Paperback Perfumes

About Paperback Perfumes

Welcome to Paperback Perfumes! The host Clare Presser is a Librarian with a fascination for fragrances and their capacity to evokes memories and experiences through the activation of the olfactory system. In this podcast she chats with guests about their connections with scents and stories through the pairing of perfumes and literary texts. Think of it as reader’s advisory for fragrance lovers, or fragrance recommendation for bibilophiles - whichever experience is your first priority. It’s fun exercise that allows a lovely discussion around people’s personal interpretation of experience, scent, and story Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Clare Presser

Category

arts · arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

5 Apr 2024

Latest episode

1 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

90 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   1 Sept 2026

   The Guest Book

   "Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains." -Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses On September 12–13, I'll be at the Geelong Fragrance Fair and to mark it, this special episode gathers voices from everyone I've interviewed on Paperback Perfumes this past year. Sixteen perfumers, founders and scholars, each paired with a book, woven into one conversation about scent, story and identity. Here they are, in the order they first appeared on the show. Come find me at the Fair and say hello! Ep 3, Return of the Rivers — Laura Bass (/episodes/return-of-the-rivers)(Lore Perfumery) pairs fragrance with Rivers of London and The Return of the King. Ep 21, Artistic Aliens — Corey Newcombe (/episodes/artistic-aliens)(Criminal Elements) on a decade of artisanal scent, nose training and dream-born fragrances. Ep 26, Inheritance — John Domjan (/episodes/inheritance)(Örök Fragrances) on telling queer community stories through scent. Ep 44, Futurism — Dr Caroline McMillan (/episodes/futurism)on smell tech, sci-fi and the future of olfactory art. Ep 46, Resilience — Aysha Hansen (/episodes/resilience)on sensory memory, teaching perfumery and building a fragrance line. Ep 47, Story Keepers — Juliette Fournier & Richard Adamson (/episodes/story-keepers)(Hart + Hedi) on collaboration, memory and native Australian botanicals. Ep 49, The Land of Flowers — Justin James (/episodes/the-land-of-flowers)(House of James) on niche perfumery as artistic rebellion. Ep 51, Fairy Tales — Michael Nordstrand (/episodes/fairy-tales)(Mythologist Studio) on myth, the hero's journey and Scandinavian fairy tales. Ep 54, Kings and Heroes — Ashek Zubayer (/episodes/kings-and-heroes)(Byermia) on the Epic of Gilgamesh and his mythological Folklore series. Ep 55, Aesthetics — Dr Liam Sardea (https://www.paperbackperfumes.com/episodes/aesthetics) on the philosophy of aesthetics, memory and meaning in scent. Ep 60, More Than a Dandy — Katrina Cochrane (/episodes/more-than-a-dandy) (Archer Farrar) on natural perfumery and The Scarlet Pimpernel. Ep 65, Sacred Scent — Lee Couch (/episodes/sacred-scent) (LA COUCH), a Gamilaroi woman, on Aboriginal bush medicine, songlines and healing. Ep 71, A Box of Spices — Alina Tadevosyan (/episodes/a-box-of-spices)(ARAKYÁL) on Armenian heritage, memory and cultural resilience. Ep 78, A Beautiful Grimoire — Troy Vu (/episodes/a-beautiful-grimoire) (Grimoire Perfumes) on Dorian Gray, myth and the macabre. Ep 82, Finding Language — Saskia Dodds-Painter (/episodes/finding-language)(KOLIDO, Nose Magazine) on the language we use for smell. Ep 84, Makeup and Murder — David Clarke (/episodes/makeup-and-murder) (Rivendare) on Agatha Christie and building a perfume house from scratch. Sixteen episodes, one thread: scent as story. Listen to the full compilation now, then come find me in person at the Geelong Fragrance Fair, September 12–13 — I'd love to swap book and fragrance recommendations with you. Tickets & info: geelongfragrancefair.com.au (http://geelongfragrancefair.com.au) Theme music for the show was created by Raul Sanchez I Jorge. Check out his solo work on Wild Animal Records Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   18 Aug 2026

   Haunting Love

   "Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender, for luck. Fall in love whenever you can." - Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic Aysha Hansen is an independent Australian perfumer with an uncompromising focus on exceptional quality, detail and sensorial elegance. Born in Geelong and raised in the coastal town of Torquay, Aysha's approach to perfumery is largely inspired by memories, daydreams and adventures. As an artisan perfumer, she draws on her passion for nature, history and travel to create fragrances that transport the wearer through evocative storytelling. Aysha conducts custom perfume workshops from her studio in Geelong, and has launched her eponymous luxury perfume collection in July of 2025. This episode welcomes back perfumer Aysha to reflect on a breakthrough year, including a finalist nomination at the Institute of Art and Olfaction's Golden Pears, an unforgettable trip to Athens, and the craft of turning memory into scent. The conversation explores community in perfumery, the restorative power of Aysha's workshops, and a book pairing with Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic that helps frame Aysha's first three fragrances: Golden Thread, Ghost Lover and Ambrosia. Fragrances mentioned: Golden Thread Ghost Lover Ambrosia Book discussed: Practical Magic - Alice Hoffman (https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/22896.Practical_Magic) Find Aysha at: Instagram: @ayshahansenfinefragrance (https://www.instagram.com/ayshahansenfinefragrances/) Website: www.ayshahansen.com (https://www.ayshahansen.com/) Theme music for the show was created by Raul Sanchez I Jorge. Check out his solo work on Wild Animal Records Australian listeners — the Geelong Fragrance Fair is on from 11–13 September 2026, and tickets are on sale now. It's a great opportunity for the Australian fragrance community to get together — come and see me pair books with Lore Perfumery live on the Saturday! Tickets & info: geelongfragrancefair.com.au (http://geelongfragrancefair.com.au/) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   4 Aug 2026

   Secular

   “In the secular night you wander around alone in your house. It’s Two-Thirty” - Margaret Atwood, In the Secular Night Regina Mamou is a research-based installation artist whose work sits at the crossroads of history, ideology and scent. Raised in a multiethnic household, her mother Polish-American, her father a Christian Chaldean priest who fled Iraq for fear of persecution. Regina's practice blends fact and fiction to interrogate belief systems, particularly communism and totalitarianism. Since 2020, she has been the first artist-in-residence at The Wende Museum of the Cold War in Los Angeles, where she investigates Iraqi-Soviet bilateral relations through an immersive, experiential installation. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, and completed a Fulbright project on mapping and memory in Amman, Jordan. In this episode, Regina shares her unique work at the crossroads of olfactive art, history and political memory, and how scent can evoke powerful narratives and personal histories. We talk about her use of tincturing, and materials like gypsum, ash and bitumen, to conjure historical and cultural memory, and the delicate process of capturing vapour in immersive, scent-based installations. We dig into the role of surprise, secrecy and the unexpected in her work, echoes of surveillance and propaganda, and how her Iraqi heritage threads through pieces exploring Middle Eastern history and identity. Regina's piece "Hang Our Gods" was a finalist at the Institute for Art and Olfaction's Golden Pear Awards, and we talk about the audience reactions it provokes. We also pair the conversation with Margaret Atwood's poem "In the Secular Night," exploring its themes of solitude, loss and spirituality alongside Regina's own meditations on memory and belief. Works mentioned: Hang Our Gods (https://www.reginamamou.com/projects/hang-our-gods-craft-contemporary)(Institute for Art and Olfaction Golden Pear Awards finalist), Iraqi-Soviet relations installation — The Wende Museum residency Poem discussed: In the Secular Night - Margaret Atwood (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47786/in-the-secular-night) Find Regina at: reginamamou.com (https://www.reginamamou.com/about) researchbermudatriangle.xyz (http://researchbermudatriangle.xyz) Theme music for the show was created by Raul Sanchez I Jorge. Check out his solo work on Wild Animal Records Australian listeners — the Geelong Fragrance Fair is on from 11–13 September 2026, and tickets are on sale now. It's a great opportunity for the Australian fragrance community to get together — come and see me pair books with Lore Perfumery live on the Saturday! Tickets & info: geelongfragrancefair.com.au (http://geelongfragrancefair.com.au) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Who has been a guest on Paperback Perfumes

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Ashek Zubayer
• Paperback Perfumes
• LC James
• Michael Nordstrand
• Thomas Dunckley

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

10 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 51 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

82

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

Contact Paperback Perfumes

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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