie Aldred, Greg Page and Cliff Chapman, music from Summer All Year Long, sound recording by Cherry Potts and Greg Page, and of course most importantly, the amazing BOOK, by Alex Smith.
I think between us we’ve captured the feel of the book, which would make any reader from the age of nine to nine hundred happy to read, although it’s mainly aimed at 12-16 year-olds. A perfect gift for birthday, christmas, or celebration of any kind! OUT 24th July 2014. You can preorder a copy here
Hey ho. Memo to self: setting date to go to printers to combine with end of year accounts not very clever.
However the files for Weird Lies and Mosaic of Air are now at the printers, (thanks to Sophie for the last-minute cover quotation – see below, and to Melina and Kevin for even more last-minute tweaks).
The glitch in the Author accounting spreadsheet is sorted, so I can now concentrate on the actual number crunching for the accounts in their full format, and creating PDFs to send to all the authors, with some good news for those involved in Stations.
The Weird Lies cover quotation:
Despite many years of travel through time, space, parallel universes and alternative dimensions on screen, audio and the printed page, I have never considered myself a fan of science fiction and fantasy writing. Until now! This collection of weird, funny, sad, moving stories is a mini galaxy of treats and a thoroughly Ace read.
We had a spectacular evening at Misty Moon last night. Thanks to Stuart for hosting,and to all our lovely readers for making the stories shine (and for bringing a Doctor Who element to the proceedings!)and the authors for writing such brilliant material in the first place … and the audience for showing up and buying books and laughing so much.
Stuart has asked us to make it a regular date – quarterly to start off with so the next one will be Sunday 29th September, just after we publish Weird Lies and Mosaic of Air.
If, having watched the videos, you want to help Arachne Press publish Weird Lies you can contribute to the funds by preordering or by contributing to our kickstarter campaign.
There’s no video of Cherry Potts reading The Bone Box, from Mosaic of Air because a button didn’t get pressed on the video (that’s the sort of thing that would happen in ChronoCrisis 3000).
In Ladywell, in Lewisham there is an old tavern… and behind that tavern is a coach house… and in that coach house is a gallery… with a bit of a fondness for horror movies, ghostly tales and the other things of weird ilk… so no surprise they are friends of Arachne Press, then.
Arachne Press will be reading one of the more bizarre stories from Lovers’ Lies and a couple of previews from Mosaic of Air and the very strange Weird Lies atMisty Moon Gallery, Ladywell Tavern SE13 7HS, on Sunday 9th June 6-9pm
