Mythmakers

In today's podcast, Julia Golding is in conversation with Australian writer, Michelle Diener https://www.michellediener.com. Michelle tells her story of starting out as a historical novelist and now writing sci-fi and fantasy. They discuss her early influences and get some book recommendations and then go on to debate the place of music in our culture and the threat posed by AI. Michelle has some...

What are the secrets of success as an animator? In this podcast, Julia Golding talks to Butch Hartman, best known for his series The Fairly Odd-Parents and Danny Phantom. We hear how he got into animation from sketching in the classroom to college and then into the industry. How does the creative process happen when working with other animators, voice actors, and studio executives? What changes ha...

As we celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's platinum Jubilee, we are wondering who are your favourite fantasy royals? Author and Director of OCF, Julia Golding, has had a go at picking her top ten favourites. See if you agree with her. Is there anyone who should have made the list and been left out? And which is your favourite Middle-earth royal? Visit http://oxfordcentreforfantasy.org for great gift ite...

Joining Julia Golding in this episode is Dr. Gabriel Schenk, an expert on Tolkien, fantasy writing, and Arthurian legends. Gabriel co-founded the annual Tolkien Lecture at Pembroke College Oxford (one of the colleges associated with the writer). You can see this year's lecture with acclaimed fantasy author Rebecca F Kuang as well as previous ones at https://tolkienlecture.org They go on to take a...

As our Fellowship of the Read Readathon drew to a close, we invited all who participated to an event of special magnificence. We tested their Lord of the Rings book knowledge with some questions that stumped even the most hardcore fans and engaged in a lively conversation with some of the Readathon "Gandalf for a day" guides about the experience. Listen along and see how many of these 50 Lord of t...

There has been a flourishing of audio versions of books. In today's episode, Julia Golding talks to Andrew Head, a creative writer and fantasy fan from Australia. Andrew is blind so accesses many of his stories through the audio version so is something of an expert on the subject. Listen for his top five and see if you agree! Jim Dale or Stephen Fry? Which version of the Narnia Chronicles? And muc...

It's not often you get to interview one of your heroes but Julia Golding today is in conversation with one of hers. Meet T A White, American writer of some wonderful series that cross the fantasy genres. Listen to her journey into writing, including an unusual background that gives her insight into authority and combat. Tobey explains her writing process, gives tips on creating strong characters a...

Julia Golding talks to New Zealand independent fantasy writer, AJ Lancaster, whose four-book Stariel series is cutting through the competition with her unique vision of a half-fay half-human land. They discuss New Zealand as Middle-earth and AJ's relationship with Tolkien's fantasy, before coming to Oxford to where Stariel began. Other topics covered include using historical settings, research, no...

We've not yet talked about the biggest fantasy series of the last twenty years and now Mythmakers takes a look at Harry Potter and the Wizarding World through a review of the latest film in the Fantastic Beasts franchise - the Secrets of Dumbledore. Have a listen to find out what Julia Golding thinks is right (and wrong) about this series, then join her as we go back to look at the Harry Potter ph...

Where would you rate The Return of the King in the trilogy? Join Julia Golding and Jacob Rennaker as they take a deep dive into the script and movie-making choices of the adaptation of the concluding part of The Lord of the Rings. What are your perfect moments - and your fails? Julia and Jacob disagree over one big scene - whose side are you on? Where are the opportunities for future filmmakers if...

Mythmakers is devoting this episode to humanity's best friend: dogs! Julia Golding is joined by filmmakers SQuire and Louise DuArt Rushnell to talk about their latest project, Rescued by Ruby, due to be released on Netflix on March 17th. Ruby has the distinction of being a real dog with a real-life story to tell but before we get to her, we do a survey of fantasy dogs in film and TV. SQuire reveal...

Middle films are always the most difficult. In this episode Julia Golding and Jacob Rennaker continue their reconsideration of the Peter Jackson trilogy, turning their attention to The Two Towers. They consider the perfect moments and the fails, with one serious criticism which could definitely to revisited if a filmmaker takes it on again. Remember with them the wonder of Rohan, the storming of I...

20 years on someone somewhere will surely be considering having another go at The Lord of the Rings on film. In this episode Julia Golding is joined by academic and Tolkien fan Jacob Rennaker to look back at the Peter Jackson adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring, considering the script choices and casting, the cuts and the visual realisation. What were the moments that could not be bettered, a...

The oddest Inkling - that's Charles Williams, poet, playwright, novelist, editor, theologian, and occult practitioner. If you think the Inklings are summed up by Oxford dons, Lewis and Tolkien, think again, because Williams added an extraordinary influence to the group. Today Julia Golding is joined by a world expert on Charles William, Dr. Sørina Higgins, who has edited a modern edition of Willia...

The past is another country, but what happens when you make it a magical one? In today's episode, Julia Golding is in conversation with British children's author, Lucy Strange, author of The Secret of Nightingale Wood, and other titles that blend historical fiction with fantasy. Lucy talks about her journey to being a writer, through acting and then teaching. She discusses how what might start as...

In today's podcast Julia Golding is in conversation with James Nicol, author of The Apprentice Witch series (Chickenhouse) and one of our tutors on the creative writing courses. What are your favourite witches in fairy tales and in novels? See if you agree with James' and Julia's picks. They go on to discuss the problem of the history of witches in our world, how women labelled as witches were mar...

Who are Bingo, Odod and Frodo? We'll give you a clue when we say that when Tolkien first started work on The Lord of the Rings he had a very different idea about his story and where it might be going! In this episode, Julia Golding considers how the writing process happens. Did Tolkien have a carefully tended allotment, or was he slashing a path through the wild? Was Lewis driven only by pictures...

Following the trailer reveal for the Amazon Prime TV series title - Rings of Power - Julia Golding and Paula Kalamaras discuss what we've learned about the direction in which they are taking the series. We now also have a date for the first season and release dates for subsequent episodes. Which well-known characters are likely to return? Who is Celebrimbor? Did you know elves had secret societies...

In 2021 Harper Collins published The Nature of Middle-earth by JRR Tolkien, edited by Carl F Hostetter - a fascinating collection of Tolkien's working materials. In this episode Julia Golding reviews the book, looking under the bonnet/hood of Tolkien's creativity. Is this worth reading if you are a Tolkien fan? Listen to find out. Particular highlights are the connection between free will and crea...

Spiderman No Way home ended the year with over $1 billion at the box office and has joined the top ten highest-grossing films. In this episode ( contains spoilers ), Julia Golding is joined by Ed, our resident Marvel fan at the centre, to discuss all things Spidey. Where did Spiderman the film come from? We go back in time to look at the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield films, discussing what wen...

In today's podcast, Julia Golding is joined by internationally renown composer, Richard Blackford. Starting with his early community opera of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, to working with Maya Angelou on a piece for the inauguration of President Clinton, and more recently writing a piece based on a survivor's COVID diary, Richard is a man of incredible creativity. Join Julia and Richard as they...

'This is the Great story of the North, which should be to all our race what the Tale of Troy was to the Greeks.' This isn't a quote from Tolkien about what he hopes to do with his legendarium but his fantasy writing predecessor William Morris, writing about the Saga of the Volsungs. The Mythmakers podcast is delighted to welcome special guest, Dr. Ingrid Hanson, lecturer in English Literature at t...

Tolkien is a rich inspiration for so many of us so when Julia Golding found that one of the online fantasy course students, Stanley Hanna, had taught a seminar series on him for the Ottawa School of Theology and Spirituality, she thought he would make a great guest for the podcast. Join Stanley, a semi-retired Presbyterian minister from Quebec, and Julia as they discuss the nature of good and evil...

Join the Oxford Centre for Fantasy's holiday season livestream on December 1st at 1pm ET | 6pm GMT with special guests, poet and Tolkien expert, Malcolm Guite, and Kath Langrish (From Spare Oom to Wardrobe: Travels in Narnia with my 9-year-old self). We'll be starting Advent with C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, diving into their books to join in the Christmas spirit. We'll gallop like Rudolph acros...

Oxford is a story hotspot so it is wonderful that there is a Story Museum in the city. Julia Golding is joined in this week's episode by the director of the museum, Caroline Jones, to hear the tale of how the museum came to be. From medieval monks in the basement to telephonists in the halls, the space has had an eventful history. Caroline takes you on an imaginary tour and we call in on Narnia an...