Zipless explores the sounds and stories behind romance novels

Allie Martina, a professional romance novel narrator, and Jill Ruby, an award-winning podcast producer, are proud to announce Zipless, a unique new podcast that explores the luscious, literary (and often illicit) sounds and stories behind romance novels and audiobooks. Zipless is available on all major podcast platforms, including Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible and iHeart.

About the Podcast

Women have been reading and writing about romance for centuries. But in the past few decades, what was once considered a scandalous and secretive pastime has now burst proudly onto the open market. In fact, romance novels account for nearly a quarter of all adult print fiction sold in the United States. This year alone, six of the top 10 best-selling fiction authors in the U.S. are romance writers. Just over 10 percent of all audiobooks sold were romance, and romance is one of the fastest selling audiobook genres.

So, what is it about forbidden love, age gaps, love triangles, friends to lovers, and steamy sex scenes that women find so timelessly appealing? Do romance novels offer windows into the lives women want, or mirror the lives they already have? With more and more women listening to romance audiobooks, how does narration, depth of a male voice, or cadence in artistic performance affect a romantic scene? And when it comes to the language of love, can the romance novel finally take words long considered shameful and flip them into words of empowerment? Zipless dives into these questions, and so much more.

In interviews with bestselling romance authors including Evie Dunmore, Sara Cate, Sierra Simone, Stephanie Archer, and Xio Axelrod, host Allie Martina explores how romance novels change and reflect women’s lives on and off the page. And in one-of-a-kind scenarios throughout the series, professional actor and romance novel narrator Gideon Frost joins Allie in exploring how performance, delivery, and the language of romance can impact the hearts and minds of an audience.

New episodes are released every other week.

About the Production Team

Allie Martina (Host, Producer, Co-Creator) is a classically trained actor with thirty-five years of professional experience in voice acting and a BAAS in Theater Arts from University of North Texas. As a narrator for audiobooks, she has narrated over 50 titles. Her commercial and corporate voice acting client list includes Nike, Fisher-Price, Expedia, Cracker Barrel, McDonalds, Mattel, Keebler, and Aquafor, among many others. Allie also voices the iconic characters of Catwoman and Black Canary in the long-running massive multiplayer online action game, DC Universe Online.

Jill Ruby (Series Producer, Editor, Co-Creator) has developed and produced radio, podcasts, and television series for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, George Washington University, American Academy of Pediatrics, PBS, A&E, Nickelodeon, Discovery Channel, History Channel, Court TV, and HGTV. She holds a MA in Broadcast Journalism from Syracuse University, and is a member of New York Women in Film & Television, and the IADAS. She is a judge for the Webby Awards, the Signal Awards, and has been a judge for the Daytime Emmys. She recently won several awards for podcasting, including four Webby-Anthem Awards, five Signal Awards, and was a 2024 Webby Honoree for Best Live Podcast.