Survival Story

Richmond author chosen for Wondery’s podcast series.

Podcast listeners who tune into Wondery’s “Shipwreck on the Sahara” may recognize the story: It’s based on Richmond author Dean King’s 2005 book, Skeletons on the Zahara. The podcast producers picked King’s book for their “Against The Odds” series of survival stories.

“They had trouble tracking me down,” says King. “So by the time they got hold of me, they had already started work on the series and I was thrown right into the fire. I worked with the writer, Kamran Pasha, and edited scripts along with the rest of the team,” King says. “It was great to learn more about podcast making as we raced to get it ready for recording.”

King discovered the story of the dramatic 1815 shipwreck when he came across a copy of Captain James Reilly’s 1817 memoir, Sufferings in Africa. Taken captive by desert nomads in Africa’s Western Sahara, now disputed territory claimed by Morocco, Reilly and his crew of 12 American sailors were sold into slavery and endured brutal conditions trekking through the desert. A sensation when it was published, Reilly’s memoir was a favorite of Abraham Lincoln’s. To research Reilly’s ordeal, King traveled to Africa and retraced the crew’s journey by camel.

“It was great to dive back into the book,” King says, “It reminded me of how much this story is a part of me and how deeply I felt about it. I really hope it has new adherents because of the podcast and that they’ll turn to the book to learn more.”

For the final episode, King recorded a behind-the-scenes interview from his home office in Richmond. Other stories in the series include Thai Cave Rescue, about the 2018 boys’ soccer team, John McCain: Prisoner of War, and K2, The Savage Mountain, which retraces a 2008 climbing disaster. Wondery.com/Shows/Against-The-Odds


This article originally appeared in the October 2021 issue.

Constance Costas
Constance Costas is an author coach and editorial consultant based in Richmond. The former editor of Virginia Living and Skirt magazines, she has been published in Redbook, Parents, Working Woman, Health, Southern Home, Fitness, Ladies’ Home Journal, Harpers’ Bazaar, and more.
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