Read On - The Audiobook Show from RNIB

On Read On today, a spooky compilation with Emelia Fang Creator Laura Ellen Anderson, Stranger Times writer Caimh McDonnell, Professor Richard Wiseman on the science of safe scares, and from the Read On archives, James Herbert ... plus some horror in the RNIB Library

Today a chat with Simon McCleave on his many crime books set in Snowdonia and beyond, on leaving TV writing for novel writing and becoming a self-publishing success story.

Plus we find some new books in the RNIB Library.

Today on Read On I talk to a co-founder of the annual Cliveden Literary Festival, Natalie Livingstone, about the book that sparked the idea for the festival and about her latest book, The Nuremberg Women.

We also get a self help recommendation from the Happy Hour and find new books in the RNIB Library.

Best Kept Secrets for Travelers With Sight Loss lets people who are blind or have low vision enjoy travel with less fear and uncertainty. Robert Kirkwood talks to its author Lynn Jensen about some great travel tips. We also hear about the first blind travel writer and find some new books in the RNIB Library.

Today we look forward to The Wigtown Book Festival, (which starts on the day this episode is first broadcast) by listening to some authors I've previously talked to in Scotland's Book Town including, Maggie O'Farrell on The Marriage Portrait, Kathryn Harkup on Superspy Science, Alex von Tunzelmann on Fallen Idols, Estelle Paranque on Fire, Blood and Gold and Rory Cellan Jones on Ruskin Park, plus we find some new books in the RNIB Library.

This week on Read On, we're celebrating love in all its complicated forms.

Robert Kirkwood chats to Fiona Lucas about her deeply emotional novel Always and Only You, a story of love, secrets and second chances. Then Jenny Ashcroft joins us to talk about The Echoes of Love, an epic historical romance set in Crete, where a young love story is tested by war, loyalty and betrayal. And finally, Yael van der Wouden discusses her acclaimed debut The Safekeep, an unsettling tale of desire, obsession, secrets and revenge.

Plus, as always, we head to the...

This week on Read On, Robert Kirkwood watches Jo Sharp and her wife Val McDermid record the introduction to the brand new book in the Darkland Tales series, This Door of the Seas at the Canongate studios in Edinburgh and chats with them about the book. 

We also chat about Book Club Day UK - September the 11th - by finding out about RNIB's Talk and Support book clubs from both a club member and a volunteer facilitator.

All that plus some new books in the RNIB library.

In today's Read On we talk to Damian Barr about his novel The Two Roberts and we hear from Coronation Street and Carry On actress Amanda Barrie about her memoir I'm Still Here - My 90 Years and we find a link between those two books. We also find some new books in the RNIB Library and get a Books Of My Life from the winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Percival Everett.

This week on Read On we investigate some different styles of crime. Anita Frank discusses her WW1 historical fiction murder mystery thriller, The Good Liars, we get cosy with Josie Lloyd in Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency, and from the archive a listen back to the creator of Inspector Morse, Colin Dexter.

Plus we find new books in the RNIB Library.

Today we revisit the RHS Sandringham Flower Show to hear about RNIB's Talking Books Garden. With Toby Davey we hear from the people behind it, some visitor reactions, and hear exclusive audio recorded for the garden from Richard Osman and Lynda La Plante

This episode of Read On contains subject matter that some listeners may find upsetting.

Today Robert Kirkwood is recording on location at the Boswell Book Festival with Gavin Francis on The Unfragile Mind - Making Sense of Mental Health, Stephen McGinty on One Morning in March - Dunblane and the Shooting that Changed Britain and Darren McGarvey on Trauma Industrial Complex - The Dangers of Oversharing in a Digital World.

Plus in the spirt of Boswell, we find some new biographies in the RNIB Library

Today on Read On we revisit some favourite historians with Lucy Worsley on Jane Austen, Kate Williams on Rival Queens plus Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen on the history of libraries.

Plus we find some new books in the RNIB Library

Two very different authors this week on Read On, although with one thing in common, they both narrated the audio versions of the books they were speaking about at the Boswell Book Festival. Dougie Donnelly tells Robert Kirkwood about Recorded Highlights - My Life in Sport, and Dame Harriet Walter gives new scenes to some of Shakespeare's female characters in She Speaks!

Plus we find some fiction and biography in the RNIB Library.

Today on Read On, three very different authors all inspired by Shakespeare, Michael Morpurgo on his Shakespeare retellings, Nydia Hetherington on her book about the witch from the Tempest, Sycorax and Bernard Cornwell on William's brother, Richard Shakespeare, in his book Fools and Mortals.

All that plus new books in the RNIB Library.

Today on Read On, two biographical tales recorded at the Boswell Book Festival. Robert Kirkwood talks to Frances Wilson about Electric Spark - The Enigma of Muriel Spark, and author Adam Hart about Operation Pimento: My Great-Grandfather's Great Escape.

Plus we have some new books in the RNIB Library

Today on Read On, three summer themed books, One Girl One Summer with Isabel Ashdown, Hot Girl Summer with Sophie Gravia and Summer on a Sunny Island with Sue Moorcroft. All that plus some new books in the RNIB Library.

Today on Read On we hear from half spooky, half sparkly debut author Bec Manser on her debut novel Wildheart and we ask about RNIB's involvement in sensitivity reading around a blind character in the book, Amelia Hilton explores some books about myth and legend, we get a whoop of joy from Carnegie Medal winner Beth O'Brien and find some brand new books in the RNIB Library.

Today on Read On we hear a full talk, sponsored by RNIB Connect Radio, from the Boswell Book Festival. Natural history cameraman Gordon Buchanan is in conversation with Robert Dawson Scott live on stage as he discusses his book In the Hide - How the Natural World Saved my Life, and how dangerous animals were not the only thing he was hiding from.

NB The podcast version of this is a slightly longer edit than the one broadcast on RNIB Connect Radio

Visually Impaired author Beth O'Brien has won the Carnegie Medal for Writing, the most prestigious award for authors of children's and young adult books.

Wolf Siren reimagines Little Red Riding Hood as a girl with vision impairment, and the audiobook, recorded at the RNIB Talking Book studios, even has a narrator with vision impairment.

Beth has been a frequent flyer on our Read On programme, her last visit being just two weeks ago, but here she is telling Robert Kirkwood about her sight condition and her award-winning book, Wolf Siren

Today on Read On we hear a talk from the Boswell Book Festival with Vice President of RNIB Penny Lancaster, on her book Someone Like Me. 

She chats to Janet Smith live on stage about surviving childhood as a dyslexic and being the tallest pupil in the room, about her job as a Special Constable, about her charity work and much more.

Image shows: Penny speaking during her panel and making Janet laugh. She's sitting on the right in front of a green banner with "Boswell Book Festival" branding. 

Today on Read On we talk to partially sighted author Beth O'Brien about her Carnegie Shortlisted book Wolf Siren and her brand new book Feather Vane, and about a recent tour she was on with Scottish Book Trust called Inclusive Stories.

We also hear about Monsterland from Nicolas Jubber and get a double Books of My Life from both Beth and Signa Rudovica from Scottish Book Trust.

Today on Read On, Robert Kirkwood talks to J.P. Rose about her Carnegie shortlisted book Birdie, plus they chat about her alter-ego Jacqui Rose and her best selling gangland thrillers, including collaborations with Martina Cole, and back to the world of children's fiction with her Paddock Grove series.

Plus we'll find new books in the RNIB Library.

Today on Read On, Robert Kirkwood talks to Jason Reynolds about his Carnegie Shortlisted book, Twenty-four Seconds from Now, a tender, sweet, wholesome piece of fiction discussing how to approach first sex, how to respect women, how to be gentle, how to make it about love. It shows us a refreshingly different side to male sexuality.

We also listen back to Eric Motley on Madison - A Place of Hope and find new books in the RNIB Library.

Today on Read On, a former Carnegie Medal winner, Katya Baylen, discusses this year's shortlisted title, Ghostlines and we talk about her very own Braille copy of October, October. We also find some new books in the RNIB Library.

Today we talk to Tia Fisher about her Carnegie shortlisted book, Not Going to Plan, a powerful verse novel about sexual consent, unplanned pregnancy and the breaking of taboos.

We also find some new books in the RNIB Library.

As we look forward to this year's festival, starting on the day this episode is released, let's listen back to some highlights. First up, Jen Stout takes us on a Night Train to Odesa, Alexander McCall Smith reflects on his knighthood, Nigel Havers is Playing with Fire and Dame Judy Dench talks about her sight loss.

Today we escape to the Algarve in Julie Caplin's brand new book The Hotel by the Sea, we visit a fairy tale exhibition in London, we review Ruth Ozeki's Timecode of a Face and we find some books in the RNIB Library.

Plus there's some news about an Aria nomination for Read On!

On today's Read On I'm joined by author and artist Rob Harrell from his home in Texas as we discuss his Carnegie Medal for Writing short listed book, Popcorn, plus his previous book, based on his battle with eye cancer, Wink.

We also find some new books in the RNIB Library.

Today on Read On - The Audiobook Show, Lucy Roth, who also writes under the name Lucy Nichol, talks music, mental health, and learns how to hide a body as we go to The Party To End All Parties. Plus we find some new books available from RNIB Library.

As this year's Carnegie Medal Shortlist interviews start to happen, today is a listen back to three winners of the most prestigious prize in children's fiction, Manon Steffan Ros, Joseph Coelho and Tanya Landman.

Today we go on a road trip with Ben Markovits and his book The Rest of Our Lives.

When Tom Layward's wife had an affair he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest daughter turned eighteen. Twelve years later, while driving her to Pittsburgh to start university, he remembers his pact, and keeps driving ...

Plus we'll find some new books in the RNIB Library.

A return visit this week from Lisa Timoney, a bestselling, multi-genre author who writes emotional family dramas under her own name, uplifting book club fiction as Kate Storey, and twisty psychological thrillers as Naomi Williams.

This time we talk about The Last Page Cafe, The Lies Out Children Tell and discuss the sight condition blepharospasm in her book, The Eyewitness.

Plus we find new books in the RNIB Library.

In today's Read On we listen to some 'Marvel - Age of Comics' audiobooks, take a deep dive into the full cast audio versions of some 2000 AD graphic novels, listen to the voice of the original Dalek and Parker from Thunderbirds, the late David Graham and even talk to the producer and showrunner of Marvel/Disney's Daredevil Born Again.

From the phonautograph to a smart speaker, today's Read On not only looks at the history of 90 years of RNIB Talking Books recording (and the equipment used), but goes back to the invention of recording as a whole. 

We hear the first recorded voices, about the format war between cylinder and disc, about the phonautograph, the phonograph, the graphophone and the gramophone, to single track magnetic tape, DAISY CDs and Alexa Skills and more in this 169 year trek through the history of recording the human voice.

In today's show we hear from 11 of the World Book Day books for 2026 which are available from RNIB, plus we listen back to two of our most popular children's authors, Julia Donaldson makes some illustrations in audio and the late great Michael Bond talks about the origins of Paddington.

A special (updated) documentary about the origins of the Talking Books service, recorded at the original locations around London, and featuring many voices from the past.

Historian Matthew Rubery and Robert Kirkwood explore everything from the first Talking Book machines, some failed technology, how books were chosen and much more.

An all-star ensemble comes together to celebrate RNIB Talking Books 9th decade of bringing the joy of reading to blind and partially sighted people. A special recording of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice features some of the UK’s best-known actors and today we chat to four of them. 

Ben Willbond, Phil Dunster, Lisa George and Shazia Mirza talk about narrating Jane Austen and give us some great book recommendations.

A love themed show for Valentine's Day featuring Fiona Lucas on Always and Only You, Joanna Toye on The Little Penguin Bookshop, Rachel Greenlaw on The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells, and audio describer Liz Gutman on writing spicy AD for Bridgerton. Plus we find a handful of books on all sorts of love in the RNIB Library.

James Bartlett, Reading Services Manager at RNIB tells Robert Kirkwood about a new recording of Pride and Prejudice with many famous narrators, made to celebrate 90 years of Talking Books. We also hear the foreword by Julian Fellowes.

Full book - https://audioboom.com/playlists/4635906-talking-books-at-90-pride-and-prejudice-by-jane-austen

Today we continue our deep dive into last year's Booker shortlist as Robert Kirkwood has a long chat with Susan Choi on her novel Flashlight. 

They chat about the significance of the title, the importance of historical research and even end up chatting about ashtrays from McDonalds and smoking in the office!