11 episodes
The Sensitivity Reader Podcast Sydney Fowler
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- Arts
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4.9 • 18 Ratings
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The Sensitivity Reader podcast we will talk about the craft, business, and necessity of diverse stories in research, literature, and other media.
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S02 Episode 03 The Business of Sensitivity Reading with Erin Servais
On this episode, Erin Servais of Dot and Dash LLC and I compare and contrast beta and sensitivity reading, and discuss their work with Dot and Dash LLC and the Minneapolis writing community. We focus on some of the nuances of being a sensitivity reader, self-advocacy, and use make a case for sensitivity readers to increase their rates.
Links:
Guest: Erin Servais Dot and Dash, LLC. expert author services for women https://www.dotanddashllc.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dot_and_dash_llc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GrammarParty
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/dotanddashllc/
Dot and Dash Writer’s Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dotanddashllc/
The Big Five US Trade Book Publishers: https://almossawi.com/big-five-publishers/
Editorial Freelancer’s Association’s Editorial Rates Chart: https://www.the-efa.org/rates/?fbclid=IwAR2AbYAZj44XKJbe8xk7pX7CwMtq2eN2VDq4rlup7Cp6W6BdQxKfQCYxdSQ
Confidentiality agreements for writers & authors:
https://www.everynda.com/blog/confidentiality-agreement-writers-authors/
More info about this podcast and Sydney's sensitivity reading services:
Website: www.sensitivityreader.com
Email: sensitivityreader@gmail.com
Social Media: Facebook and Twitter
Music arrangement and podcast editing by Cara Tucker https://caratucker.com/
Logo design by Leonard Pollard, commissions open: leonard.pollard@colorado.edu Seriously, he’s amazing. You should see what he can do with embroidery floss.
Shout out to Nikita Burks-Hale, M.Ed. at Journeygurlmagic.com for all of her support in getting this podcast off the ground. Nikita is a journey coach and podcast editor. -
S02 E02 Representation in Speculative Fiction With Author, Courtney Morgan
"Science fiction is not predictive; it is descriptive."
-Ursula K. Le Guin, from the Introduction to The Left Hand of Darkness
Speculative Fiction includes anything and everything that pushes the boundaries of reality: surrealism, fabulism, horror, science fiction, fantasy, horror, magical realism and more! Join author Courtney Morgan and I for a discussion on blurring the boundaries between the real and the unreal and what literature can do to help us understand oppression and marginalization.
As a special treat, Courtney reads an excerpt from her story, “Womb, Feather, Bone” from her book, The Seven Autopsies of Norah Hanneman.
Links:
Visit Courtney’s website: https://www.courtneyemorgan.com/ for information about her mentorship and workshop offerings and sign up for her newsletter to get rituals and writing prompts based on the moon cycle sent directly to you!
The Thought Erotic Literary Journal: https://thethoughterotic.com
Get a copy of The Seven Autopsies of Norah Hanneman
Courtney also teaches writing workshops at Lighthouse Writers Workshop: https://www.lighthousewriters.org/
Reading List and Mentions:
Gabriel García Márquez
Isabel Allende
Jamaica kincaid
Edwidge Danticat
Marcia Douglas
Aimee Bender
Karen Russel
Helen Oyeyemi
EBook version of “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Film: Mary Shelley, (2017)
EBook version of Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) Shelley
EBook version of A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft
J.R.R. Tolkien
Ursula K. Le Guin
More info about this podcast and Sydney's sensitivity reading services:
Website: www.sensitivityreader.com
Email: sensitivityreader@gmail.com
Social Media: Facebook and Twitter
Music arrangement and podcast editing by Cara Tucker https://caratucker.com/
Logo design by Leonard Pollard, commissions open: leonard.pollard@colorado.edu Seriously, he’s amazing. You should see what he can do with embroidery floss.
Shout out to Nikita Burks-Hale, M.Ed. at Journeygurlmagic.com for all of her support in getting this podcast off the ground. Nikita is a journey coach and podcast editor. -
S02 E01 Representation in Horror: A Review of Knives and Skin With Eneri Rodriguez
Join Eneri “Netty” Rodriguez and I for a discussion of representation in the 2019 experimental film, Knives and Skin directed by Jennifer Reeder. We talk feminist cliches, teen angst, and the power of representation in movies. Netty is an expert on gender, race, and horror and you do not want to miss this episode!
Links:
Follow Eneri “Netty” Rodriguez https://www.instagram.com/nettythebakingbetty
Knives and Skin, (2019), director, Jennifer Reeder
Gender Institute for Teaching and Advocacy at Metropolitan State University of Denver
GITA Hold Of Yourself Podcast
2 Fat 2 Furious Podcast
Trailers and Mentions:
Candyman, 1992
Netflix’s Hannibal
Bela Lugosi’s Dracula
Free version of Bram Stoker's Dracula
Bessie Griffin’s version of “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child”
A fan tribute to David Lynch’s films if you want to get a feel for his style
Teeth, 2007
Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Nightmare on Elm Street 2 (Freddy’s Revenge), (1985)
Sleep Away Camp, 1983
Rise of Skywalker, 2019
Color Out of Space, 2020
Black Christmas, (2019)
Jeremy Renner
Gillian Anderson
Jordan Peele
More info about this podcast and Sydney's sensitivity reading services:
Website: www.sensitivityreader.com
Email: sensitivityreader@gmail.com
Social Media: Facebook and Twitter
Music arrangement and podcast editing by Cara Tucker https://caratucker.com/
Logo design by Leonard Pollard, commissions open: leonard.pollard@colorado.edu Seriously, he’s amazing. You should see what he can do with embroidery floss.
Shout out to Nikita Burks-Hale, M.Ed. at Journeygurlmagic.com for all of her support in getting this podcast off the ground. Nikita is a journey coach and podcast editor. -
Episode 7 Part 2 of 2 Own Voices with Maha Kamal
Description:
Part 2 of 2: South Asian writer and attorney, Maha Kamal and I talk about self-advocacy and creating and participating in alternative publishing platforms. Then we cover the importance of a strong writing community for marginalized people. Maha uses her background in diversity, equity, and inclusion work to suggest ways that the publishing industry can improve representation and accessibility for #ownvoices writers.
Check out some of Maha Kamal’s writing and visual art here: www.mahakamal.com
Links:
Latinx criticism of American Dirt by Jeanine Cummings
Denver Women’s Press Club
The Word: A story telling sanctuary
Good news! the [margins.] conference is on! It will take place remotely, August 1-2, 2020 because their kickstarter was more than fully funded Note: Since my conversation with Maha, Tattered Cover released a statement in response to the Black Lives Matter protests. That letter and a community response from writers of color and community leaders can be found here. Book Bar is a Denver independent book store to support instead of Tattered Cover Bobby LeFebre is Colorado's 8th poet laureate and the first person of color to be named poet laureate in the century that the state honor has existed.
More info about this podcast & sensitivity reading services:
Website: www.sensitivityreader.com
Email: sensitivityreader@gmail.com
Social Media: Facebook and Twitter
Music arrangement and podcast editing by Cara Tucker https://caratucker.com/
Logo design by Leonard Pollard, commissions open: leonard.pollard@colorado.edu Seriously, he’s amazing. You should see what he can do with embroidery floss.
Shout out to Nikita Burks-Hale, M.Ed. at Journeygurlmagic.com for all of her support in getting this podcast off the ground. Nikita is a journey coach and podcast editor. -
Episode 7 Part 1 of 2 Own Voices with Maha Kamal
Description:
Part 1 of 2: South Asian writer and attorney, Maha Kamal talks about the short story collection she is working on. Including, what led her to write speculative fiction and the themes and characters in her stories. Other topics in this episode are: autofiction, historical figures in India and Pakistan, what it is like to be a south Asian writer submitting to contests. We wrap up Part 1 with the necessity of researching when writing about identities other than your own. Remember to check out Part 2 for the rest of my conversation with Maha.
Check out some of Maha Kamal’s writing and visual art here: www.mahakamal.com
Links:
NPR, “Back When I was Older”
More information about Muhammad Ali Jinna and his wife, Ratanbai Jinnah
White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India by William Dalrymple
Fun fact- "autofiction” was the term Truman Capote used to describe his novel, In Cold Blood
The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer
Black Mirror
The Friday 500 events at Lighthouse Writer’s Workshop (currently on hiatus due to Covid-19)
You can read “The Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang here
NYC Midnight short story competition
Latinx criticism of American Dirt by Jeanine Cummings
More info about the #Ownvoices movement
Maha Kamal’s writing and visual art here: www.mahakamal.com
More info about this podcast and Sydney's sensitivity reading services:
Website: www.sensitivityreader.com
Email: sensitivityreader@gmail.com
Social Media: Facebook and Twitter
Music arrangement and podcast editing by Cara Tucker https://caratucker.com/
Logo design by Leonard Pollard, commissions open: leonard.pollard@colorado.edu Seriously, he’s amazing. You should see what he can do with embroidery floss.
Shout out to Nikita Burks-Hale, M.Ed. at Journeygurlmagic.com for all of her support in getting this podcast off the ground. Nikita is a journey coach and podcast editor. -
Episode 6: Trans Women in Stories with Cara Tucker
In this episode, we discuss representation and tropes of trans women in books and television. In addition to talking about common tropes, Cara and I discuss what’s missing from trans women’s characters. We also talk about best practices for using pronouns and previous names in character flashbacks and backstory and where the line is between authenticity and tragedy porn.
Hire Cara for audio visual services including podcast editing and videography: https://caratucker.com/
Bonus: Listen all the way through for a sample of Cara’s chiptunes arrangement of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony.
Links:
Some links include spoilers.
Laverne Cox who plays Sophia on Netflix’s Orange is the New Black. Here is an article about the trauma / tragedy porn in the show (spoilers and triggering content about racial violence, police brutality, incarceration, and transphobia). I want to acknowledge that in my conversation with Cara, we did not include the
Sense8 created by the Wachowski sisters, Lana and Lilly, who also directed The Matrix
Wendy Carlos- a musician and composer who helped develop the Moog Synthesizer which was the first commercially available keyboard instrument.
Lynn Conway- the computer scientist whose task efficiency system is still used in most computers today.
Battleblock Theatre
Star Wars: Clone Wars- Darth Maul’s back story (spoilers)
An article from the New Yorker about the backlash to Star Wars Episode 8: The Last Jedi
More info about this podcast and my sensitivity reading services:
Website: www.sensitivityreader.com
Email: sensitivityreader@gmail.com
Social Media: Facebook and Twitter
Music arrangement and podcast editing by Cara Tucker https://caratucker.com/
Logo design by Leonard Pollard, commissions open: leonard.pollard@colorado.edu Seriously, he’s amazing. You should see what he can do with embroidery floss.
Shout out to Nikita Burks-Hale, M.Ed. at Journeygurlmagic.com for all of her support in getting this podcast off the ground. Nikita is a journey coach and podcast editor.
Customer Reviews
Very helpful!
This podcast helped me become a lot more educated and conscious about my responsibilities as a writer.
VITAL TOOL for ALL Writers, Editors, Publishers
I’ve been a writer for 20 years, an editor for 15 years and a professional publisher for 13 years. I'm always striving to learn more and better myself in my perspective, understanding and needs of others in my line of work. But for many people who’ve been at it as long as I have, and are not in school, it’s easy to think you’ve learned it all and to switch into autopilot mode when working with others in your field or creating your own works. You just want to get the job done. But that doesn’t work anymore in a world that needs us to be more aware than ever in how we tell stories and present media and to understand who our audience is.
Sydney’s podcast is incredibly eye-opening, diving deep into what it means to truly do your best work by creating more authentic and respectful portrayals of marginalized communities. They also beautifully explain the necessity of diverse stories and media in our collective cultures. Sensitivity reading is not about censoring people’s voices or blanketing works with political correctness. It’s the opposite. Truly every writer and publisher should be utilizing the resources of readers like Sydney to create more solid, impactful and successful works.
One of my favorite things I’ve learn from this podcast is that sensitivity readers, and those who work with them, are exercising activism (activism for introverts as Sydney explains!) which actually translates into extroverted activism, as this kind of work causes a ripple affect by positivity and healthfully impacting our collective communities. Can’t wait for more episodes!
Much-Needed, Nuanced Examination of the World of Sensitivity Readers
This is a great podcast if you've heard the phrase sensitivity reader but still aren't quite sure what it means. It's also for those who think the world doesn't NEED sensitivity readers, or that sensitivity readers may in some way be detrimental to the purpose of the creation.
This podcast offers a nuanced examination of what these things mean to those sensitivity readers working in the field.