Storybound (podcast)
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''Storybound'' is a
podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
created, produced, and hosted by
Jude Brewer Jude Brewer is an American writer, producer, actor, and podcast host, best known for creating and hosting '' Storybound'' and '' Storytellers Telling Stories''. Brewer's writing has appeared in literary magazines, podcasts and short films. Ca ...
, with original music composed for each episode. The show is a collaboration between ''
Lit Hub ''Literary Hub'' or ''LitHub'' is a daily literary website that was launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and ''Electric Literature'' ...
'' and The Podglomerate podcast network, featuring household names and Pulitzer Prize winning authors alongside relatively unknown bands, singer-songwriters, and composers. Season 1 debuted on December 3, 2019. Inspired from Brewer's '' Storytellers Telling Stories'', ''Storybound'' surpassed a million downloads in its first year, following up with seasons 2 and 3, the latter of which has been recognized for experimental
cross-genre A hybrid genre is a literary or film genre that blends themes and elements from two or more different genres. Hybrid genre works are also referred to as cross-genre, multi-genre, mixed genre, or fusion genre. Some hybrid genres have acquired thei ...
music compositions with sampling created and arranged by Brewer.


Series overview

Regarding the crafting of each episode, Brewer likened the relationship between literature and music as the conceptual evolution of a live reading, also adding how "beats or time signatures or chord progressions" allow listeners to feel a story's forward progression: "There's something subtle in your mind telling you, 'I'm going to get past this moment.'" ''Storybound'' is noted for pairing award-winning and bestselling writers with comparatively unknown musicians, an idea spun out of Brewer's initial conception for ''Storytellers Telling Stories''. Brewer had alluded to an uncertain future for ''Storytellers Telling Stories'' in as early as February 2019. ''Storybound'' was announced later that year at a live performance for the
Literary Arts Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...
Portland Book Festival pre-show, Lit Crawl, where they also announced their sponsorship with
Powell's Books Powell's Books is a chain of bookstores, based in Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon. Their flagship store, dubbed Powell's City of Books, claims to be the largest independent bookstore, independent new and used bookstore in the world. In addit ...
. Season 1 included critically acclaimed and bestselling authors such as
Mitch Albom Mitchell David Albom (born May 23, 1958) is an American author, journalist, and musician. As of 2021, he has sold 40 million books worldwide. Having achieved national recognition for sports writing in his early career, he turned to writing inspi ...
, Lidia Yuknavitch, Matt Gallagher, Kim Barnes, Adelle Waldman, Diksha Basu, Nathan Hill, Caitlin Doughty, Mitchell S. Jackson as well as a story told by Jack Rhysider, creator of the popular podcast ''
Darknet Diaries ''Darknet Diaries'' is an investigative podcast created by Jack Rhysider (), chronicling true stories about crackers, malware, botnets, cryptography, cryptocurrency, cybercrime, and Internet privacy, all subjects falling under the umbrella of ...
''. Seasons 2 and 3 continued this trend, expanding outside of its primary
literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...
/
memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...
focus, featuring
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
author
Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders (born July 24, 1969) is an American writer specializing in speculative fiction. She has written several novels as well as shorter fiction, published in magazines and on websites, and hosted podcasts; these works cater to both ...
, essayist
Soraya Nadia McDonald Soraya Nadia McDonald is an American writer and culture critic. She was previously a reporter at ''The Washington Post'', and has been the culture critic for '' The Undefeated'' since 2016. McDonald was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for ...
, comic book writer Mark Russell, fiction writer
Junot Díaz Junot Díaz ( ; born December 31, 1968) is a Dominican American writer, creative writing professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a former fiction editor at '' Boston Review''. Central to Díaz's work is the immigrant experience ...
, and Pulitzer Prize winning critic, Soraya Nadia McDonald. Along with authors such as
Chuck Klosterman Charles John Klosterman (; born June 5, 1972) is an American author and essayist whose work focuses on American popular culture. He has been a columnist for ''Esquire'' and ESPN.com and wrote "The Ethicist" column for ''The New York Times Magaz ...
, Morgan Jerkins,
Omar El Akkad Omar El Akkad (born 1982) is an Egyptian-Canadian novelist and journalist, whose novel '' What Strange Paradise'' was the winner of the 2021 Giller Prize. Early life and education Omar El Akkad was born in Cairo, Egypt, and grew up in Doha, ...
,
Matt Haig Matt Haig (born 3 July 1975) is an English author and journalist. He has written both fiction and non-fiction books for children and adults, often in the speculative fiction genre. Early life Haig was born on 3 July 1975 in Sheffield. He grew ...
, and Tamara Winfrey Harris. Season 4 features more prominent musicians such as Portico Quartet,
Dustin O'Halloran Dustin O'Halloran (born September 8, 1971) is an American composer and pianist. Aside from releasing music as a recording artist, O'Halloran is a film and TV composer, as well as one half of ambient act A Winged Victory for the Sullen. Early li ...
,
Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. After playing in several small independent bands throughout the late 80s and into the early 90s, Folds came to prominence as the f ...
, Jaymay,
Au Revoir Simone Au Revoir Simone is an American indie pop band from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2003. The group is composed of Erika Forster (vocals/keyboard), Annie Hart (vocals/keyboard/bass) and Heather D'Angelo (vocals/drum machine/keyboard ...
, Fake Shark,
Zola Jesus Nika Roza Danilova (born Nicole Rose Hummel; April 11, 1989), known professionally by her stage name Zola Jesus, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her music has been noted for combining elements of electronic, industrial, ...
, The Bright Light Social Hour, and Shook Twins. Season 4 also includes a unique episode officially funded by a grant from the
Regional Arts & Culture Council The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) is an organization that administers arts grants in Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas Counties that also do advocacy in the Portland metropolitan area in Oregon, United States. It evolved from the cityâ ...
. The episode is a
radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the liste ...
adaptation of playwright and screenwriter Brianna Barrett's
historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...
television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...
based on the life of Frances Fuller Victor, an American historian and novelist living in
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
era
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. Season 5 was announced for 2022, bringing on Debbie Millman, Danté Stewart, Stephanie Foo,
Tommy Davidson Tommy Davidson (born Anthony Reed, November 10, 1963) is an American actor and comedian. He was an original cast member on the sketch comedy TV show ''In Living Color'', and portrayed Mitchell on '' Between Brothers'' (1997–1999), Dexter on '' ...
, Dan Chaon, Imogen Binnie, Daniel Olivas and more.


Production

Each episode begins with an introduction from Brewer, followed by a lofi theme or, as Brewer has likened it, "bedroom-pop". Following Brewer's introduction, the featured author will read an
excerpt {{Short pages monitor