David Walliams in new radio initiative

HarperCollins Children's Books is joining forces with talkRADIO in a new audio book initiative, The Story Hour, aimed at encouraging family listening time.

The Story Hour will launch on talkRADIO this weekend on Father's Day, 18th June, with 'A Summer of Walliams'. The programme will run from 3pm to 4pm every Sunday and aims to bring 'the best children's audio books to families around the country'. The first programme will be headed by David Walliams with three hilarious readings from his bestselling story collection, The World's Worst Children, followed a week later by three readings from The World's Worst Children Volume 2, which has recently been published. The series will continue over the summer with the audio versions of Walliams's blockbuster novels, Mr Stink and Demon Dentist. Walliams himself will record introductions for each episode. From September onwards, the programme will feature stories from other HarperCollins Children's Books authors. Ann-Janine Murtagh, executive publisher at HarperCollins Children's Books, said, "The Story Hour offers us a fantastic opportunity to reach a new audience of parents and children listening to stories together. It's one of the most enjoyable ways to spend time as a family and a wonderful invitation to the joys of reading too! "We hope that The Story Hour will become a regular weekend favourite and what better present for dads on Father's Day than to join in with their children's laughter as they listen to David's hilarious stories."