http://podcast.litopia.com The net’s first & foremost literary salon: our weekly flagship show en-PI http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ JellyCast http://www.jellycast.com peter@redhammer.info (litopia) Arts & Entertainment Sun, 10 May 2009 09:54:09 +0100 Tue, 12 May 2009 10:36:06 +0100 Litopia Writers Colony litopia peter@redhammer.info podcast Yes No The net’s first & foremost literary salon: our weekly flagship show The Litopia podcasts, from Litopia Writers’ Colony, are the 'net's original and foremost podcasts for writers. There are currently two strands: LITOPIA DAILY and LITOPIA AFTER DARK. LITOPIA DAILY is a quick-but-essential daily briefing for writers: between 5 to 10 minutes of the hottest news and comment, plus regular features that are as stimulating as your morning cup of Java. LITOPIA AFTER DARK is a weekly international panel discussion hosted by literary agent Peter Cox. Recorded every Friday in front of a live audience on UStream (see the website for details: http://podcast.litopia.com). Guests are drawn very widely: from the titans of the publishing business to neophyte novelists - everyone gets a crack if they have something significant to say and a witty way of saying it. We look forward to your company! https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/75 Everyone agrees that last week's show was one of our best ever... but we might just shatter that consensus tonight. Our sujets du jour include: * Is Google’s Great Book Bank Robbery the beginning of the end for traditional publishing and bookselling? Our very own business guru speaks! * Dating and mating in the book business – what really goes on in those long, lustful editorial meetings – we spill the beans! * How a Mexican strawberry picker managed to bring down the entire world’s economy... sort of. * And Noddy and Big Ears – what was that really all about, then? All this plus our all full-fat, high-calorie regular features that are so good we just can’t bear to get rid of them. Our panelists tonight are Donna Ballman, Dave Batram, Richard Howse and special guest, publishing business guru Martyn Daniels. Mon, 11 May 2009 15:49:48 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/75 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/75 No Podcast 01:00:57 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/74 Finally, the Kindle may have found its market: but perhaps not quite what Amazon expected - it may just be the the new must-have accessory for pornophiles. That is, if a recent thread on FriendFeed is anything to go by... and yes folks, Litopia After Dark merits an explicit tag this week – you have been warned! Raising our sights for a moment, Peter is convinced that, in a blinding flash of revelation, he has seen the future of the digital publishing business - and it's Google, not Amazon, who look like being the clear winners. "When we look back", he says, "we may well decide that this was the week when the world changed for readers, writers and indeed the entire the publishing industry." It all hinges on the a settlement that has been reached between Google and authors and book publishers regarding Google’s massive book scanning and indexing project. "The implications of the Google settlement are truly vast", Peter believes. "Let’s imagine that Google soon start to sell an e-reader –just as they’ve recently produced a phone. With the new Google E-reader, you can have the text of just about every book ever written - the majority of them, being out of opyright, will be 100% free. That's an offer that is impossible to refuse! And on the back of it, they will be able to sell frontlist books, too. I really believe the promise of "all the world’s books in the palm of your hand" will be a game changer for the entire industry." The panel discuss the massive implications of this development. A new book by Geoff Nicholson mourns The Lost Art of Walking – and since part of Nicholson’s walking talks place in Los Angeles, we can assume it is not just a lost art, but also a pretty dangerous one, too. So, should writers walk – or stay in their rooms, famously like Marcel Proust? A piece in this week’s Daily Telegraph by Tibor Fischer reviews Schulz and Peanuts: A biography by David Michaelis. Michaelis’s books reveals much about the man himself: the man behind the iconic cartoon strip had devotees that included Timothy Leary and the Grateful Dead, but also as Fischer points out, “grunts in Vietnam went into battle with Snoopy emblazoned on their fuselages or helmets. Schulz's prodigious cartoon beagle was almost called Sniffy, before he remembered his dying mother's suggestion that their next dog should be called Snoopy (a Norwegian term of endearment). We chat about the appeal of the puppy… what made Snoopy so popular? Also, Daniel W. Drezner writes in The Chronicle of Higher Education review this week about the alleged disappearance of the intellectual as a public figure. The pessimism about public intellectuals is reflected in attitudes about how the rise of the internet in general, and blogs in particular, affects intellectual output. Alan Wolfe claims that "the way we argue now has been shaped by cable news and Weblogs. No emotion can be too angry and no exaggeration too incredible." The panel give their views on whether the role of intellectual is dead? We also ask whether intellectuals are actually necessary any more? Finally, there’s something particularly evil and enduring about book burning – the very phrase conjures up nightmarish visions of Nazis and bonfires. People just don’t seem to get as excited about, say, the Great Firewall of China, which arguably has had a far more chilling effect on free speech than ever the Third Reich managed to have. In the current New English Review, Theodore Dalyrmple writes: “Books have an almost sacred quality: it is necessary only to imagine someone ripping the pages out of a cheap and trashy airport novel one by one to prove to oneself that this is so. If we saw someone doing it, we should be shudder, and think him a barbarian, no matter the nature of the book. The horror aroused by book burnings is independent of the quality of the books actually burnt.” So, what is going to happen when books are read electronically? Will the smell of burning plastic still conjure the same emotions? And if all that wasn’t enough, we play all the games you love to listen to… Pitch the Nasty Agent, Toad Suck, Arkansas, Reverse Shuffle Six Card Strip Pokerette and Litopia’s Cry for Help (this week we get a letter from a rather strange contributor!). To discuss all this and more is our erudite and entertaining panel… Dave Bartram, Donna Ballman and Richard Howse. Joining them is our very special guest Dr Susan O’Doherty, writer, clinical psychologist and the author of Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued: A Woman’s Guide to Unblocking Creativity. Her popular advice column for writers, “The Doctor Is In”, appears every Friday on MJ Rose’s publishing blog, Buzz, Balls, & Hype. The Ustream chatroom was a bit congested this week, but do join us there next week, and be part of the Litopia phenomenon! Mon, 11 May 2009 15:07:17 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/74 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/74 No Podcast 01:00:57 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/73 On LITOPIA AFTER DARK’s panel tonight are regulars Donna Ballman and Dave Bartram, more than ably assisted by Isle of Man writer John Quirk and British publisher-turned US-uber-agent Sarah Davies. The biggest news this week isn’t that Walter the Farting Dog is headed to the big screen – significant though that is. Since being published in 2001, this modern epic and its four sequels have sold millions of copies worldwide (the movie of the flatulent pooch will be produced by the Farrelly brothers and will be scripted by Joel Cohen, whose previous work includes "No Country For Old Men," and "Fargo"). No, the really big news – from the UK – is Sachsgate. During BBC Radio 2’s Russell Brand Show, both Russell Brand and Jonathan “I’m paid more than 1000 BBC news journalists” Ross made a series of obscene prank phone calls to much-loved actor Andrew Sachs, leaving messages on his answerphone stating that Russell Brand had had sex with Andrew’s granddaughter, 23-year old Georgina Baillie. The BBC said it was "not aware of receiving a complaint from Mr Sachs". However, after British prime Minsiter Gordon Brown intervened, the number of complaints topped 40,000. The Director General of the BBC returned home early from his holiday in Italy, the television watchdog, Ofcom, launched an enquiry, Brand resigned, the much-respected Controller of Radio 2 resigned and Ross was suspended without pay for 3 months. And now, it appears that sales of Jonathan Ross's presciently titled memoir Why Do I Say These Things? have plunged in the week after the "Sachsgate" affair. Apparently, the British public has gone off both Jonathan and Russell in a big, big way. After setting the BBC bang to rights, our noble panelists turn their attention to George W. Bush’s memoirs (why haven’t they sold?), the Google digitization settlement (have authors just been fleeced?), the deaths of Michael Crichton and Studs Terkel, and the ten most irritating phrases in the English language. All this, plus our regular mayhem of games and other mental gyrations – next week, why not join us live in the chatroom and take part! Mon, 11 May 2009 14:50:41 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/73 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/73 No Podcast 01:00:57 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/72 It’s Halloween and this week Litopia After Dark goes to hell as the panel get their fangs into some of the juicy topics up for discussion. The prominent atheist Richard Dawkins is stepping down from his post at Oxford University to write a book aimed at youngsters in which he will warn them against believing in "anti-scientific" fairytales. Prof Dawkins said: "The book I write next year will be a children's book on how to think about the world, science thinking contrasted with mythical thinking. I haven't read Harry Potter, I have read Pullman who is the other leading children's author that one might mention and I love his books. I don't know what to think about magic and fairy tales." So, if fairytales are “anti-scientific”, should they be banned? The biotech firm BioArts International, plans to offer five pet owners a chance to genetically Xerox their canine companions. Aspiring clog owners would participate in a series of online auctions, and the bidding will start at $100,000. Who would the panel clone, if they had the chance… and why??? Also, Scientific American carries an article by Gary Stix about another once-fictional scientific procedure that seems closer ever day. One day not so far away, Amazon.com may be linked directly to your hippocampus, which is the neural structure involved with forming memories. Cool technology – or the end of human beings? And finally, a new book has just been published on the matter of zombies. Glenn Kay’s ZOMBIE MOVIES: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE is out this week and the panel discuss, vampires or zombies – which is best? All this and the horror of Pitch the Nasty Agent, the frighteningly freaky, Toad Suck, Arkansas, Reverse Shuffle Six Card Strip Pokerette and the nightmare of Cry for Help. Our panellists this week are the frighteningly erudite regulars, Dave Bartram and Donna Ballman. Joining them we are delighted to welcome back two very special guests. Alan Gibbons is a prize winning children’s author and he is spearheading a campaign against library cuts in the UK. You can find details of his Campaign for the Book on his own blog, where you’ll find out how you can get involved in supporting this fantastic cause. Lynn Price is Editorial Director of a multiple award winning independent Publisher, Behler Publications. The Ustream Chatroom (8pm GMT) was suitably cobwebbed and bat infested. Join us next week after the clear-up. Mon, 11 May 2009 14:40:29 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/72 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/72 No Podcast 01:00:57 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/71 Sentimentality is in the air on Litopia After Dark this week as we try to create a tear-jerking, heart-wrenching, sickly sweet best-seller (pass the sick bucket!). However, it all gets a bit over-emotional and we move on to more serious topics... Last week we took a look at the sex-and-blackmail scandal that propelled etiquette doyenne Emily Post to start peddling good manners as a commodity, nearly 100 years ago. This week, Emily Yoffe writes in SLATE about the lack of manners (as if we really expected them) in the US election campaign. Could it be an element of the social malaise exemplified by an alarming new trend in violent crime: "low flash-point killings". We ask - are we giving (and taking) more offense as a society? Also, the American Journalism Review carries a think piece by Philip Meyer, professor emeritus in Journalism at the University of North Carolina, in which he tries to predict where that industry is headed. Meyer offers a future vision of the newspaper in which those that manage to survive will do so with some kind of hybrid content: analysis, interpretation and investigative reporting in a print product that appears less than daily, combined with constant updating and reader interaction on the Web. The panel discuss whether we're optimistic or pessimistic about the future of the newspaper - and what message does it send to the book publishing business? In an article in this month’s Atlantic, Andrew Sullivan, the former editor of The New Republic, explains why he still blogs. He believe that despite all the intense gloom surrounding the newspaper and magazine business, this is actually a golden era for journalism. The bloggosphere, he says, has added a whole new idiom to the act of writing and has introduced an entirely new generation to nonfiction. It has enabled writers to write out loud in ways never seen or understood before. And yet it has exposed a hunger and need for traditional writing that, in the age of television’s dominance, had seemed on the wane. So why do we blog, should author's blog and how do we see the future for the bloggosphere? Of course, all this would be nothing without the mayhem of Pitch the Nasty Agent, the frustration of Toad Suck, Arkansas, Reverse Shuffle Six Card Strip Pokerette and this week's particularly heart-rendering Cry for Help. To chew over the hot topics and provide witty banter for your listening pleasure this week are the usual suspects of Dave Bartram, Donna Ballman, Richard Howse and Eve Harvey. The Ustream Chatroom (8pm GMT) was an emotional roller-coaster, join us next week and bring a box of tissues! Mon, 11 May 2009 09:39:36 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/71 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/71 No Podcast 01:00:57 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/70 s week Litopia After Dark is delighted to welcome back Martyn Daniels, fresh from the Frankfurt Book Fair. We take full advantage of his ringside view and ask the question everyone is asking… how were the parties? A new book by Roy Blount Jr has just been published – Alphabet Juice (with nearly the longest subtitle in publishing history). Blount contends that "through centuries of intimate contact with the human body, some words have absorbed the uncanny power to carry the ring of truth." We try to put our finger on the hidden language of words, particularly as it applies to peoples' names - both your own, and those of your characters. A fascinating article in this week’s New Yorker by Elizabeth Kolbert recounts the life of etiquette-guru Emily Post: it all began with a major scandal. We ask how important etiquette is in today's brash new world. The looming US presidential election has spawned a rash of picture books for children – too young to vote, of course, but obviously their parents want them politicized at an early age. Propaganda or political awareness-building? All this, and the regular madness of Pitch the Nasty Agent (this week’s titles are all taken from “Books with odd or misleading titles” - a Listmania! list by E. A. Lovitt ("starmoth") from Gladwin, MI USA on Amazon.com), the nail biting frustration of Toad Suck, Arkansas, Reverse Shuffle Six Card Strip Pokerette and the sob story of Cry for Help. Our special guests are Martyn Daniels, publishing expert and author of the seminal report for the Booksellers Association of Great Britain about their digital future. You can find Martyn on his blog Brave New World. And we're delighted to welcome back Dr Susan O’Doherty, writer, clinical psychologist and the author of Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued: A Woman’s Guide to Unblocking Creativity. Her popular advice column for writers, “The Doctor Is In”, appears every Friday on MJ Rose’s publishing blog, Buzz, Balls, & Hype. Joining them are our regular stalwarts, Dave Bartram and Donna Ballman. Mon, 11 May 2009 07:06:02 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/70 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/70 No Podcast 00:53:08 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/69 On the show this week, Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan – the British husband and wife equivalent of Oprah – are back on UK television screens… but did any of you notice? An essay by Theodore Dalrymple heralds a new social disease – “False Apology Syndrome” and we’re very sorry to have to ask you this… but, could you suffering from it? A new book is out this week - Patronizing the Arts by Marjorie Garber. In it, she considers the means by which most of Western civilization has paid for its great works of artistic achievement – patronage by the super-rich, and quite often super-nasty. With a few exceptions, writers are rarely the recipients of munificent patronage - and we want to know why. Andy Burnham, the British Secretary of State for Culture, this week launched plans to change the face of British libraries which he believes are “out of touch”. Under his proposals, libraries would install coffee franchises, book shops and film centres – is this a good thing, or just one more step towards dumbing us all down? Regular and much-loved features naturally include Pitch The Nasty Agent and Toad Suck, Arkansas, Reverse Shuffle Six Card Strip Pokerette. Cry For Help is a real sob story this week, but the panel are unaffected… tune in to find out who has the hardest heart. Joining Peter on the panel this week is former Macmillan Children's publisher turned literary agent Sarah Davies, our very own Richard Howse, and stalwart panellists Donna Ballman and Dave Bartram. In the Ustream Chatroom, (8pm GMT) we had a lovely chat on the sofas and were as quiet as library customers… join us next week for the snacks and video games. Mon, 11 May 2009 06:52:29 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/69 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/69 No Podcast 00:52:05 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/68 On Litopia After Dark this week we are delighted to welcome as our special guest Martin Toseland, former publisher at both Penguin and HarperCollins, and now an author himself. Martin’s book A Steroid Hit The Earth: The Catastrophic World of Misprints is published on 10th October. In the week that Gwyneth Paltrow launches GOOP, a website designed for her to tell us how to live better, we ask... why? A disturbing article in the current American Scholar describes precisely how muzzled both authors and publishers really are in China - will we end up changing them - or will they change us? Sony has hired a speed reader to promote their new e-reader: we ask… yeah, but what’s the point? Finally, this week The Telegraph reported that a poet, dead for 200 years, has been sent a demand to pay his TV licence – we tell you about our own officialdom-gone-mad stories. All this and the hilarious Pitch the Nasty Agent, the tense suspense of Toad Suck, Arkansas, Reverse Shuffle Six Card Strip Pokerette and the heart-wrenching Cry For Help. Joining Martin Toseland on the panel this week are Dave Bartram, Donna Ballman and Eve Harvey. In the Ustream Chatroom, (8pm GMT) the discussion was sensible and profound, join us next week to make it less so. Mon, 11 May 2009 06:41:29 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/68 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/68 No Podcast 00:47:23 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/67 3368772386_e408f47eaeIn the week when Damien Hirst made $198 million selling pickled animals, famed art critic Robert Hughes all but crucified Hirst and his "dull witted" patrons in an outspoken attack published in The Guardian. On Litopia After Dark we discuss whether Hirst is a pioneer - or a pirate, as Hughes maintains. Also, British children's authors who visit schools and libraries more than once a month will need to register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority as of October 2009. Is this opening the door to a world where the State decides whose ideas are acceptable - and whose aren’t? British author Sam Jordison writes a piece in The Independent taking a sardonic view of all those books – and in particular, all those interminable Channel Four programs – that are comprised entirely of lists. Bucket lists, Jordison calls them. The panel add their own ideas to his anti-list of things not to do before you die - and improve it immeasurably. We also play Pitch the Nasty Agent and Toad Suck, Arkansas, Reverse Shuffle Six Card Strip Pokerette (another win for the panel!) and in our Cry For Help this week, a certain DH from North Devon can’t help but be impressed at our problem solving skills. Sun, 10 May 2009 14:20:58 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/67 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/67 No Podcast 00:18:01 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/66 In the week when the world’s financial industries appeared to go into meltdown, Litopia After Dark zeroes in on the impact this will have on the publishing industry. What effect will the credit crunch and looming global economic disaster have on the world of books? We also discuss e-readers, following disturbing research showing that on-screen reading is flawed. Is the e-reader doomed? And, after Eoin Colfer has been commissioned to write a new Hitchhiker instalment, we ask if resurrecting old favourites is a good idea? All this seriousness is balanced out with our regular merrymaking in the form of Pitch the Nasty Agent, Toad Suck, Arkansas, Reverse Shuffle Six Card Strip Pokerette and of course Litopia's Cry for Help. On the panel this week we are delighted to welcome back Martyn Daniels, publishing expert and author of the seminal, pathfinding report for the Booksellers Association of Great Britain about their digital future. You can find Martyn on his blog Brave New World. Joining him are Donna Ballman, Dave Bartram and Eve Harvey. Sun, 10 May 2009 13:54:42 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/66 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/66 No Podcast 00:18:01 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/65 The J.K. Rowling plagiarism case, psychoanalysing the mind of the Republican voter and mad scientists... such a medley of topics can only be found on Litopia After Dark. This week, as well as deciding whether we think JK has won a victory for writers everywhere, we also try to pitch our novels to the Agent, and solve the ticklish issue of an anonymous listener who's addicted to tarting up his pig. Seriously. On the panel this week we are delighted to welcome back Dr Susan O'Doherty, writer, clinical psychologist and the author of Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued: A Woman's Guide to Unblocking Creativity. Her popular advice column for writers, “The Doctor Is In,” appears every Friday on MJ Rose’s publishing blog, Buzz, Balls, & Hype. Also on the panel are our regular stalwarts, Dave Bartram, Donna Ballman and Eve Harvey. The Ustream Chatroom (8pm GMT) was on tenterhooks as the winner of Litopian of the Week was announced. Join us next week for the live show and cheer on your favorite! Sun, 10 May 2009 13:43:31 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/65 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/65 No Podcast 00:18:01 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/64 Litopia After Dark this week has not one but two very special guests. We welcome back novelist, journalist, actress and broadcaster, Amanda Lees, author of the Kumari Goddess of Gotham teen novels. Also we are delighted to welcome Alan Gibbons, author of numerous award winning children's titles including the Blue Peter Award winning, Shadow of the Minotaur and the Carnegie Shotlisted, The Edge. Alan has launched a campaign against library closures in the UK, recruiting to his cause so far, Philip Pullman, David Almond, Michael Rosen and Beverley Naidoo, among others. We discuss Alan's Campaign for the Book in depth as well as playing Pitch the Nasty Agent and advising our listener, S.P. what she should do about her shady past. This weeks panelists joining Amanda and Alan are Donna Ballman and Dave Bartram. And the Ustream chatroom (8pm GMT) was very quiet this week, we were so engrossed with the discussion. Come and join us next week to liven up the chat. Sun, 10 May 2009 13:31:44 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/64 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/64 No Podcast 00:18:01 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/63 Litopia After Dark this week has a new format. Buoyed up by the roaring success of our Summer Specials (thank you all for your wonderful feedback) we've incorporated a few of your favourite segments into the regular show. This week not only do we discuss why there are so few males in the Publishing business, we also play Pitch The Nasty Agent. Amazon gobbles up yet another massive internet company - Shelfari, a social networking startup for book lovers - and we chat about our experience of internet bookshelves before tackling Litopia's Cry For Help - solving a problem sent in by one of our listeners. Also a new book by Sarah Lyall called A Field Guide to the British, the the writing week in 60 seconds and the most fun you can have on a Podcast... Toad Suck, Arkansas, Reverse Shuffle Six Card Strip Pokerette (aren't you even slightly intrigued...?) On the panel this week are Dave Bartram, Donna Ballman, Eve Harvey and our very special guest, polymath Brian Clegg author of The Global Warming Survival Guide and Upgrade Me. Sun, 10 May 2009 13:19:23 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/63 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/63 No Podcast 00:18:01 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/62 On Litopia After Dark this week The Boston Globe reports that the semicolon is in trouble. And, dare we say punctuation in general. Is this the end of civilisation as we know it - or simply the end of dead-end pedantry? And Biographies - an endangered species? Both the quality and quantity of biographies is falling, says the Guardian. What do we read into this? Also, the dumbing down of society. Don't Trust Anyone Under 30 says the author of newly-published "The Dumbest Generation" - they're stupid! Can this really be true? According to a recent UNICEF survey, Britain is the worst country in the Western world in which to be a child. Theodore Dalrymple says it our "nonjudgmentalism". But is his judgement the same as ours? On the panel this week are Donna Ballman, Dave Bartram and Paul Baker. The chatroom on Ustream at 8pm (GMT) was erudite as ever, and they contributed magnificently to the show. Join us next week and give us your opinion. Sun, 10 May 2009 13:06:27 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/62 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/62 No Podcast 00:18:01 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/61 We're back! Did you miss us? We missed you! In our first Litopia After Dark of the season we're talking about the pitfalls of self-publishing and the plunging sales of the gossip magazine. We also cover freedom of speech as Random House pull a novel by Sherry Jones called The Jewel of Medina. Our regular Amazon spot is back and this week we look at Audible's impending launch of an imprint to showcase titles from indie publishers before they're published and we chat about the built in obsolescence of the Kindle. On our panel this week are Dave Bartram, Donna Ballman and Martyn Daniels. You can find Martyn's last appearance on Litopia After Dark here and visit his blog at Brave New World. Litopia Daily returns on Monday, tune in to listen to a comprehensive news update. And we missed you in the Ustream chatroom on Friday (7.30pm GMT), come along next week and join in with the live show. Sun, 10 May 2009 12:45:08 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/61 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/61 No Podcast 00:18:01 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/60 It's the last week of our holidays and Litopia After Dark brings you some stunning interviews from Donna. David Diaz, Caldecott winner, talks about children's book illustrating and the relationship between illustrators and writers. Sid Fleischman, Newberry winner, talks about writing, whether you can tell when you're writing an award winning book, and how to succeed in the biz. Adrian Fogelin, children's writer, tells the good, the bad, and the ugly about the life of the midlist writer, the writing business for folks who aren't on the bestseller list, and the children's market today Molly O'Neill, editor at Bowen Press, an imprint of HarperCollins, gives the editor's perspective - what happens to that manuscript once you send it and what they're looking for, plus the ups and downs of starting a new imprint Marc Zicree, screenwriter and the author of many books, talks about how to succeed in Hollywood. Sun, 10 May 2009 12:35:01 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/60 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/60 No Podcast 00:18:01 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/59 Litopia After Dark is on holiday! But don't despair. Since we're a resourceful bunch we've put together a montage of our best bits for your listening pleasure. So sit back, get a glass of something cold and enjoy! Sun, 10 May 2009 12:22:01 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/59 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/59 No Podcast 00:18:01 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/58 Are you heading off to some exotic idyll for a fortnights R & R? Or maybe you're venturing off alpaca shearing in Outer Mongolia? Or perhaps, you're skint and sitting on a deck chair in your back garden. No matter where you're spending your hard earned break let Litopia After Dark give you the low down on the must reads of the summer. Dave, Donna, Carolyn, Eve and Peter recommend books for your reading pleasure over the long, hot, summer days. Sun, 10 May 2009 12:11:54 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/58 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/58 No Podcast 00:49:43 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/57 3404210482_92f6b66461Our last, and without doubt most outrageous (note the "Explicit" rating) live offering before the long summer break - we proudly present our most ambitious and most perfect game show offering, for your amusement and delectation. Panelists Donna Ballman, Dave Bartram, Paul Baker, Carolyn Soutar and very special guest "Dr. Sue" Susan O'Doherty embark on a positively neo-Darwinian competitive frenzy of combat - publishing-style! Fortunately, our own Eve Harvey is on hand to keep the score, and to maintain a modicum of sanity. For the next three weeks, we're not live - but we ARE nevertheless going to be with you - so don't miss an episode! And we'll see you LIVE in the UStream chatroom once again on the 15th August! Sun, 10 May 2009 12:05:15 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/57 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/57 No Podcast 01:04:04 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/56 As we continue our long wind-down into the summer holidays Litopia After Dark is proud to present The Famous Litopia Game Show! The contestants battling it out for the title of Game Show Legend were Dave Bartram, Donna Ballman, John Quirk and me (Eve Harvey, Podcast Officer extrordinaire). And I was rubbish. Not just a bit rubbish but really rubbish. Where were the questions about Captain Underpants? Where were the quotes from Gerri Halliwell? Why didn't we have to recognise the blurb from The Da Vinci Code? Despite my desperate efforts to Google the answers, raid my bookshelves for cheat-material, phone round everyone more intelligent than me... well, listen yourself... but I warn you, it isn't pretty! Sun, 10 May 2009 11:55:07 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/56 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/56 No Podcast 00:42:16 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/55 Where do your most brilliant ideas come from? What's the most extreme thing you've done when researching your book? What's the worst book you've ever bought? Litopia After Dark this week begins to wind down for the summer holidays with a writers' quiz. It all gets completely out of hand as the panellists give each other marks and the bickering reaches a crescendo as they try to outdo each other in the race to the finish line... tune in to see who wins. The contenders this week are Dave Bartram, Richard Howse and Donna Ballman. They are joined by Amanda Lees, novelist, journalist, actress and broadcaster whose second novel Kumari, Goddess of Secrets has just been released. We were cheering in the Ustream chatroom (7.30pm GMT) as the scores reached infinite highs and desperate lows and the panellists tried every trick in the book to win the game. Join us next week for more of the same... Sun, 10 May 2009 11:48:14 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/55 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/55 No Podcast 00:51:00 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/54 This week on Litopia After Dark we examine the role of the world's mega-publishing houses and try to predict their future. We contemplate the often-tenuous position of being a Big Publishing Boss. If the price of signing with Big Publishing is being contracted to grind out a book every year - could you cope? And why - when indie film and music publishers are so widely respected - does the indie publishing scene get such little media attention and respect? On the panel this week are Donna Ballman, Dave Bartram and Editorial Director of Behler Publications, Lynn Price. The Ustream chatroom (7.30pm GMT) was small and perfectly formed - join us next week as we go global. Sun, 10 May 2009 11:38:00 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/54 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/54 No Podcast 00:45:12 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/53 3423368490_61c25da61aDoes Country Music reflect the history of the people? On Litopia After Dark this week we discuss a new book by Dana Jennings called Sing Me Back Home. Also, that buzzword of the '90s - multitasking. New research suggests that it accomplishes very little. And how Google is making us all stupid. After all that we take a short nap before recommending our favourite links of the week. On the panel this week are Dave Bartram, Donna Ballman and John Quirke. And in the Ustream chatroom 7.30pm GMT we sang "Drop kick me Jesus through the Goal Posts of Life"... in harmony. Next week we're choosing a better song - join us. Sun, 10 May 2009 11:31:59 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/53 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/53 No Podcast 00:43:54 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/52 The massive environmental destruction wrought by paper industry isn't the only bad thing about book production that we cover on tonight's LITOPIA AFTER DARK. Our special guest on this week's show is Raz Godelnik, CEO of Eco-Libris. His company believes in providing people with easy and affordable ways to plant a tree for each book they read. So what can we, as writers, do to influence change? The panel gets stuck in – and you can, too, if you join us live next week in the UStream chat room! Main topic - books and the environment Our special guest Raz Goldelnik talks about the impact books have on the environment. His company, Eco-Libris, believes in providing people with easy and affordable ways to take responsibility for their actions and go green by planting one tree for each book they read. What impact does book buying have on the environment? And what can we, as writers, do to influence change? Sun, 10 May 2009 11:25:15 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/52 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/52 No Podcast 01:03:08 https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/51 On Litopia After Dark this week:- Our special guest is Dr Susan O'Doherty, writer and clinical psychologist. The writers workspace - how to maximise creativity. Literary giant Gore Vidal is on his last tour of Europe - who are the 21st Century Literary Legends? And, age ranging in children's books - for or against? The Doctor is in! Litopia After Dark this week takes on the role of Public Service Broadcasting. The life of a writer is often lonely, exhausting and intense; trapped in a world of introspection and solitude. History has shown writers are often more likely to suffer from mood disorders and in extreme cases may even take their own lives - Hemingway, Woolfe and Plath for instance. But help is at hand. Our very special guest this week is Dr Susan O'Doherty, writer, clinical psychologist and certified hypnotherapist, with a private practice in Brooklyn Heights, New York. Her focus is developing and enhancing creativity. Most of her clients are writers, musicians, and visual or performing artists. So, sit back, relax and listen to the secrets of how to deal with the stress of the writing life and unblock that creative flow. The Ustream chatroom (Friday 7.30pm GMT) was chilled and laid back this week as we were hypnotised into a place of deep serenity. If you drop in next week, please tiptoe and used hushed voices - we may still be in the zone. Sun, 10 May 2009 10:06:11 +0100 Content https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/51 jellycast https://litopia.jellycast.com/node/51 No Podcast 01:06:04