Newgen Publishing UK are proud to announce their latest venture – a new podcast for a book-loving audience. From our softly furnished spare rooms (for better sound quality), we’ve had the opportunity to interview a variety people from around the book industry. With this podcast, we’re hoping to go behind the scenes and get tips, tricks and advice from those in the know. The podcast will have an initial release of six episodes and one bonus episode, each based around an interview with an author, a bookshop or a publishing professional.
Our first episode features an interview with Danièle Cybulski, the author of Life in Medieval Europe: Fact and Fiction, who talks to us about myth busting, her upcoming book on being a monk (How to Live Like a Monk: Medieval Wisdom for Modern Life) and the importance of truth in a post-truth world.
Subsequent episodes will feature:
• bookshop owner Ben Moorhouse from Our Bookshop in Tring, whose bookshop has been shortlisted for the Independent Bookshop of the Year;
• commissioning editor for Pen & Sword and Arc Humanities Press Claire Hopkins, who talks to us about her drive to reveal lost stories of extraordinary women and other aspects of forgotten history;
• author, speaker and TV historian Matt Lewis, whose focus is the Wars of the Roses and Richard III;
• Gideon York, one half of the duo behind The Cotswold Book Room, recently refurbished and carefully curated for younger readers; and
• Alison Jones, whose publishing company Practical Inspiration is helping business owners to write their books in order to share their ethos, ideas and best practices to the wider world.
We have also been lucky to jointly interview Nicole Vanderbilt, Bookshop.org’s UK managing director, and Peter Donaldson from Red Lion Books in Colchester. Peter was one of the first independent bookshop owners to support Bookshop.org, and he talks to us about his bookshop has survived the decline of the high street, various recessions and the pandemic, as well as how both he and Bookshop.org are looking forward to new ventures this year. Red Lion Books has also been shortlisted for the Independent Bookshop of the Year. The podcast will be hosted by Newgen Publishing UK production editors Clare and Phil and carefully and lovingly produced by commissioning editor Eleri. The first episode will be released on 10 March and you can keep up by following #newgenpubcast.
