Books in the Wild

Feb 14 2021 233

Books in the Wild Podcast artwork

Books in the Wild is a podcast investigating the hidden stories behind books and printed matter. Instead of reviewing books for solely on their written content, we try to offer varying perspectives on everything from conception to creation to reception. This is a podcast about book arts: letterpress printing, bookbinding, artists' books, small press and independent publishing, and stories from book history.

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Episode 20: Dictionary Words for 2020

Dictionaries are an ever-changing record of language, constantly being updated, amended and added to. This goes for all dictionaries: Merriam-Webster, Oxford English Dictionary, Collin’s.Updates to the dictionary can be new words entirely, or amendments for new meanings of existing words. As you can imagine, 2020 was a heck of a year with both Merriam-Webster and OED adding ov

Episode 19: The Book Makers Film

Talk with filmmaker James Kennard and book maker Mark Sarigianis about the documentary film The Book Makers

Episode 18: Quarantine Public Library, Zines, and Time

Today I talk a little about pandemic projects, zines, and artist’s books, and have a wonderful discussion with the Quarantine Public Library. The Quarantine Public Library (QPL) is a collaborative project dreamed up by artists Katie Garth and Tracy Honn in May of 2020. QPL is an online book repository that features downloadable and printable booklets. The single-sheet eight-fold

Episode 17: Jap Herron and Mark Twain's Ghost

In 1917, a new novella was published by Mark Twain. The weird part? Twain died in 1910 and the book was purportedly written by his ghost.

Episode 16: Bookworms, Printer's Devils, and Type Lice, Oh My!

Follow the process of making a book while we cover specialized book terms, and some surprising idioms with bookish origins that we use in daily language.

Episode 15: Blue Skies for Austin Book Arts Center

Interview with Mary Baughman, co-founder of the Austin Book Arts Center about the history of book arts in Austin, and the vision of the ABAC

Episode 14: James Cook, Bookbinder & Murderer of John Paas, Tool Maker

This episode covers the true story of James Cook, a bookbinder who murdered tool engraver John Paas the town of Leicester, bookbinder James Cmurdered tool engraver John Paas over a dispute about brass finishing tools. The tale is particularly gruesome and well-documented because James Cook was the last person to be gibbeted in Britain. Then I interview contemporary bookbinder and t

Episode 13: The Grey Lady of Willard Library

Willard Library is the oldest library in Evansville, IN, established in 1885. There have been reports of apparitions and poltergeist activity from patrons and employees of the library since 1937 that continue to this day. In this episode we will discuss the history of the library and talk with Library Director Greg Hager about some history, legends, and first hand spooky accounts

Episode 12: Book Talk with BookLab II

We at BookLab II have just returned from a fabulous but exhausting trip to the CODEX Symposium and Book Fair, held every other year in the Bay Area, California. Today I am joined by my fellow BookLab colleagues: Craig Jensen, conservator, master-binder and founder of BookLab, and Marc Hammonds, limited-edition binder and official BookLab apprentice. This episode is a conversation a

Episode 11: Fake News(papers)!

If you've ever watched any television shows or movies ever, you may have seen a familiar looking newspaper read by many fictional characters for decades. This exact same newspaper has been spotted in Scrubs, Modern Family, No Country for Old Men, Everyone Hates Chris, Back to the Future, Desperate Housewives, Charmed, That 70’s Show, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and even classics