BookNest in London
Our european broadcast desk. It is --:-- in London right now, and 265+ readers here are in the listening room. London is one of 9 hubs across 68 countries.
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Partners in this city
London dispatch
A library that receives a copy of everything
The British Library is a legal deposit library, which means a copy of virtually every book published in the United Kingdom and Ireland ends up on its shelves. Its free Treasures gallery at St Pancras puts a Magna Carta, Shakespeare folios and handwritten manuscripts in front of anyone who walks in off the Euston Road, no ticket required.
The trade side of the city sits a few stops away. The London Book Fair is where translation, audio and screen rights for the year get argued over, and the London Review Bookshop in Bloomsbury keeps the reader end of that chain honest with one of the steadiest author event programmes in the country.
Reading life in London
The festivals, libraries, bookshops and publishers our listeners in London actually walk into. Every one of them is a real, working institution.
Library
The British Library
The national library of the United Kingdom, with free galleries showing manuscripts, maps and literary treasures at St Pancras.
VisitFestival
London Book Fair
The global rights and publishing marketplace where translation, audio and film deals for the year are made.
VisitBookshop
London Review Bookshop
A Bloomsbury bookshop and cake shop with a long running programme of author events and readings.
VisitPlaying in London
Sessions from the BookNest listening room, ready to play at this desk.
Classics · 22 min
The Count of Monte Cristo, opening
Alexandre Dumas
Open the listening roomChildren · 10 min
The Secret Garden, chapter one
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Open the listening roomAdventure · 28 min
King Solomon's Mines, chapter one
H. Rider Haggard
Open the listening roomDrama · 44 min
Romeo and Juliet, act one
William Shakespeare
Open the listening roomIdeas · 6 min
Beyond Good and Evil, preface
Friedrich Nietzsche
Open the listening roomBusiness · 5 min
Your Invisible Power, introduction
Genevieve Behrend
Open the listening roomPresented by
Niphie Debaî
Author Spotlight interviews
Amara Okoye
The Book Talk, literary discussions
Daniel Mbeki
Author Spotlight, second chair