Turkey Book Talk membership update – Review archive added
October 12, 2018
Hello all!
Just a quick message here to announce an upgrade to Turkey Book Talk’s membership system.
As you may know, I stopped writing weekly reviews for Hurriyet Daily News back in July. The archive of my reviews was still standing for a few months but it now seems to have been wiped from history (ie. the HDN website) – apart from a few pieces that apparently weren’t filed properly.
Rather than let all that work just disappear, I’ve decided to add the archive of almost five years (231 articles) to the Turkey Book Talk membership system. The reviews cover a pretty diverse spread of subjects from Turkish and international fiction and poetry to history, journalism, politics, the Middle East and Europe. They are filed under 13 different categories so hopefully it’s fairly straightforward to browse through them. I’m sure that you will find it rich and rewarding!
Existing members have received the archive as PDFs in a RAR folder via email. New members will receive it along with all the other extras that a Turkey Book Talk membership brings for $3 per episode.
Have a look at Turkey Book Talk’s Patreon account for details on how to join as a member and support Turkey Book Talk.
As always, many thanks to all members and listeners.
Cheers!
William
Introducing Turkey Book Talk’s new membership system
February 7, 2018
[Read this introduction on Medium]
Hello Turkey Book Talk listeners. Let me start by thanking you for continuing to divert your attention to the podcast — most importantly to our guests and their work.
This week I published our 57th episode – many more than I expected when I started the podcast over two years ago based on my HDN book reviews. I think we have made big strides: From sound quality to editing, from questioning to general presentation. I hope you find that the listening experience has improved.
I want to keep making the podcast better, so I’m pleased to unveil a new membership system for Turkey Book Talk listeners.
The original podcast will still be free to listen for everyone. But I’ve decided to adapt our Patreon account for a special membership scheme.
What does that mean?
Basically from now on you will be able to both support the podcast and get access to more content and benefits as a paying member. Membership perks include:
Full transcripts – in both English and Turkish – of every future interview published on Turkey Book Talk in PDF form, when the episode is published.
Full transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (in English) – over 50 conversations so far. Many of these interviews were previously published at Hurriyet Daily News but from now on membership will be the only way to access them. The archive also includes a number of interviews not previously published on the podcast.
Access to an exclusive 30% discount on Turkey/Ottoman History books published by the great IB Tauris. They have a fantastic archive of titles and over 200 books from their Turkey/Ottoman History series are available at cut price through a special discount code exclusive to Turkey Book Talk members. We have featured a number of IB Tauris authors on the podcast, so becoming a member is a great way to get more acquainted with their work.
Signing up as a member will help further develop the podcast going forward, giving you a warm fuzzy feeling. If we get memberships up to a certain level I’ll be able to start publishing episodes weekly (up from the current one episode every two weeks), providing a bigger platform for even more authors, academics, researchers and journalists to get the word out about their work.
In order to access these benefits and to support Turkey Book Talk going forward, all you have to do is pledge a minimum of $3 per episode via Turkey Book Talk’s official Patreon account. Here’s a link to it.
That Patreon account was previously used as a general “donation” page. The new membership scheme simply adapts it. Already existing donors contributing at least $3 per episode have automatically become members. At present I publish new episodes biweekly, so the monthly membership price is no more than $6. If ultimately I become able to publish a new episode every week then that maximum will go up to $12 monthly. It’s basically less than the price of a cup of coffee per episode.
If you’re feeling particularly generous and want to pledge more, of course everything helps and you are more than welcome. However much you pledge, membership is entirely at your own discretion. Members are only charged when a new episode is published so there is no prior commitment or strings attached: All members are free to sign off whenever they want.
Please do also share the podcast – and news of the membership system – with friends, colleagues and basically anyone you think may be interested. Word of mouth is crucial for initiatives like Turkey Book Talk. The aim is to turn it into a self-sustainable, reliable and wide-reaching source. We also want to develop the website and listener network and potentially branch out further into Turkish-language content in the medium to long-term.
It’s no secret that the country is currently going through a difficult period of wrenching changes – often depressing, sometimes surprising. At such a confusing time when news sources are proliferating but ever more difficult to rely on, many Turkey professionals and interested amateurs say they are hungry for dependable, informed and independent insights from voices on the ground.
Turkey Book Talk will not be able to exist without listeners, contributors and paying members. I hope you can join us, helping to strengthen the platform for our guests at a time when their work is more important than ever.
Many thanks
William Armstrong
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