Blanket Fort Radio Theater
A Storytelling Initiative from SIU Press in Collaboration with the SIU Creative Writing Program and WSIU
Blanket Fort Radio Theater (BFRT) is a collection of student-produced podcasts in the form of serialized audiobooks. The books chosen for BFRT are previously published titles from Southern Illinois University Press. In contrast to standard audiobooks, BFRT podcasts have a distinctive sound—an “SIU signature sound,” if you will—that features musical underscoring and many actors playing various roles giving the recordings the nostalgic feel of radio theater productions.
HOW TO LISTEN:
You can find BFRT podcasts on NPR One, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or the WSIU podcast page. At least one new episode will be available each week. Each episode is 15-18 minutes in length. Search for Blanket Fort Radio Theater.
THE PODCASTS:
A KNIGHT OF ANOTHER SORT--Available now!
Based on the book A Knight of Another Sort: Prohibition Days and Charlie Birger by Gary DeNeal.
New episodes release each Thursday.
(listen to the trailer here)
(purchase the book here)
SURVIVED BY ONE--Available now!
Based on the book Survived By One: The Life and Mind of a Family Mass Murderer by Robert E. Hanlon with Thomas V. Odle
(listen to the trailer here)
(purchase the book here)
THE UNDAUNTED WOMEN OF NANKING--Available now!
Based on the book The Undaunted Women of Nanking: The Wartime Diaries of Minnie Vautrin and Tsen Shui-Fang, edited and translated by Hua-ling Hu and Zhang Lian-hong, and supplemented with material from American Goddess at the Rape of Nanking: The Courage of Minnie Vautrin, by Hua-lin Hu
(listen to the trailer here)
(purchase the books here and here)
MOTHER JONES--Coming soon!
Based on the book Mother Jones, The Miners’ Angel by Dale Fetherling
(purchase the book here)
INSIDE THE BLANKET FORT
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of BFRT, hosted by Amy J. Etcheson and Pinckney Benedict, broadcast on WSIU Radio each Thursday at 8:43 AM and 5:44 PM
(listen to previous episodes here)
CONTACT:
Amy J. Etcheson, Interim Director
Southern Illinois University Press
aetcheson@siu.edu
Pinckney Benedict, Professor
SIUC Department of English, Creative Writing (Fiction)
pinckney@siu.edu
www.blanketfortradiotheater.com
MEDIA
InFocus interview with Jennifer Fuller, 7-6-2020