From Storytelling to Storylistening: How the Hit Podcast S-Town Reconfigured the Production and Reception of Narrative Nonfiction
The 2017 hit podcast S-Town has been hailed for inaugurating a new genre, the audio nonfiction novel. Drawing from the recent evolutions in the field of media-conscious narratology (Ryan and Thon; DeMair), this article envisions creative nonfiction podcasts as narrative constructs. Previous research...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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School of English, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Ex-centric Narratives: Journal of Anglophone Literature, Culture and Media |
| Online Access: | http://ejournals.lib.auth.gr/ExCentric/article/view/7913 |
| _version_ | 1831538047937675264 |
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| author | Ella Waldmann |
| author_facet | Ella Waldmann |
| author_sort | Ella Waldmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The 2017 hit podcast S-Town has been hailed for inaugurating a new genre, the audio nonfiction novel. Drawing from the recent evolutions in the field of media-conscious narratology (Ryan and Thon; DeMair), this article envisions creative nonfiction podcasts as narrative constructs. Previous research has thus far tended to assimilate such original podcast productions to conventional radio programs, seldom taking into account the specificity of the podcast as a new medium. This article explores the implications of this innovation through the case study of S-Town. By reclaiming the model of the novel, S-Town’s innovative load paradoxically relies on a return to traditional written forms. But in terms of broadcasting and reception, the podcast introduces a change of paradigm insofar as it offers a more immersive and interactive listening experience. This experience is in turn embedded in the creative process, and narrative nonfiction becomes as much storytelling as storylistening. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T23:17:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bba396105b834ff5bcbb7788df43773b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2585-3538 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T23:17:10Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | School of English, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ex-centric Narratives: Journal of Anglophone Literature, Culture and Media |
| spelling | doaj.art-bba396105b834ff5bcbb7788df43773b2022-12-21T22:12:16ZengSchool of English, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GreeceEx-centric Narratives: Journal of Anglophone Literature, Culture and Media2585-35382020-12-0104284210.26262/exna.v0i4.79137186From Storytelling to Storylistening: How the Hit Podcast S-Town Reconfigured the Production and Reception of Narrative NonfictionElla Waldmann0Université de Paris, France.The 2017 hit podcast S-Town has been hailed for inaugurating a new genre, the audio nonfiction novel. Drawing from the recent evolutions in the field of media-conscious narratology (Ryan and Thon; DeMair), this article envisions creative nonfiction podcasts as narrative constructs. Previous research has thus far tended to assimilate such original podcast productions to conventional radio programs, seldom taking into account the specificity of the podcast as a new medium. This article explores the implications of this innovation through the case study of S-Town. By reclaiming the model of the novel, S-Town’s innovative load paradoxically relies on a return to traditional written forms. But in terms of broadcasting and reception, the podcast introduces a change of paradigm insofar as it offers a more immersive and interactive listening experience. This experience is in turn embedded in the creative process, and narrative nonfiction becomes as much storytelling as storylistening.http://ejournals.lib.auth.gr/ExCentric/article/view/7913 |
| spellingShingle | Ella Waldmann From Storytelling to Storylistening: How the Hit Podcast S-Town Reconfigured the Production and Reception of Narrative Nonfiction Ex-centric Narratives: Journal of Anglophone Literature, Culture and Media |
| title | From Storytelling to Storylistening: How the Hit Podcast S-Town Reconfigured the Production and Reception of Narrative Nonfiction |
| title_full | From Storytelling to Storylistening: How the Hit Podcast S-Town Reconfigured the Production and Reception of Narrative Nonfiction |
| title_fullStr | From Storytelling to Storylistening: How the Hit Podcast S-Town Reconfigured the Production and Reception of Narrative Nonfiction |
| title_full_unstemmed | From Storytelling to Storylistening: How the Hit Podcast S-Town Reconfigured the Production and Reception of Narrative Nonfiction |
| title_short | From Storytelling to Storylistening: How the Hit Podcast S-Town Reconfigured the Production and Reception of Narrative Nonfiction |
| title_sort | from storytelling to storylistening how the hit podcast s town reconfigured the production and reception of narrative nonfiction |
| url | http://ejournals.lib.auth.gr/ExCentric/article/view/7913 |
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