New Spoken Words

In 2021 we began work on an ambitious audio series aiming to place better accessibility practices at the heart of what we do as a small press. I want Makina to be more inclusive, to highlight the voices of those we publish and for the end point of our books to exceed bound ink and paper. The project, a collaboration with access and inclusivity consultant Caroline Dawson, brings together three debut poets (originally from India, Ireland and Birmingham) reading their books in full, with audio descriptions illustrating the look and feel of each front cover, back cover, flaps and spine. This work is generously supported by a project grant from Arts Council England.

Emily Cooper reads 'A fountain pen slices my leg through a bin bag as I move into my new house'

Naomi Morris recording the audiobook of 'Hyperlove'

Having Caroline Dawson as collaborator and mentor has been invaluable to us. She has helped us to embrace a new medium and consider new ways to widen our readership by seeing past bound ink and paper as the sole product for our programme.

Robin Christian
Editor Makina Books

Glass Emily Cooper

Glass: Buy the audiobook!

Emily Cooper reads 'Glass'

'Glass' Cover Audio Description by Caroline Dawson

About the author

Emily Cooper is a poet and writer whose work has been published in the Stinging Fly, Banshee, Hotel, Poetry Ireland Review and Bath Magg, among others. She has been granted residencies and funding by the Arts Councils of Ireland and Northern Ireland, the Irish Writers Centre, Centre Culturel Irlandais Paris, Greywood Arts and Donegal County Council. In 2019, Emily was a recipient of the Next Generation Award and took part in Poetry Ireland Introductions. She lives in Ramelton, Donegal.

HYPERLOVE Naomi Morris

HYPERLOVE: Buy the audiobook!
Front cover of the book, HYPERLOVE by Naomi Morris, published by Makina Books. The cover is red and pink with a motif of some lips. A quote by Maria Sledmere reads: 'Simmering at the lovelorn altar with Simone Weil, Angel Olsen and Instagram, Hyperlove explores the ‘Absolute Dirty Secret’ of desire’s imperative.'

Naomi Morris reads 'Moral Redemption 2021'

'HYPERLOVE' Cover Audio Description by Caroline Dawson

About the author

Naomi Morris is a writer of mostly non-fiction and poetry originally from Birmingham. Her work has been published in The New Statesman, Polyester, Ache and Rookie. Naomi’s first pamphlet of poems, Earth Sign, won the 2018 Hollingworth Prize and was published by Partus and Sine Wave Peak in 2019.

The Yak Dilemma Supriya Kaur Dhaliwal

The Yak Dilemma: Buy the audiobook!

Supriya Kaur Dhaliwal reads 'The women who dine alone, dine alone'

'The Yak Dilemma' Cover Audio Description by Caroline Dawson

About the author

Supriya Kaur Dhaliwal was born in the Himalayan town of Palampur, India. She studied at St. Bede’s College, Shimla; Trinity College, Dublin; and Queen’s University, Belfast. Her poems have been translated into Arabic, German and Italian, and have recently appeared in Ambit, Banshee, Gutter, Poetry Ireland Review, Poetry Jukebox, Poetry London, The Bombay Literary Magazine, The Irish Times, The Lonely Crowd, The Pickled Body, The Tangerine and elsewhere. In 2018, she was one of the twelve poets selected for Poetry Ireland’s ‘Introductions’ series. She is the 2021 Charles Wallace India Trust Fellow at the University of Kent. The Yak Dilemma is her first full-length collection.

Lindsay Corstorphine recording the audiobook of 'Glass'