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 ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 14/11/2011 - 08:15 Stephen Kelman's Pigeon English (Bloomsbury) has made the shortlist of the £10,000 Guardian First Book Award, equaling its achievement on the Man Booker Prize this year, with Down the Rabbit Hole by Juan Pablo Villalobos... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 14/11/2011 - 08:12 Stephen Kelman's Pigeon English (Bloomsbury) has made the shortlist of the £10,000 Guardian First Book Award, equaling its achievement on the Man Booker Prize this year, with Down the Rabbit Hole by Juan Pablo Villalobos... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 11/11/2011 - 07:30 Return to Ribblestrop by Andy Mulligan (Simon & Schuster Children's Books) has been awarded the Guardian Children's Book Award, beating off shortlisted titles including David Almond's My Name is Mina and Simon Mason's Moon... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Mon, 07/11/2011 - 09:10 Concern is growing in the US over the launch of Amazon's Kindle lending initiative. Amazon launched the new service last week aimed at Kindle-owning Prime users, but publishers have expressed concern over titles appearing in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 27/10/2011 - 09:00 The Publishers Association's international conference will focus on issues such as export sales and the growth of the English language, with speakers to include Barnes and Noble vice-president of digital content Theresa... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Fri, 21/10/2011 - 13:12 The children and families minister Sarah Teather, Liberal Democrat MP for Brent, has added her voice to those calling on the secretary of state Jeremy Hunt to order a local inquiry into the borough's library service. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 19/10/2011 - 15:01 Tim Godfray, chief executive of The Booksellers Association, has asked British Library c.e.o. Dame Lynne Brindley to review the Librarys relationship with Amazon as a matter of urgency, following the furore over links to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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SPIN Media announced three new changes to its editorial staff: Caryn Ganz as online editor-in-chief, Christopher R. Weingarten as senior editor and David Bevan as associate editor. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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September 6th was a coming out party for content marketing. Over 600 marketing professionals came together in Cleveland from 18 different countries for Content Marketing World to learn how to create and grow their own publishing and storytelling platforms. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Donald Trump has trained his eye for promotion on ebooks, teaming up with Robert Kiyosaki, author of "Rich Dad Poor Dad," in a new twist on the traditional... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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I hate them. Its like making believe theres another kind of sex. There isnt another kind of sex. There isnt another kind of book! A book is a book is a book. Maurice Sendak, to Guardian reporter Emma Brockes, about how much he hates ebooks Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 30/09/2011 - 15:18 Publisher Little Tiger Press is seeking to extend its presence in Australia and the US through partnerships with distributors. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 29/09/2011 - 13:55 A guide to independent bookshops will be given away in this Saturday's Guardian [1st October], with more than 350 indies included. The Independent Bookshops Directory is a 74-page A5 guide, with bookshops picked by the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 26/09/2011 - 15:12 The Isle of Wight council has said five libraries originally scheduled for closure last June will become "community libraries" and will not be closed. But campaigners have branded plans to hand the libraries over to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 26/09/2011 - 08:50 Amazon c.e.o. Jeff Bezos has been named as the most powerful man in books in a Guardian and Observer "power list" of the 100 key people in the trade. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Professional Publishers Association (PPA), the body for UK magazine publishers, has appointed former IPC leader James Papworth as its first marketing director in three years. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Tue, 20/09/2011 - 08:33 Turkey is to be the the Market Focus partner of London Book Fair 2013. The announcement was made last night (19th September) at an official signing event attended by Turkish Ministry Of Culture and Tourism general director of libraries and publications,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 20/09/2011 - 08:35 Transworld has appointed Michelle Signore, currently editor-in-chief at John Blake, to the role of editorial director. Signore will join Transworld on 17th October, and will report to publishing director Doug Young.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Following the call for a break-up and reorganization of McGraw-Hill Cos. by investors last month, McGraw-Hill announced today that it will split into two separate public companies: McGraw-Hill Markets, focused on the capital and commodities markets, and McGraw-Hill Education, focused on... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Like most industries, publishing cycles are increasingly becoming more and more automated. Even editorial actions are becoming computerized, with companies like Kapost creating products that electronically orchestrate pitches, assignments, calendars and revisions in addition to managing author... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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