How many CEOs of major publishing companies can claim to have been in the Merchant Navy, or to have driven Allen Ginsberg in a taxi from New York to San Francisco? Probably not many, but Peter Mayer, former CEO of Penguin Books, can. In a series of videos recorded especially for Web of Stories, Peter Mayer recalls how he progressed from working as a reader for small publishing companies to…

Today we launch our newest speaker on Web of Stories! Listen to science fiction writer, Brian Aldiss, tell his life story in a series of fascinating videos. Born in 1925, Brian Aldiss is an English writer and anthologies editor, best known for his science fiction novels and short stories. He was educated at Framlingham College, Suffolk, and West Buckland School, Devon, and served in the Royal Signals between 1943-1947. After…

American-born writer Fredric Raphael has spent most of his 83 years garnering admiration and awards for his work. A published author by the age of 23, he has written many novels as well as screenplays to films including Far From the Madding Crowd, Darling for which he won an Academy Award, and Two For the Road which starred Audrey Hepburn and Alan Bates. Throughout his career, Raphael has worked with…