Sound Salad Podcast

In her role as a Technical Engineer - Civil, Lisa plays a key part in managing Orion's overhead power network. No two days are the same.

Boy and the Wolves of Chylgar Book 1 in the Chylgar series By Simon Taylor For more information about Simon Taylor, his books, audiobooks, radio broadcasts and school storytelling, go to www.simontaylorstoryteller.com Book Summary An ordinary boy who hates his name. A boy who is drawn into the world of Chylgar, by the giant talking wolves who protect the Land. Aided by two village children, they r...

This is the moving story of a woman who, throughout her life, has refused to be defined by what others think she can or cannot do. Minnie Baragwanath was diagnosed, at the age of 15, with a congenital condition that left her legally blind. However, she did not meekly accept the limitations that blindness might have imposed on her: instead, she dug in her heels and set about improving not only her...

This is the moving story of a woman who, throughout her life, has refused to be defined by what others think she can or cannot do. Minnie Baragwanath was diagnosed, at the age of 15, with a congenital condition that left her legally blind. However, she did not meekly accept the limitations that blindness might have imposed on her: instead, she dug in her heels and set about improving not only her...

This is the moving story of a woman who, throughout her life, has refused to be defined by what others think she can or cannot do. Minnie Baragwanath was diagnosed, at the age of 15, with a congenital condition that left her legally blind. However, she did not meekly accept the limitations that blindness might have imposed on her: instead, she dug in her heels and set about improving not only her...

I was delighted to be the narrator for Minnie's autobiographical book Blindingly Obvious which tells of her travels and stories as a partially sighted woman and access advocate, and her quest to build a more equitable and accessible world. The book was destined to be the countries ‘most accessible published book’ to date - which I believe it is, given that it's available as a printed text, an audi...

We’re chatting about the impending doom that is the use of artificial intelligence and cloned or computer-generated voices as replacements for narrators and actors in the audiobook industry. Join me as I talk through the nitty gritty with Theo Gibson, founder and head of AudiobooksNZ, who has a breadth of experience and opinion on the subject of AI and what it means for the audio publishing indust...

Our first episode for 2023 features Rahul Rai with his new book: Repurpose Me, Your Path to a Contentment Mindset. ​​Do you take life too seriously even though you know it is so temporary? Have you found yourself postponing the things that you really want to do? Do you ever wish you could enjoy your work a little more or wonder where to find purpose, happiness, or just contentment? After a near-de...

Episode 4 has us tossing it with esteemed non-fiction and children’s fiction writer Karen McMillan. Having published in 9 countries she has a number of titles under her belt already, - almost 20, not to mention her Elastic Island series for younger readers, comprised of 6 titles all set to be released as audiobooks with the first coming out this month, narrated by beloved children’s entertainer Su...

Season 2’s third episode of Sound Salad has us tossing it with Rosy Fenwicke. She’s made the shift from writing part time alongside a medical career, to working full time as a mystery and women’s fiction writer (The Euphemia Sage Chronicles; Hot Flush, Switched Up and Empty Nest, among other solo titles) and is the esteemed editor of ‘In Practise: The Lives of NZ Women Doctors in the 21st Century....

Linn Lorkin is one of our most notoriously successful musical treasures; singer, songwriter, actor and linguist, with residencies in Copenhagen, Naples and New York, she’s been accused of being ‘good at too many things,’ but most notably, fans appreciate her writing.  Linn was taught to play the piano by her mother, and claims ‘if you train when you’re young, you never forget it.’ Hearing Nin...

First ep of the year - woohoo!  I was chuffed to finally speak with David Whittet - the author of recently released Gang Girl, who also happens to be a filmmaker and a family doctor to boot. When David came to Audiobooks NZ to have Gang Girl produced, I was lucky enough to be the narrator for his protagonist Alicia’s side of the story. It’s as good a listen as it is a read! Check it out on da...

“When we started, we said: We’re not going to give up. Publish it with us, and we’ll show your book to the world.”  Guest number 10 for ya's! An independent publisher since 2008, Peter Dowling has been an editor for book and magazine publishers in Japan and the UK, he’s been a contract editor and writer with specialisation in Asia, Latin America and Oceania too. (Helped by the fact that he is...

This week I’m stoked to have my long-time dear and close friend Ghazaleh Golbakhsh chiming into the show remotely - gosh darn Covid levels aye. Ghaz is: a kick-arse writer, screenwriter, director/filmmaker, academic/Fulbright scholar, and she completed her PhD by creative practice in Media, Film and Television at University of Auckland, researching the topic ‘Monsters, Slackers, Lovers: Exploring...

PANZ, otherwise known as The Publishers Association of New Zealand Te Rau o Taakupu They represent 80 trade, educational and digital publishers, and suppliers and consultants to our literary industry. The members range from local independents to large international publishers, educational and trade publishers, publishers for adults and for children. Collectively they create more than 2600 new, loc...

Today we’re speaking with a woman I admire hugely, she’s a powerhouse of productivity and advocacy and action and she’s always got time for sending the elevator down to help other writers at all levels of their creative journeys. She is many many things, public speaker, workshop facilitator, genius behind the Writing Room, but is primarily a screenwriter. Her credits include Fresh Eggs, The Tender...

"We’ve got a lot yet to tell, and see, and watch and listen to in this country. There’s such a lot more to tell." This week I chat with Martin Crump. Martin Crump is a writer, broadcaster and MC, and (among many other things) one of Barry’s Boys. His feature book, In Search of the Great Kiwi Yarn (2007), is a collection of thematically linked Kiwi stories that he claims he never even knew he could...

Pip McKay is our next guest on Sound Salad, and one of our first authors! She self published her novel 'The Telling Time' over lockdown in 2020 and has won numerous awards since, featured at multiple events through our Writer's Festival circuit and has already developed her ideas towards a sequel. She's an awesome new addition to our literary sphere here, and isn't afraid to ask the hard questions...

This week our first narrator interview is with an amazing New Zealand actor, musical director, and vocal mimic, the artistically and musically adroit Paul Barrett chats to us about the role of the narrator in bringing a story to life for an auditory audience

‘We turn pages, they press buttons.’ This week my guest is Josh Nathan. Josh figured out at university that audio engineering was what he was going to focus his energies on, and has been a keen listener of all manner of recordings since. Beginning with the ‘sound side’ of music, (not surprising given his influential Uncle happened to be the drummer of iconic Kiwi reggae band ‘Herbs,’) he was looki...

Michiel first started working at the (then) Blind Foundation in 1976 at the age of 16, doing tape to tape transfers for the National Library as they adapted to a two-track system for print disabled people, (people who had difficulty holding books or reading them.) He desperately wanted to work in the library and fought out 3 other applicants to do so. He’s been in various spaces in the library sin...

Welcome to Sound Salad, the interview podcast for all things spoken and all things heard. I’m Romy, nice to have you with us. Sound Salad is the brain-child of Theo Gibson, (founder and creator of Audiobooks NZ) and myself, Romy Hooper (actor, audiobook narrator, writer, fellow bibliophile) essentially because we thought it was about time that there was a decent, local podcast about audiobooks. On...