Pin Drop

Listen to Stephen Fry narrate the winning story of the inaugural RA and Pin Drop Short Story Award, Ms. Featherstone and The Beast, an exceptional story by Bethan Roberts. The quality and volume of the entries was high. In such a competitive field, we needed a truly exceptional winner and our choice was unanimous. Bethan Robert’s evocative story , is both tender and poignant. It deals with big themes – love, war and loss of innocence – with a restrained lightness of touch. And, like all the best short stories, its impact lingered.

“Pin Drop is a wonderfully innovative scheme that unites the written arts with the visual. In iconic venues like the Royal Academy, new and established writers have their works read, discussed and questioned by enthusiastic audiences. The presence of the written word in public spaces filled with visual art reminds writers, whose work is so often private and inward, of the capacity of literature to reach out, uniting it with the family of all the arts where it belongs. I really believe in Pindrop and felt immensely rewarded to be involved.”

– Stephen Fry

In this episode of the Pin Drop podcast, we meet A. C. Grayling – one of the leading thinkers of our time – for this very special event at the Royal Academy of Arts in October 2016.

Forming part of the RA’s autumn programme, A. C. Grayling joined Pindrop to read one of his own short stories followed by a Q&A with curator and Pindrop founder, Simon Oldfield against the backdrop of the landmark exhibition, Abstract Expressionism.

A. C. Grayling is a highly-respected philosopher, academic and author of acclaimed and much-discussed works of contemporary thought including The God Argument and Friendship. He is also a frequent broadcaster, contributing editor of Prospect Magazine and in 2014 he was chairman of the Man Booker Prize judges.

In this episode of the Pin Drop podcast the award-winning author Will Self is live at Royal Academy of Arts reading read his short story, The Shore, followed by an interview with Simon Oldfield.

Self is the author of ten novels, five collections of shorter fiction, three novellas and five collections of non-fiction writing. His work has been translated into 22 languages, and his novel Umbrella was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, which The Daily Telegraph described as “possibly Self’s most ambitious novel to date”. He regularly appears on television and he’s a frequent contributor to major newspapers and publications. This podcast forms part of Pin Drop's ongoing collaboration with the Royal Academy of Arts.

In this episode of the Pin Drop podcast, listen to acclaimed Australian novelist, Tim Winton, author of Cloudstreet, The Turning and Eyrie, reading his own short story to a live audience. His latest book, Eyrie, is hailed by The Guardian as, ‘… a superb novel: a novel of disillusionment and redemption, loss and beauty, the taking of responsibility, and the overcoming of disappointment. This is Tim Winton on top form.’

In this episode of the Pin Drop podcast, listen to award-winning and best-selling author, Sebastian Faulks, reading live at Pindrop at the Royal Academy of Arts. Faulks, whose books have been adapted for film, TV and stage, is best known for his critically-acclaimed novels Birdsong, Charlotte Gray and Human Traces. Listen to him read two short stories selected by him in response to the art and themes presented in the RA’s landmark exhibition Rubens and His Legacy: Van Dyck to Cezanne, followed by a Q&A.

The podcast is introduced by Stephen Fry and the RA’s Director of Artistic Programmes, Tim Marlow, alongside Pindrop co-founders, Elizabeth Day and Simon Oldfield. Produced as a collaboration between Pindrop and the Royal Academy of Arts.

In this episode of the Pin Drop podcast, listen to the Orange Prize-winning novelist, Lionel Shriver, reading her own short story, Vermin, for Pin Drop at the Royal Academy of Arts. Shriver was one of our first ever narrators at the Simon Oldfield Gallery in 2013. The evening was introduced by the Royal Academy’s Director of Artistic Programmes, Tim Marlow, who also moderated a Q&A with Shriver. alongside Pin Drop co-founder, Simon Oldfield. This podcast was produced as a collaboration between Pindrop and the Royal Academy of Arts.

“Packed, attentive audience in a venue so beautiful and august that the challenge was to live up to it. Especially gratifying to be able to read a whole story, which is a fuller experience for both the writer and listener than a novel extract. Long may the cooperation between the RA and Pin Drop continue. It’s a killer combo.”

– Lionel Shriver

Listen to the Booker Prize-winner, Graham Swift, reading a short story for Pin Drop at the Royal Academy of Arts from his new collection, England and Other Stories. One of the country’s most highly acclaimed novelists, Swift is the author of numerous novels including Waterland and Last Orders, which were both made into hugely successful films.

This podcast was produced as a collaboration between Pin Drop and the Royal Academy of Arts.

“Pin Drop’s winning dedication to the act of narration upturns the view that the experience of being told a story belongs chiefly to childhood. A Pin Drop event offers to adults a form of intimate grown-up theatre and a sophisticated immersion in a primal human pleasure.”

– Graham Swift

Booker Prize-winning author, Ben Okri, read for Pin Drop at the Royal Academy of Arts in February 2016 during the landmark exhibition, Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse. Okri read one of his superb short stories followed by an audience Q&A.

Ben Okri has published eight novels, including The Famished Road and Starbook, as well as collections of poetry, short stories and essays. His work has been translated into more than 20 languages. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has been awarded the OBE as well as numerous international prizes, including the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Africa, the Aga Khan Prize for Fiction and the Chianti Rufino-Antico Fattore. He is a Vice-President of the English Centre of International PEN and was presented with a Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum.

In this episode of the Pin Drop podcast, listen to a live recording of award-winning author Lionel Shriver, read her own unpublished short story, The ChapStick, exclusively for Pindrop at BAFTA 195, followed by a Q&A.

Shriver's bestselling novels include Orange Prize winning novel We Need To Talk About Kevin. Her latest novel, The Mandibles, has garnered excellent reviews.

Recorded in collaboration with BAFTA 195 on 18 May 2016.

In this episode of the Pin Drop podcast, listen to a live recording of acclaimed actress, Maura Tierney reading at Pin Drop: Live in New York.

At this very special event live in New York, Maura read Like Rabbits by Bethan Roberts, followed by a Q&A at Soho House, New York.

Maura stars in the award-winning television drama The Affair, for which she won a Golden Globe Award in 2016.

Pin Drop in New York and LA is brought to you by Simon Oldfield in collaboration with John McIlwee and Bill Damaschke.

www.pindropstudio.com