London Podcast Festival Launches Audio Fiction Cluster

London Podcast Festival is taking place from the 6th to the 15th September at King’s Place in London. The event is the British Isles’ biggest podcast festival, and one of the largest in Europe – with last year’s LPF attracting over 18,000 visitors from all over the world.

Every year, Martin Zaltz Austwick (of successful podcasts Answer Me This! and the award-winning Song by Song) organizes the Podcast Maker’s Weekend. This is a weekend of events intended to help people break into podcasting: from making their first to show professionalizing their operation. This year, for the first time, the Maker’s Weekend includes and Audio Fiction Cluster.

Organized by a team of volunteers, including Elizabeth Campbell (of Wooden Overcoats and Victoriocity) and Ella Watts (of The Orphans and The Unseen Hour), the Maker’s Weekend takes place at the end of London Podcast Festival on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th September. The entire event is held at King’s Place, and consists of a series of workshops, talks and panels.

This year’s audio fiction cluster will involve two workshops on sound design and production – one from co-producer of Wooden Overcoats Andy Goddard, intended as a basic introduction to the process, and one by legendary sound designer John Dryden, of Tunambay, The MessageLifeAfter and the upcoming Passenger List staring Kelly Marie Tran. Dryden will be doing an intimate talk on sound designing imaginary worlds, for which there are only fifteen tickets available.

Since audio fiction podcasts are made in a wide variety of ways, the Maker’s Weekend Audio Fiction panel with Hedley Knights (We Fix Space Junk, Audible), David Devereux (Tin Can Audio, Rusty Quill), and Meghan Fitzmartin (Red Rhino, The AM Archives) will cover a range of topics – from remote recording to directing an ensemble cast in studio. And because audio fiction does not only concern drama, there will be a workshop on actual-play podcasts from Maxamillian John (Definitely Human, The Infinite Bad) and Elle Sparrow (Flintlocks and Fireballs).