About
AltReads: Your Guide to Provocative Nonfiction is a weekly two-minute podcast featuring examinations of topical literature.
Purpose: AltReads is focused on chronicling and examining the diverse range of nonfiction that is topical, unique and striking in some form or fashion.
Mission: AltReads offers accessibility to the voices. In pursuit of this mission, it harnesses the power of internet commerce to deliver ideas from many disciplines to the widest audience possible. Society, culture, politics, history, media and philosophy are just a few of the areas you’ll discover in AltReads. The objective is to share a world of important writing covering the issues of the day, our pasts and our futures.
Feedback: You help shape AltReads with your suggestions. Got an idea for a book to cover? Hated that author’s take, or loved it? Let us know.
Why AltReads is called ‘your guide to provocative nonfiction’: Newspapers, magazines, websites and blogs dedicate much more space to fiction than nonfiction. While many worthy fiction and nonfiction books are out there, tabloid-style nonfiction, in a period where insightful nonfiction is plentiful, rules the day. In the world of podcasting, the focus of such nonfiction is considerably even less. AltReads is intended to bring you the best in provocative nonfiction. Generally, you won’t hear about books covering gossip, tell-all, self-help, pulp biographies/memoirs and the like, but exceptions may be made for especially remarkable tomes.
Why episodes are so short: The purpose of brief segments is manifold:
- AltReads is aimed at communicating to a busy, informed, media-saturated audience about engaging books in a quick, accessible, entertaining format.
- There are a number of fantastic podcasts on books. AltReads serves a niche within that community, and is a gateway to the many great podcasts on fiction and nonfiction.
- AltReads is intended to make nonfiction accessible to audiences who are curious about such books, but may feel intimidated about where to begin, and want something concise to guide them in the right direction.
AltReads is pithy foremost because you’re encouraged to learn about the books and then step away from your computer or player and go read them.
What is a podcast? A podcast is an audio file distributed via a syndication feed for playback on portable audio players or computers. A variety of applications can retrieve and play podcasts. The most popular are RSS readers like Google Reader or standalone applications like ITunes.
How do I subscribe? Check your software for specifics.
For authors/publishers: AltReads provides an ideal venue to get your book(s) to a broad audience. You are encouraged to send books to AltReads, care of Post Office Box 667233, Houston, Texas, 77266-7233, USA.
Our editorial calendar is set six to eight weeks ahead of publication. AltReads reviews galley copies.
To arrange an interview: Live interviews for authors touring the Houston area are welcome and encouraged. Send an email via the form below to make a pitch. Phoners are discouraged due to sound quality, but will be considered. ISDN connections, arranged at publisher expense, will be considered.
License: AltReads is distributed under a Creative Commons license. You are free to present copies of the text or audio on your site, so long as altreads.com is attributed.
