It's a Booky podcast miracle & meet the woman who escaped the Nazis
Plus: Parched Pea Pod is back, Publisher podcast awards shortlists, International Booker Prize shortlist, Vampire Diaries novelist dies, audio AI & brand names become verbs
My dear wordsmiths,
How are you this week? Just my weekly reminder to subscribe, share and like (if you don’t ask etc..) I very much appreciate your support.
BOOKY podcast has been shortlisted in Publisher Podcast Awards 2025
Admittedly, I had manifested award listings for my amazing novels, rather than talking about books, but guess what?! My very own BOOKY podcast, created with the support of my National World colleague - the amazing pod producer Kelly Crichton - has been shortlisted for not just one but three awards!!. ICYMI, BOOKY is a podcast where I talk to novelists about books and writing. It doesn’t claim the most original concept in the world but what makes it different is it is snob-free and deliberately friendly and accessible for all authors and genres.
What is even more amazing is the company the podcast is keeping. Booky is shortlisted in the Publisher Podcast awards for Best culture and lifestyle podcast, Best entertainment podcast and Best special interest and lifestyle podcast. Fellow shortlistees range from BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine to Financial Times, The Times and Sunday Times, Max/Warner Bros, and the New Statesman. I can absolutely assure you BOOKY was produced on a budget-free wing and a prayer compared to most of these so just being on the same shortlists is incredible.
I have to send send thanks to the authors who took part in series one for their support. They include Milly Johnson, Joanna Nadin, Will Carver, Brian Groom, Kate Fforde, Dorothy Koomson, Danielle Owen-Jones, and Sarah Pinborough. Author friends out there - I’m coming for you for series two! And if anybody out there knows a company or individual interested in sponsoring series two (which is promoted across our National World titles across England/Scotland and N Ireland) so we can afford biscuits - even better!
Podcasts from National World (where I work) have been shortlisted 15 times. They include both established and newly launched products including Lancashire Post/Blog Preston collaboration Parched Pea Podcast (details of new series lower down this newsletter!), BOOKY, The Athletics Weekly Podcast, The Scotsman's food podcast Scran and political podcast The Steamie. Nostalgia-themed Wearside Echoes from Sunderland Echo's Chris Cordner was also shortlisted and TV podcast, Screen Babble, also scooped a nomination. The podcasts face competition from across the publisher spectrum including The Telegraph, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Times, Financial Times, The Conversation, The New Statesman, Reach and more.
Brands become verbs
Now much as I would like BOOKY to become a verb, I think it has a while to go. But this week something interesting landed in my inbox - so I’m sharing. One of the most exciting things about language is that it is ever-evolving, with the Cambridge Dictionary adding thousands of new words every year. With so many new additions, it’s hard to keep up with where various words have come from. Not everyone is a fan of this, safe to say. Credit for this research goes to 1337 games
Emre Aksu, editor-in-chief of 1337 Games, has revealed some common verbs and nouns used in everyday language that actually originated as trademarked brand names and explained the cultural phenomenon of verbification and genericide. Hoover is one of the earliest examples of a brand name becoming a verb. The Hoover Company dominated the vacuum cleaner market in the early 20th century, leading to its name becoming synonymous with the act of vacuum cleaning.
"Despite Dyson and Shark being the most popular vacuum brands in the UK, most people still refer to ‘hoovering’ their carpets,” Emre explained. “This one is more of a regional difference, as Brits tend to use the term ‘hoover’, while Americans opt for ‘vacuum’. It’s even more interesting to think about considering Hoover is actually an American brand.”
Examples:
Hoover
Google
Photoshop
Uber
Sellotape
Trampoline (yes, it’s a brand)
Frisbee
Crock-Pot
Air Fryer (no, really)
Another common example is Google: - ‘I’ll Google it.’ More recent examples include Photoshop and Uber. Adobe's image editing software has led to 'photoshopping' becoming shorthand for any digital image manipulation, while people often refer to ‘Ubering’ somewhere, even if they’re getting a taxi or another Uber competitor.
While some brands embrace becoming a generic term, others actively campaign against it. "Xerox spent decades and millions of dollars urging people to say they're 'photocopying' not 'xeroxing' documents," Aksu said. "They feared becoming so generic they'd lose trademark protection, which happened to Aspirin, Escalator, and Thermos." Similarly, the Velcro company launched a campaign in 2017 to discourage people from using ‘Velcro’ for generic hook-and-loop fasteners. Aksu noted that Rollerblade, Jacuzzi, Band-Aid, and Chapstick similarly discourage verbal use.
So, is becoming a generic term really that bad? Unfortunately, that answer isn’t clear and depends on the brand itself. On one hand, becoming a generic term means that your brand or product does its job better than anyone else's, thus becoming synonymous with the act itself. On the other hand, you risk losing trademark status and fading into the background of other competitors that are all using your name to market their products, as was the case with Bubble Wrap. This is known as genericide.
News, events and opportunities:
Books, writing & journalism
Parched Pea Podcast is back for series 2.
The collaborative Parched Pea Pod is back for series two - and episode one is now live featuring an interview with the woman who escaped the Nazis - Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines. She’s absolutely brilliant - you may remember as one of the children rescued by late hero Nicholas Winton ( and yes she has a cameo in the film!).
Lancashire Post (National World), Blog Preston and Central Radio are working together on this production - named after the city of Preston delicacy The Parched Pea.
Booker Prize Shortlist is announced: Every book on the International Booker Prize shortlist comes from an independent publisher this year for the first time - and nine out of the 12 are women. Six authors have been shortlisted for the first time, including three with their debut English-language publications. And the focus is on ‘Concise but powerful storytelling’, with just two shortlisted books over 200 pages. The shortlist of six books – five novels and one collection of short stories – was chosen by the 2025 judging panel, chaired by bestselling Booker Prize-longlisted author Max Porter
The shortlist is: (full details linked in title above)
A Leopard-Skin Hat; Written by Anne Serre & translated (from French) by Mark Hutchinson
Heart Lamp; Written by Banu Mushtaq and translated by Deepa Bhasthi (from Kannada).
Perfection: Written by Vincenzo Latronico & translated by Sophie Hughes (from Italian).
Under the Eye of the Big Bird; Written by Hiromi Kawakami & translated by Asa Yoneda (From Japanese).
Small Boat; Written by Vincent Delecroix & translated by Helen Stevenson (from French).
On the Calculation of Volume I; Written by Solvej Balle & translated by Barbara J. Haveland (from Danish.)
Vampire Diaries novelist dies at 66
Author LJ Smith (Lisa Jane Smith) published the original four-book series, about a love triangle involving two vampire brothers and an orphaned young woman, in 1991 and 92, before releasing another Vampire Diaries trilogy in 2009-11. However, she was dropped from her own book series and replaced by new authors by publishers, but Smith continued releasing new instalments unofficially as fan fiction. Smith had originally been hired to write the novel series by a book packager - who sold them to a publisher - under a deal where they, not she, owned the rights. Extract via BBC - read in full here
This is useful for journalists, via Journalism.co.uk
There are loads of tools to help transcribe audio to text via AI - please be aware they are not as legally sound for journalists as shorthand but useful as a backup for meetings, interviews and to transcribe podcast. See link.
Publisher Podcast Awards (as mentioned!)
Shortlisted:
BEST B2B PODCAST
ASHRAE Journal Podcast, ASHRAE Journal
Engineering Matters, Reby Media
Hot Air, ASHRAE Journal
Startup Europe, Sifted EU Ltd
The Campaign Podcast, Haymarket Media Group
The Lawyer Podcast, The Lawyer
BEST CULTURE & LIFESTYLE PODCAST
Booky, National World
Culture from the New Statesman, The New Statesman
Feel better about Money, The Times and The Sunday Times
Money Clinic with Claer Barrett, Financial Times
BEST DEEP DIVE PODCAST
Constructive Voices, Constructive Voices
Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
Developing Mental Wealth (The Positive News Podcast), Positive News
Econ World, Reuters
Know Your Place from The Conversation Documentaries, The Conversation
Talk Eastern Europe, New Eastern Europe
The Catch, Foreign Policy
The Conversation Weekly, The Conversation
Why It Matters, Council on Foreign Relations
BEST ENTERTAINMENT PODCAST
Booky, National World
Culture Bites, The National News
Screen Babble, National World
Talking Pictures, Max / Warner Bros. Discovery
BEST HEALTH, WELLBEING & FOOD PODCAST
Developing Mental Wealth (The Positive News Podcast), Positive News
In Conversation, Medical News Today (Healthline Media UK)
Scran, The Scotsman
The Good Food podcast, Immediate Media
Untold: The Retreat, Financial Times
BEST HOBBIES & SPECIAL INTEREST PODCAST
BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Podcast, Immediate Media
Behind The Money, Financial Times
Booky, National World
The Athletics Weekly Podcast, Athletics Weekly (NationalWorld)
The Plodcast, Our Media
BEST INVESTIGATIVE PODCAST
Bed of Lies, The Telegraph
Cocaine Inc., The Times, The Sunday Times and News Corp Australia
Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
Jan Marsalek: The Tech Boss Who Was Russia’s Secret Spy, The Telegraph
Scam Factories from The Conversation Weekly, The Conversation
Who Killed Jennifer Judd?, ID / Warner Bros. Discovery
World of Secrets, Season 1 – The Abercrombie Guys, BBC Long Form Audio for BBC Sounds
BEST LIMITED SERIES
After Hotel Rwanda, Foreign Policy
Bed of Lies: Conflict, The Telegraph
Cocaine Inc., The Times, The Sunday Times and News Corp Australia
Everything Environment, Wild Frequencies
Jan Marsalek: The Tech Boss Who Was Russia’s Secret Spy, The Telegraph
Know Your Place from The Conversation Documentaries, The Conversation
The Athletics Weekly Podcast: Olympics 2024, Athletics Weekly (NationalWorld)
The Northern Agenda: Our Kids In The North, Reach
The Positive News Podcast: Developing Mental Wealth, Positive News
World of Secrets, Season 1 – The Abercrombie Guys, BBC Long Form Audio for BBC Sounds
BEST LOCAL & COMMUNITY PODCAST
Parched Pea Podcast, National World/Blog Preston CIC
The Northern Agenda, Reach
The Steamie, The Scotsman
WAM CAST, We Are Makers
Wearside Echoes, National World / Sunderland Echo
BEST NEWS PODCAST
Bloomberg Daybreak Europe, Bloomberg
Here’s Why, Bloomberg
Reuters World News, Reuters
Sweden in Focus, The Local Europe
The Daily T, The Telegraph
The News Agenda Explained, Reach
The Rachman Review, Financial Times
The Story, The Times & The Sunday Times
Trending Middle East, The National News
Ukraine The Latest, The Telegraph
BEST PARTNER PODCAST
The Next Five Podcast, Financial Times
Engineering Matters, Reby Media
Into the Mix – Season 3, Vox Creative
The Parched Pea Podcast, National World / Blog Preston
The Negotiators, Foreign Policy and Doha Debates
Scran, The Scotsman
BEST POLITICAL PODCAST
Beyond The Headlines, The National News
Bloomberg UK Politics, Bloomberg
Foreign Policy Live, Foreign Policy
Know Your Place from The Conversation Documentaries, The Conversation
Political Fix, Financial Times
Politics from the New Statesman, The New Statesman
PoliticsHome – The Rundown, Total Politics
The Lede, New Lines
The President’s Inbox, Council on Foreign Relations
The Steamie, The Scotsman
BEST SCIENCE & MEDICAL PODCAST
Curiosity Weekly, Discovery / Warner Bros. Discovery
In Conversation, Medical News Today (Healthline Media UK)
Instant Genius, Our Media
Living Planet, Deutsche Welle
Mongabay Explores, Mongabay
Science in Parallel, Krell Institute
The Nature Podcast, Nature
Wild Frequencies, Mongabay India, Everything Environment
BEST SPORT PODCAST
Claret and Blue, Reach
Everything is Black and White, Reach
Rugby Lives, Rugby Journal, Sporting Eric
The Athletics Weekly Podcast, Athletics Weekly (NationalWorld)
BEST TECHNOLOGY PODCAST
ASHRAE Journal Podcast, ASHRAE Journal
Beyond The Valley, CNBC International
Constructive Voices, Constructive Voices
Engineering Matters, Reby Media
Science in Parallel, Krell Institute
Tech Tonic, Financial Times
The Times Tech Podcast, The Times and The Sunday Times
BEST COMMERCIAL STRATEGY
Reby Media, Engineering Matters
The New Statesman, The New Statesman podcast
BEST PODCAST LAUNCH
Euro Thrash, Reach
Millennial Masters, QWERTY Media Ltd
Rugby Lives, Rugby Journal, Sporting Eric
The Athletics Weekly Podcast, Athletics Weekly (NationalWorld)
The Daily T, The Telegraph
The Positive News Podcast, Positive News
Your History, The Times and The Sunday Times
BEST VIDEO PODCAST STRATEGY
DC Studios Showcase: The Official Podcast, Max / Warner Bros. Discovery
The Index, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
The New Statesman podcast, The New Statesman
The Royals with Roya and Kate, The Times and The Sunday Times
Underworlds with Mark Shaw, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
WAM CAST, We Are Makers
PUBLISHER PODCAST HERO OF THE YEAR 2025
Andrew Musgrove, Reach
Bethany Burgoyne, The Sassy Show
Daniel J McLaughlin, Reach Plc
Joshua Sommer, Reuters
Louisa Wells, The Telegraph
Maxine Betteridge-Moes, New Internationalist
Thanks for reading, I’m off to listen to a podcast now.. Until next week Nx
P.S Mr Pheasant still going strong..
Congrats on the award nominations - that’s great work!
👏👏👏