Rattling Books, Based in Newfoundland, is a top-notch audiobook publisher.
Opting for a “so small they’re fine” approach, Rattling Books has done a great job branding themselves as a reliable source of quality writing. When you see that headphoned Razorbill on the spine of a book, you can trust it is a quality publication. Titles are published based on their literary merit and nothing more. How refreshing. In looking over their catalogue, I’d have to agree that they are not only selective, but also skilled in knowing which books can translate well into the audiobook realm: literature which is suitable for – if not better as – an audio book. Visit their website here. To date they’ve published books as varied as Lisa Moore’s Open and Joel Hynes’ Down to the Dirt. Classic poetry, like John Steffler’s The Grey Islands, through to classic non-fiction, like Lure of the Labrador Wild. More impressively, to make your iPod a little more literary, you can buy “singles,” right off their website: An Agnes Walsh or Michael Crummey poem or an exclusive Jessica Grant or Kathleen Winter short story.
That’s my focus here: my favourite project of Rattling Books: their EarLit Shorts series.
* Note: You can buy individual stories or the full collection right off their website.
Earlit Shorts 1
Joel Thomas Hynes infamous one-man play “Say Nothing, Saw Wood.”
Carmelita McGrath (3 shorts)
Kathleen Winter (3 shorts)
Click play to sample Hynes’s “Say Nothing Saw Wood”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
EarLit Shorts 2
Prudence Grieve’s “Last Rights”
Catherine Hogan Safer (4 shorts)
Russell Wangersky (2 shorts)
Claire Wilkshire (2 shorts)
Click play to sample Wangersky’s “McNally’s Fair”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
EarLit Shorts 3
Richard Cumyn’s “My Future in Insurance”
Jessica Grant’s “The Princification Process”
Steven Heighton’s “The Dead are More Visible”
Susan Rendell’s “Little Lambs”
Patrick Warner’s “Doubleness, The Disease of Life”
Emily White’s “Granite”
Click play to sample Jessica Grant’s “The Princification Process.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
EarLit Shorts 4
Chris Benjamin(1 short)
Michael Collins (1 short)
Robin Mcgrath (1 short)
Rebecca Rosenblum (2 shorts)
J.J. Steinfeld (1 short)
Leslie Vryenhoek (2 shorts)
Click play to sample Michael Collins’ “Slip” (read by Joel Thomas Hynes)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
* EarLit Shorts 5 and 6 are already in the works.
Twitter