If you thought Big Tech’s dreadful year of layoffs would be confined to 2023, you’re (sadly) mistaken. Audible laid off around five percent of its employees on Thursday, which Variety reports is “just over 100 staffers.” The cuts in the audiobook division are part of parent company Amazon’s most recent round of layoffs, also affecting Prime Video, MGM, and Twitch. “We did not take this route without considerable thought,” Audible CEO Bob Carrigan reportedly said in an audio memo delivered to staff. “But getting leaner and more efficient is the way we will need to operate now — and in the foreseeable future — in order to continue delivering best-in-class audio storytelling to our customers around the world.” For those keeping score, “leaner and more efficient” echoes the language in numerous recent Big Tech layoff announcements. Variations of “In these uncertain times...” have also been popular. Carrigan ironically began by talking about Audible's strong performance last year. “I want to acknowledge the strong year we had in 2023, in which we delivered amazing listening experiences for our customers thanks to outstanding collaboration with creators and partners,” he reportedly said. “Our business is in good shape, and that is because of the hard work of each and every one of you.” The CEO extolled how much the company values its workers. “A big part of what makes working at Audible so special is our many talented and dedicated employees who bring their passion to work each... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-01-11 22:00:11 UTC ]
Good news, memoir fans: Variety reports that Dani Shapiro’s bestselling memoir Inheritance will be adapted into a feature by Killer Films, with Cami Delavigne (the co-writer of Blue Valentine) on board to write the script. The memoir centers on Shapiro’s discovery, after a DNA test, that the man... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-07-03 13:43:07 UTC ]
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A reader comes to terms with the role audiobooks play in her ability to be more mindful for the sake of her mental health, and considers reading life solutions. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-07-01 10:41:46 UTC ]
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Sweden’s Bonnier has announced a sweeping expansion in Europe of its BookBeat digital service, multiplying by seven times its former reach in terms of markets for audiobooks and ebooks. By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson Service Has More Than 50,000 Audiobooks and Ebooks he... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-06-24 12:55:40 UTC ]
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Audiobook streaming service BookBeat has launched in 24 new European markets, making the service available in 28 countries overall. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-24 12:31:26 UTC ]
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A little under two years after its five-season run ended on BBC America, Orphan Black is returning with a bang, and probably loads more sound effects. Fiction publishing startup Serial Box is reviving the beloved sci-fi show this summer as a ten-epis... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2019-06-13 22:51:00 UTC ]
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Angelica Gonzalez used to read about a book a year. Then she discovered the Libby app, which allows anyone with a Los Angeles Public Library card to borrow e-books, audiobooks and other electronic media — for free. Now Gonzalez regularly checks out titles and transfers them to her Kindle.... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-06-12 10:00:00 UTC ]
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This year's ceremony, held at New York University's Skirball Center and conferred for the first time to a sold-out house, saw debut and women writers have a particularly strong year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster UK saw profit before tax boom by more than half last year, in what UK c.e.o. Ian Chapman described as a "very, very strong year" for the company. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Four jobs have gone in the UK as part of the recent round of job cuts revealed with the company's half-year results yesterday, a Quarto spokesperson has confirmed. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The late author Helen Dunmore is shortlisted for a Costa Award along with Jon McGregor, Kamila Shamsie and Sarah Winman with almost half of the titles coming from independent publishers in a strong year for women writers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster." That's the unnerving first sentence of Jeannette Walls' 2005 memoir, "The Glass Castle," and its audacious combination of candor, unsentimentality and... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Partly due to a strong performance in the juvenile nonfiction category, unit sales of print books at outlets that report to NPD BookScan were 4% higher in the week ended June 4, 2017, than in the comparable week in 2016. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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2016 ended up being one of Diamond's best years ever, thanks to strong sales of the titles in Rep. John Lewis's March trilogy. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 18-strong shortlists for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2017 show a strong presence from independent Chicken House as well as publishers Hachette and Penguin Random House. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of spoof humour books helped W H Smith to achieve a “strong” performance over its Christmas trading period, with the company’s chief executive Stephen Clarke saying that group profit growth for the year is now “slightly ahead of plan”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books by Maggie O’Farrell, Kit de Waal, Kate Tempest and Francesca Simon are among those shortlisted for the 2016 Costa Book Awards, in a strong year for women writers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Effective implementation of technology will let companies react to new opportunities Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From the opening keynote with Zadie Smith to the closing lunch with Douglas Preston, the energy at the 43rd annual NEIBA fall conference never failed. In part booksellers were buoyed by a strong year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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