Home - Alternative Stories

Providing better production, editing and content.

Hi I’m Chris Gregory, welcome to my website and thank you for visiting. My company, Alternative Stories offer a range of audio services from podcast start up to recording, mixing and helping you to share high quality audio content for podcasts, radio and websites. Below you’ll find details of all of our offerings but first, please take a moment to listen to my audio introduction where you’ll hear more about me and some samples of my work.

Chris Gregory founded and runs Alternative Stories, an independent spoken-word production company making podcasts and radio programmes for a variety of clients across all sectors. An independent supplier to BBC Radio, Chris specialises in making podcasts, radio programmes and promotional content for clients who value broadcast-quality audio and well-written content.

Alternative Stories audio dramas have been heard on BBC local and national radio, represented the UK at the International Radio Drama Festival and been nominated for numerous Audio Verse awards. As a podcaster, Chris has interviewed some of the leading writers and poets in the UK and worked with numerous publishers, festivals and journals. Our actors have appeared in film and TV and on stages in the West End and throughout the UK.

Chris enjoys nothing more than offering low-cost podcast start-up solutions to clients and seeing the impact these productions have in developing businesses, increasing client loyalty, enhancing brand presence and promoting creativity. Please contact us via the link below for a free informal chat about what we can do for you.

Teaching, workshops and training

I’m an experienced teacher and workshop leader, instructing writers and publishers in many aspects of audio including writing, production, podcasting and voice acting. Sessions often include professional actors and writers in order to provide a richer and more varied teaching environment. All teaching can be provided online or in-person.

Teaching clients include The University of Derby, York St John University, Arts University Bournemouth, London Lit Lab and Pen to Print. I also run many private sessions which can be booked via my Eventbrite page here.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/alternative-stories-32973233175

Producing and editing your podcast, radio show or audio content

As an existing producer or someone with ambition to commission audio content you’ll know that the two key factors that make your work stand out are beautifully recorded, high quality audio and well-written, professionally performed content.

With studio and remote recording facilities we can offer production services to showcase your own voice or supply you with professional presenters and readers to bring your work to life. We also offer content writing and editing services to ensure that your scripts are impactful and will get your vision across before we start to record.

If you want to produce a podcast or radio programme without the hassle of producing each episode yourself we can help you with a full production, recording and editing service. This can include everything from recruiting a regular presenter or reporters, writing content, recording original music and jingles, interviewing, setting up hosting options to ensure your work is heard as widely as possible and advising on marketing and promotion for your show.

If you aim is to become self-sufficient as a podcaster and audio content creator we can provide training, fact sheets, equipment and support on all aspects of the process from advice on microphones and recording software to coaching from one our acting team on performance and delivery.

We can, of course, offer hybrid solutions allowing you to mix and match services from our range.

We can help to setup and launch your podcast

If you want to start a podcast but don’t know how to go about doing so, we can help. We offer a low-cost startup service providing the kit you’ll need, set up, configuration and training on how to use it all.

Our start-up solutions are geared towards getting you recording at the lowest possible cost so you can try out podcasting with the minimum of financial risk. To this end we’ll recommend free software, low-cost hosting services and provide you with a short training package.

We’ll also be on the end of the phone to answer any questions you may have as you start to record. Please contact us for a free chat about your requirements and how we can help you.

Audio services for writers publishers, dramatists and actors

Alternative Stories’ background is in the world of literature and the recorded arts and we offer a range of services to professionals working in these areas.

With a passion for books and literature we are experienced in helping publishers and writers promote their work and make it stand out in a crowded publishing market. We know that an in-house podcast can increase reader loyalty and forge closer connections between readers and authors so we can advise you on how to go about setting up and producing your new programme.

The audio content we make for you can be used as a powerful promotional tool. We can offer everything from major interviews to be shared on our podcasts to snippets of audio, combined with visual content shared on social media to expose your work to new audiences. Chris Gregory is an experienced interviewer who has recorded conversations with many writers and poets including Salena Godden, Mona Arshi, Forward Prize-winning poet Kim Moore, Arthur C Clarke Award winning sci fi author Chris Beckett and actor / comedian and author Isy Suttie.

If you are an author, script writer or company keen to have a piece of drama or fiction performed by our professional actors we offer a full recording and production service which will place you at the heart of the creative process.

You’ll be involved in casting, rehearsal, direction and selecting music and soundscapes for the drama and at the end of the process you’ll have a fully produced radio play which we can distribute to our global audience via our Alternative Stories and Fake Realities podcast or on your website, YouTube channel or podcast.

If you think we can help, please contact us for a free informal chat and to discuss your project with us

Professional voice services

If you’re looking for a great sounding voice to present your podcast, narrate your explainer video, provide a voiceover for your commercial or appear in your drama we can help. Alternative Stories work with many actors and voice artists and understand the importance of using professional voices to tell your stories and deliver your messages.

All of our actors are equipped with high-quality home studio setups allowing them to record quickly and cheaply or can travel to record in commercial studios or on client sites. With a range of ages and ethnicities our voice professionals can undertake a huge range of projects to meet most client needs.

Please listen to our selection of voice samples below and contact us to enquire about the voice you’re interested in. Rates start from £40 per hour or £20 per 100 words.

Podcast Production and Editing : Pen to Print : London Borough of Barking and Dagenham

Madeleine F White, Editor the Write On! Suite of publications

“As Editor of the Write On! suite of publications, it was my job to ensure our podcast maintained the quality, but also the identity of the print and digital publications when we launched Write On! Audio in 2021. This meant our producer need to have a keen ear and the technical skills, but also – as Write On! is all about co-creation and authentic voices – the ability to support emerging writers who might not have worked on an audio production before.
Chris’ dedication to quality and equality, his ability to recognise great story, his commitment to the Write On! ethos and his willingness to go above and beyond to create the best possible version of our ideas, has empowered and encouraged so many of our contributors to share their experience, strength and hope!

I am also a consultant, helping organisation achieve the media presence through co-creation and the associated platforms. As such, I have recommended Chris to a number of clients who are keen to increase their voice across other platforms and will continue to do so”.

Madeleine F White, Editor the Write On! Suite of publications

Audio drama production, editing and direction : Emily Inkpen, writer of “The Dex legacy”, a science fiction drama podcast

Emily Inkpen, novelist and audio drama writer

“Chris is the Producer and co-Director of my science fiction audio drama, The Dex Legacy. So far it has achieved well over 60,000 downloads and grown to be a global top 5% podcast. Due to his anthology series, Alternative Stories and Fake Realities, Chris knows a great number of diverse and talented actors. He sourced candidates for every role in The Dex Legacy through this existing team. His passion for the story shines through as he pieces together asynchronous recordings into conversations that flow seamlessly. For our second season, which we hope to be releasing in 2023, we will be recording in a studio in London with Chris and myself co-directing and Chris undertaking post-production, editing and sound design.

Chris’s sound design brings a whole new dimension to every scene, elevating the production and creating a truly immersive listening experience for our many fans. I may be the writer of The Dex Legacy, but it’s Chris’s input that has brought it to life.”

Emily Inkpen, novelist and audio drama writer

Podcast setup and production

Seren, Wales' leading independent literary publisher

“Seren is Wales’ leading independent literary publisher, specialising in English-language writing from Wales. With a list spanning poetry, fiction and non-fiction, many of our books are shortlisted for – and win – major literary prizes across the UK and America.

We approached Alternative Stories with the idea of setting up an in-house podcast to highlight our poetry list after working with them on a number of individual episodes for the Alternative Stories and Fake Realities podcast. Chris undertook all aspects of setup and production for The Seren Poetry Podcast, including procuring the kit to set up a mini studio at our office in Bridgend. He connected new microphones, which he supplied, to the Garage Band software we already had on our Mac computers and provided training and a set of notes on how to use the kit.

Chris also did all the recording and interviewing for season one of The Seren Poetry Podcast, much of it on location in Scotland and the north of England. He then edited the recordings to turn them into fully produced podcast episodes. He was supportive throughout the launch of the podcast and continues to keep in touch. We now have all the kit, expertise and software we need to make more podcasts on our own and Chris’s support throughout the process has been invaluable.”

Sarah Johnson: Deputy Publisher: Seren