White Rabbit Launches A New Podcast, Songbook, Presented And Written By Jude Rogers, Featuring Brett Anderson, Shirley Collins, Ian Rankin, And More

On The Table Read, “the best entertainment magazine in the UK“, Songbook is the new podcast from White Rabbit, presented by Jude Rogers, about the music books that shape our lives.

Songbook

White Rabbit Books announce the launch of Songbook – a podcast about music books that shape our lives, presented by the award-winning journalist, broadcaster and author Jude Rogers.

Each episode will feature Jude in conversation with a special guest dissecting one exciting music book in detail. From cult classics to gripping memoirs, page turners to potboilers, overlooked mainstream gems to indie curios, Songbook celebrates the art and the thrill of music writing and the way these books allow us to immerse ourselves in the world of our favourite musicians or the world that surrounds them.

Podcast Guests

The first season will feature an impressive list of guests ranging from authors to musicians, broadcasters and journalists, including Brett Anderson, Shirley Collins, Stephanie Phillips (Big Joanie), Ian Rankin, Adelle Stripe, Zakia Sewell and more.

The episodes will be published weekly, starting from 21 July with each episode focusing on a different book. The series will kick off with an episode dedicated to Fred Vermorel’s wickedly sharp, multifaceted – and often filthy – oral history of pop fandom, Starlust, chosen by Jude to discuss with one of her favourite musicians from her teenage years, Brett Anderson.

Jude and Brett will dissect Vermorel’s critically acclaimed portrait of 1980s-era pop adoration and obsession, full of stories of lonely, love-struck teens, androgynous Bowie disciples and housewife-devotees of Barry Manilow, and use the book as a springboard to discuss Brett’s own experiences of fandom, from both sides of the stage.

First Season Of Songbook

The first season of Songbook will take us on a journey around the world and through time; from Jackie Kay’s electrifying experimental biography of the “Empress of Jazz” Bessie Smith to Deborah Curtis’ unflinchingly honest and sorrowful portrait of her marriage and life with Ian Curtis; Kristin Hersh’s uncannily raw autobiographical account of a year that changed her life before Throwing Muses, and Alan Lomax’s vivid tales of the blues and traditional music of America.

Presenter Jude Rogers said “I love broadcasting and interviewing so much – and my house is sinking under the weight of all of my beloved music books – so I’m very excited to be able to introduce Songbook to you all. It’s so important to me that Songbook rages against the idea of a conservative canon, and is surprising, entertaining, diverse, and properly accessible. The guests – all brilliant people from the worlds of music performance, writing and broadcasting, with great ideas, and lots to say – absolutely make it. I can’t wait for you to listen.”

White Rabbit

Publisher of White Rabbit, Lee Brackstone said “It’s so exciting to be stepping into the podcast space with White Rabbit. It feels like a very organic move for us and we are so lucky to have Jude Rogers, the most naturally gifted of broadcasters, hosting and interviewing an exceptional first line-up of guests from the music and literary worlds.”

About Jude Rogers

Jude Rogers is an acclaimed author, journalist and broadcaster residing in Wales with her family. Since 2003, has written for Guardian, Observer, Sunday Times, Times Saturday Review, Daily Telegraph, New Statesman, The Word, MOJO, Q, NME, The Quietus and The Gentlewoman, made acclaimed documentaries for Radio 4, including the 2021 series ‘A Life In Music’, and interviewed everyone from Damon Albarn to Billie Eilish, Michael Stipe to Laurie Anderson, Paul Weller to the Pet Shop Boys.

Jude Rogers is the author of the critically acclaimed The Sound of Being Human published in April 2022 by White Rabbit.

About White Rabbit

White Rabbit is dedicated to publishing the most innovative books and voices in music and literature. Building on the uniquely successful publishing he was responsible for at Faber Social with authors like the Beastie Boys, Viv Albertine and Jon Savage, Brackstone’s titles for his Orion imprint indicate the range and personality of a list that will encompass memoir, history, fiction, translation, illustrated books and high-spec limited editions.

White Rabbit has already published two Sunday Times bestsellers, Mark Lanegan’s Sing Backwards And Weep and Chris Frantz’s Remain In Love.

About Orion Publishing Group

The Orion Publishing Group is one of the UK’s leading publishers. Our mission is to bring the best publishing to the greatest variety of people. Open, agile, passionate and innovative – we believe that everyone will find something they love at Orion.

Founded in 1991, the Orion Publishing Group today publishes under eight main imprints: Gollancz, the UK’s No1 science fiction and fantasy imprint; Laurence King Publishing, one of the world’s leading publishers of books and gifts on the creative arts; Orion Fiction, a heartland for brilliant commercial fiction; Orion Spring, home of wellbeing and health titles written by passionate celebrities and world-renowned experts; Seven Dials, for the very best commercial non-fiction, beautifully designed and produced; Trapeze for commercial fiction and non-fiction books that start conversations; Phoenix, a bespoke imprint publishing fiction and memoir that combine literary merit and commercial potential; and Weidenfeld & Nicolson, one of the most prestigious and dynamic literary imprints in British and international publishing; and White Rabbit, dedicated to publishing the most innovative books and voices in music and literature; The Orion Publishing Group is part of Hachette UK which is a leading UK trade publishing group.

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