Sleep Stories
A second season is coming in October 2026… Watch this space!
Commission for Durham Book Festival 2021
We worked with three leading British writers on this three-part podcast series inspired by the theme of sleep.
As part of her Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship, Dr Diletta De Cristofaro collaborated with Durham Book Festival to commission exclusive short stories from poet and author Salena Godden, whose debut novel, Mrs Death Misses Death was shortlisted for the 2021 Gordon Burn Prize, acclaimed novelist Jenn Ashworth, whose latest novel is Ghosted, and award-winning poet Andrew McMillan, whose latest collection is pandemonium.
Listen to the three-part podcast series below. Each podcast is introduced by Dr Diletta De Cristofaro, Professor Jason Ellis and Dr Erik Hoel, who explore the science and culture of sleep.
Read the transcript of “Daffodilly Dreams” here; the transcript of “The Night Watch” here; the transcript of “Encroach” here.
To launch the first season of Sleep Stories, a roundtable discussion took place on 9th October 2021. The roundtable delved into the science and culture of sleep. Dr Diletta De Cristofaro was joined by Salena Godden, Prof Jason Ellis, and Dr Erik Hoel. Below you can watch a video collecting highlights of the conversation.
“Sleep Stories” season 1 received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement 892459. The Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information the “Sleep Stories” commission contains.
The second season of Sleep Stories is launching at Durham Book Festival 2026
For this second season, we have commissioned writers Romalyn Ante, Naomi Booth and Sarah Hall to write exclusive new short stories focusing on the complex relationship women have with sleep at different stages of their lives. Each episode/story will be introduced by a leading sleep scholar.
Romalyn Ante is an award-winning Filipino-born British poet, novelist, and former NHS mental health nurse. Her debut poetry collection, Antiemetic for Homesickness, was shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize in 2020, and her second collection, AGIMAT, was published in 2024. Her debut novel, The Left-Behind Child, was published in 2026.
Naomi Booth is the author of the novels Raw Content and Exit Management, and the short story collection Animals at Night. Naomi teaches Creative Writing at Durham University.
Sarah Hall has been twice nominated for the Booker Prize and is the first and only writer to win the BBC National Short Story Award twice. She has written 10 highly acclaimed novels including, most recently, Helm. She lives in Cumbria.