When is a book not a book? When it is performed by a starry cast of hundreds. Except it has always been more complicated than thatNews this week of a 17% hike in the UK’s audiobook sales might seem like a niche business story, but it raises an existential question. What exactly is an audiobook today? Is it a book? Is it a play? Or is it becoming something else entirely? What is clear is that a jostle for market dominance is driving it into new dimensions. The streaming platform Spotify followed its move into podcasting two years ago with the launch of an audiobooks business. Though it has yet to start making its own recordings, last autumn it made a deal for 200,000 audiobooks to be available to its premium users.Not to be outdone, Amazon-owned Audible – accustomed to being the market leader – upped its game, hiring the Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes to record multi-voice versions of the Dickens novels Oliver Twist and David Copperfield, and announcing last month that it had reached an agreement for a recording of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, voiced by more than 100 actors and featuring a “groundbreaking new soundscape”. The new Potter audiobooks, it said, would not usurp but “sit alongside and complement” conventional recordings by Stephen Fry and Jim Dale, which Audible also hosts. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-05-10 17:25:03 UTC ]
Dozens of child actors will feature in HBO’s new Harry Potter series, all of them needing on-set tuition to be conjured up between scenesHarry Potter may have been overjoyed at going to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, but the children playing Harry, Ron and Hermione in the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2025-05-31 11:00:44 UTC ]
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More than 30,000 children applied - what was the process like, and what lies in store for the chosen few? Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2025-05-31 05:59:57 UTC ]
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A romantasy novel was published with an AI prompt, LGBTQ+ history tours replace an Edinburgh Harry Potter tour, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2025-05-28 16:00:00 UTC ]
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Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout will head to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the next adaption of the smash-hit series. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2025-05-28 07:38:55 UTC ]
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Newcomers will be playing the three leads, joining John Lithgow, Paapa Essiedu and Janet McTeerAfter an extensive search, the actors set to play the new leads of the Harry Potter TV series have been found.The open casting call for British children ages 9 to 11 led HBO to the three leads of its... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2025-05-27 17:25:22 UTC ]
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An open casting call for the roles was announced last year and more than 30,000 children auditioned. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2025-05-27 16:20:01 UTC ]
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Libraries’ e-book and audiobook programs are especially vulnerable to the Trump administration’s budget cuts. Libraries across the United States are cutting back on e-books, audiobooks, and loan programs after the Trump administration suspended millions of dollars in federal grants as it tries... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2025-05-19 19:30:00 UTC ]
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Not just any partnership works for WBD's Storyverse upfront offering, ad leaders explain. Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2025-05-19 12:09:12 UTC ]
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Ahead of the author’s much anticipated memoir, we count down the best of her books – from climate dystopias to her world-conquering handmaidsAfter more than 30 years, Atwood caved to pleas to write a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. Not since Harry Potter had a publication caused such a sensation:... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2025-05-19 11:01:02 UTC ]
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Your dreams of becoming an audiobook narrator can finally come true! Here's how to use Yoto to record personalized audiobooks for kids. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2025-05-15 12:30:00 UTC ]
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Edinburgh-based company to replace Harry Potter tours with LGBTQ history walks, creating a fantasy league for new books, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2025-05-14 15:00:00 UTC ]
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Selected publishers are working with an early release of Audible's AI-voiced audiobook production, with translation and accents to follow. The post Audible Opens AI-Narration to Selected Publishers appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2025-05-13 20:32:00 UTC ]
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Amazon brand will offer more than 100 artificial intelligence-generated voices in English and other languagesAudible has announced plans to use AI technology to narrate audiobooks, with AI translation to follow.The Amazon-owned audiobook provider has said it will be making its AI production... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2025-05-13 16:56:54 UTC ]
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Author claims she neither wishes to, nor is capable of preventing the actor from playing Severus Snape in the upcoming HBO adaptation, following his signing of an open letterJK Rowling has said she will not fire actor Paapa Essiedu from the forthcoming Harry Potter TV series over his support for... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2025-05-06 14:51:30 UTC ]
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Princess Weekes joins to answer: Which fans have stuck by the series, and will others be able to resist the siren call of a brand new TV series? Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2025-05-03 09:00:00 UTC ]
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I wrote a letter to John Lithgow asking him to step away from the Harry Potter TV show. The good news is, he saw the letter. The bad news... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2025-05-03 07:30:00 UTC ]
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Wondery chief brand officer Nicole Blake is giving podcasts the ‘Harry Potter’ treatment. Not so long ago, a book deal and a live tour marked the outer limits of how far a hot podcast could hope to expand its horizons. These days, they’re only the beginning. Especially at Wondery, the... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2025-04-19 11:00:00 UTC ]
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