Interviews Weina Dai Randel burst onto the literary scene a number of years ago with her duology about Empress Wu Zetian, China’s first woman leader. After winning the prestigious Rita Award in 2017 and seeing her novels translated into seven languages, she is back now with a new historical novel set in 1940s Shanghai. Keeping with her love of strong women characters, her new book, The Last Rose of Shanghai, centers on a nightclub owner named Aiyi Shao who falls for a Jewish refugee who had recently escaped Nazi Germany. Through their love of jazz, they develop a forbidden bond set during one of Shanghai’s most volatile and exciting eras. Randel is the first Chinese American author to write about Shanghai Jewish refugees, although there have been dozens of memoirs, narratives, and novels about this phenomenon from Jewish authors. We recently spoke over Zoom about what made Shanghai so special and why it matters now, along with the reasons Jews escaped to Shanghai during World War II and how Chinese and Jewish traditions are so similar. Susan Blumberg-Kason: It seems that the popularity of 1930s and ’40s Shanghai rose both in China and the US about twenty-five years ago. Can you talk about the appeal of this time and why it’s so special, both to people in the US and China? Weina Dai Randel: I think many aspects of Old Shanghai appeal to us today. From the late 1920s to the early 1940s, the period of Old Shanghai was a symbol of... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2022-01-20 14:33:49 UTC ]
New mysteries and thrillers out this week, as well as multi-cast audiobook mysteries to check out. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-08-02 15:15:00 UTC ]
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What is, hands down, the best sci-fi and fantasy audiobook you've ever listened to? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-07-24 15:00:00 UTC ]
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Podium, a renowned audiobook publisher best known for sci-fi and fantasy, has significantly broadened its digital library and the opportunities available to writers. Now a full-service publisher that distributes books in all formats, Podium Entertainment is preparing to launch its inaugural... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-07-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Love audiobooks? There are plenty of worthy Audible competitors out there. You just need to know where to look. While Amazon-owned Audible dominates the audiobook market, it’s far from the only player in town. Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2024-07-14 04:30:00 UTC ]
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The acquisition of Dreamscape Media by RBMedia brings together two companies being called 'highly complementary' in the audiobook space. The post Audiobooks: RBMedia’s Acquisition of Dreamscape Media appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-07-11 16:39:41 UTC ]
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Over 500 industry professionals sign open letter to bookseller after employee’s post about ‘tearing up books’ by Christina DalcherMore than 500 authors and book industry professionals have signed an open letter calling on Waterstones to reverse a decision to dismiss an employee who said she... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-07-11 10:31:48 UTC ]
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The pending acquisition of Dreamscape will add more than 7,000 titles to RBmedia's catalog, giving the audiobook publishing giant more depth in such genres as mystery/thriller and romance. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-07-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Lin-Manuel Miranda is wrapping up the recording of a concept album for a new musical co-written by playwright Eisa Davis, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The album will be based on the 1979 movie "The Warriors," whose sympathetic depictions of gang members and gritty... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2024-07-09 10:03:03 UTC ]
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Amazon Prime Day is later this month, and the retailer has been promoting the big sale with additional discounts with early Prime Day deals. Right now, members of Amazon Prime can snag three months of an Audible Premium Plus subscription for free. This deal runs through July 31. After the... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-07-02 20:42:45 UTC ]
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Music artists say the bundle is ‘cheating’ the royalties system while authors have concerns about how streaming will affect how they’re paid and rights over their workAudio streaming giant Spotify, one of the world’s largest audio platforms, entered the audiobook market last October, offering... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-07-02 03:23:25 UTC ]
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Based in Frankfurt, Bookwire is to provide ebook and audiobook distribution to the US distributor IPG's clients. The post Germany’s Bookwire in Distribution Partnership with IPG appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-07-01 18:46:13 UTC ]
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Industry group says rise of vocal technology could upend many creative fields, including audiobooks – the canary in the coalmine for voice actorsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastVoice actors say they’re... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-06-29 20:00:00 UTC ]
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What are your favorite science fiction novels that have yet to see a film adaptation? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-06-27 10:30:00 UTC ]
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Washington D.C.'s Folger Shakespeare Library reopens with an impressive new exhibit, audiobook narrators get their due, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-06-24 15:00:00 UTC ]
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Spotify has a new plan for US subscribers that keeps you on the old $11 monthly pricing — as long as you don’t mind ditching audiobooks. The new Basic tier includes the music and podcast content you get from Premium but without 15 hours of audiobook access, a recently added feature we suspect... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-06-21 18:36:40 UTC ]
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Golden Voice narrator Kate Reading joins host Jo Reed to discuss her career in audiobook narration. Her experience with audiobooks began with her first job at the Library of Congress’s Talking Books program, which gave her an education in audiobook narration. In their conversation, Jo and Kate... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-06-21 08:01:04 UTC ]
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Spotify has once again drawn the ire of the music industry. The National Music Publishers' Association has called on the Federal Trade Commission to examine the streaming service's addition of audiobook content into all of its paid subscription plans. According to the group's FTC complaint,... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-06-12 23:52:55 UTC ]
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A survey from BookNet Canada found that 58% of audiobook listeners in the country obtained their books from free sources, such as the library or YouTube, while 62% of e-book readers and 51% of print book readers found free sources for their reading material. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-06-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In the past few years, books written by and about queer characters have become more visible to the general reading public. Gradually, straight, cisgender readers are discovering the pleasure of reading books by authors whose identities are different from their own. This is true in the mystery... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-06-05 11:00:00 UTC ]
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The newly released 2024 APA consumer survey shows a rise in US audiobook revenues, 63 percent saying they use a subscription. The post Audio Publishers Association Survey: 9-Percent Growth appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-06-03 13:01:03 UTC ]
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