English Storytelling

When you think of unforgettable characters from books you’ve read, who comes to mind? James Bond, Harry Potter, Scarlett O’Hara, Elizabeth Bennett, Atticus Finch, Sherlock Holmes? These are just some of the most iconic characters in fiction. They are so memorable that even decades or centuries later, they still captivate our imagination. But what exactly is it about them that keeps generations so invested in them? Writers apply certain rules and tricks with their characters to make their stories shine. With this guide, you’ll find out exactly what they are.

Whoever you are, whatever you love, there’s a podcast audience waiting for you, and in today’s booming audio storytelling landscape, it’s never been easier to share your voice with the world. But while the barrier to entry for podcast production is relatively low, the learning curve is steep - and quality matters. That’s where NPR comes in. In NPR’s Podcast Start Up Guide, Glen Weldon draws on NPR’s extensive educational materials and army of talent to guide aspiring podcasters through the conception, creation, and launch of a podcast.

Experience the second episode of the Baumgartner & Momsen detective story series for German learners on your stereo or headphones, at home or on the go! The narration style and speed of this audiobook is aimed at providing learners with real-world spoken German that is clearly understandable, not too fast but also not too slow.

After a friend real-talks Mindy into hiring a baby nurse, she finds the help she needs--and so much more--in this soulful essay by the acclaimed writer, actress, producer, and director. Becoming a new mother after losing her own, Mindy Kaling needs help--like someone to answer the questions What is a baby, and why don’t they have kneecaps? Enter Rose. The in-demand, dedicated baby nurse alleviates Mindy’s fears, from the minor to the profound.

John Crist wasn’t always recognizable as “the guy from that hilarious video in the grocery store.” Growing up part of a homeschool family of ten in rural Georgia with Mennonite grandparents and a high-school job at Chick-fil-A, he was an unlikely candidate for internet fame. Despite all that, or perhaps because of it, Crist passionately pursued his dream of stand-up comedy. In Delete That, Crist takes responsibility for his actions, offers some reflections on how to do better, and encourages us all to stop capitulating to the fear of “But what will they think?!”

Three complete stories in one collection! Includes The Great Bicycle Race Mystery, The Mystery of the Wild Ponies, and The Mystery in the Computer Game.

Let’s face it: we all want a seat at the cool table, a great job, and loads of money. But most of us won’t be able to achieve this widely accepted, black-or-white, definition of winning, which makes us feel like failures, that we’re destined to a life of loserdom. That’s the conventional wisdom. It’s also crap, according to comedian and cult hero Chris Gethard, who knows a thing of two about losing. Failing is an art form, he argues; in fact, it’s the only the way we’re ever going to discover who we are, what we really want, and how to live the kind of life we only dreamed about.

In Lost Sound, Jeff Porter examines the vital interplay between acoustic techniques and modernist practices in the growth of radio. Concentrating on the 1930s through the 1970s, but also speaking to the rising popularity of today's narrative broadcasts such as This American Life, Radiolab, Serial, and The Organist, Porter's close readings of key radio programs show how writers adapted literary techniques to an acoustic medium with great effect.

I’ve been role-playing all my life and I’ve run a lot of well-received campaigns. My players asked me what made my games work and this audiobook is the result. This isn’t a rulebook for any gaming system, but it’s a how-to for my style of creating memorable NPCs, planning games, and engaging with your players.

Three complete stories in one collection! Includes The Disappearing Staircase Mystery, The Mystery on Blizzard Mountain, and The Mystery of the Spider's Clue.

No one likes to be sold to, but everyone loves a great story. That’s why average brands pitch, but smart brands communicate. Get ready to rise above the average.

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, returns to the format that made her a cultural force with her raw and intense memoir that explores darker themes. Audible Editor Kat talks with Gilbert about her investigation of grief and addiction in All the Way to the River, including the moving and meditative process of recording her own audiobook.

From the break-out star of BuzzFeed and the People's Choice Award-winning comedian comes a collection of hilariously anguished essays chronicling awful moments from his life so far, the humiliations of being an adult, and other little indignities. Matt Bellassai has no idea what he's doing. Well, to be fair, he did become semi-Internet famous by getting drunk at work, making him a socially-acceptable - nay - professional alcoholic. He's got some things figured out. But the rest is all just a terrible, disgusting mess.

"The Other Crowd", "The Good People", "The Wee Folk", and "Them" are a few of the names given to the fairies by the people of Ireland. Honored for their gifts and feared for their wrath, the fairies remind us to respect the world we live in and the forces we cannot see. In these tales of fairy forts, fairy trees, ancient histories, and modern true-life encounters with the Other Crowd, Eddie Lenihan opens our eyes to this invisible world with the passion and bluntness of a seanchai, a true Irish storyteller.

Throughout history, traditional cultures have recognized the role of storytelling in teaching values to children. Yet most educators have not fully capitalized on the connection between storytelling, folktales, and character education.

Three complete stories in one collection! Includes The Mystery of the Haunted Boxcar, The Clue in the Corn Maze, and The Ghost of the Chattering Bones.

Hello. It's Todd Barry. Yes, the massively famous comedian. I have billons of fans all over the world, so I do my fair share of touring. While I love doing shows in the big cities (New York, Chicago, Cleveland), I also enjoy a good secondary market (Rochester, Springfield, Toledo). There's something great about performing in a place where they don't expect to see you.

Aparna Nancherla is a superstar comedian on the rise—a darling of Netflix and Comedy Central’s comedy special lineups, a headliner at comedy shows and music festivals, a frequenter of late night television and the subject of numerous profiles. She’s also a successful actor who has written a barrage of thoughtful essays published by the likes of the New York Times. If you ask her, though, she’s a total fraud. She’d hate to admit it, but no one does impostor syndrome quite like Aparna Nancherla.

Adam Mansbach famously gave voice to two of parenting's primal struggles in Go the F--k to Sleep and You Have to F--king Eat - the often-imitated, never-duplicated pair of New York Times best sellers that ushered in a new era of radical honesty in humor books for parents. But what could possibly be left? Parents - new, old, expectant, and grand - of multiple children already knew the answer. Author Adam Mansbach discovered it for himself by having two more kids, less than two years apart.

Story isn't just one way to persuade. It's the way. It's built into the architecture of the brain, and has been since early humans gathered around the camp fire, trying to figure out how to outsmart the lion next door. In Story or Die, story coach Lisa Cron sets out to decode the power of story, first by examining how the brain processes information, translates it into narrative, and then guards it as if your life depends on it.