The Electrical Venus YA Listen-along

Teens just don’t listen to radio drama? Right?

This is what I’m led to believe.

When submitting drama ideas to Radio 4 they ask you to think of your potential audience – whose average age is 57 years old.

And when doing talks in school I’m continually told teens will tune out if I just talk, there must always be a visual stimulus.

But books provide no visual stimulus – the images are created by the reader’s mind – and just take a look at the strong and loyal following of YA literature.

So why don’t teens listen to radio drama?

The lead character in my upcoming drama The Electrical Venus is a young girl in a coming-of-age tale about love and empowerment. It’s a story that could transfer easily to the page of a YA/Crossover title.

But would teen readers be willing to consume more of their stories by ear?

So – a challenge.

I’m looking for teen readers of YA literature who don’t listen to radio drama. I’ll send you an exclusive preview of my upcoming radio play The Electrical Venus and you in return will blog about your listening experience – not just what you made of the play but how you felt listening to the story rather than reading it.

The results will be really interesting.

After all, who are the future listeners of radio drama? What will they want? And actually, why aren’t they iPlayer-ing and listening right now?

Want to get involved – message me via Twitter @juliemayhew or via the message box at the bottom of my Contact page.