RNIB Radio Show Nominated for Prestigious Award

A Glasgow-based radio station tailored for, and hosted by, blind and partially sighted people, has been recognised for the third year in a row at the prestigious Audio and Radio Industry Awards (ARIAs).  

Connect Radio’s Read On: The Audiobook Show was nominated in the Best Speech Entertainment category alongside the likes of Zoe Ball, Jo Whiley and Louis Theroux at the ARIAs. 

The Royal National Institute of Blind People’s (RNIB) station was also nominated for awards in 2024 and 2025, winning Community Station of the Year two years ago.  

Established by RNIB to provide news, information and entertainment to blind and partially sighted people across the UK, Connect Radio has 12 presenters, all of whom have sight loss, and broadcasts around the clock.  

Read On is a show all about audio books and accessible reading, recorded in association with RNIB Talking Books and broadcast each week featuring author and narrator interviews and highlighting what’s on offer from the RNIB Library. 

The RNIB Library is completely free and in addition to audio titles in the Talking Books service it also includes both fiction and non-fiction in a range of accessible formats, including braille.  

The show is presented by Robert Kirkwood (pictured above) who has recently interviewed acclaimed authors like Percival Everett, Kiran Desai and Margaret McDonald. The show also spotlights authors on the shortlist for the Booker and the Carnegie Medal for Writing as well as offering dispatches from the UK book festival circuit.   

“It was such an exciting honour for Read On to be nominated for an ARIA and it was great to be in the room with so many amazing names from the world of audio and radio,” said Yvonne Milne, Head of RNIB Connect Radio.     

“Robert Kirkwood single handedly delivers Read On each week to bolster the brilliant work that RNIB does to promote accessible reading to blind and partially sighted people.

“Read On treats audiobooks as a serious cultural form. Through reviews, interviews and discussion, the show examines how stories are shaped by voice performance and production, transforming the reading experience. It challenges traditional assumptions about literacy by positioning listening not as an alternative, but as a rich and legitimate way to engage with books.”  

You can listen to Read On via RNIB Connect Radio at 1pm on Fridays or catch up on Saturdays at 2pm and Mondays at 6pm. There are more than 450 episodes of the show archived and available online. 

RNIB Connect Radio can be heard on 101 FM in the Glasgow area, and elsewhere on Freeview 730 and online at  https://www.rnib.org.uk/connect-radio/

Pictured: Robert Kirkwood opens his arms wide in a gesture of surprise as he poses in front of a blue promo background at the awards night. He has white hair, glasses and a full beard and is wearing a black jacket over a black waistcoat with a grey shirt underneath.