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 ]
A poster supporting the Harry Potter author, paid for by an anti-trans activist, was removed from an Edinburgh train station for being too political. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-07-31 17:57:33 UTC ]
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Lana Del Rey is releasing her forthcoming poetry collection, Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass, on Tuesday, July 28 in digital form. In case you prefer your celebrity poetry spoken aloud, though, she has also recorded an audio version of the book, which will be released on vinyl, CD,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-24 16:04:22 UTC ]
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This week Dave Miller, who hosts a daily talk show on Oregon Public Broadcasting, interviewed “two very tired people”: Tuck Woodstock and Sergio Olmos, both independent journalists. Since late May, daily protests in solidarity with Black lives and against police brutality have taken place in... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review
[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-07-24 12:18:51 UTC ]
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Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor CBE will narrate the audiobook of Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-24 00:01:04 UTC ]
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The Day faced legal action from author after implying that her comments on gender harmed trans peopleA news website aimed at British schoolchildren has agreed to pay an unsubstantiated amount after it implied that JK Rowling’s comments on gender caused harm to trans people.The Day, which is... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-07-23 16:33:19 UTC ]
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Figures for last year show sales of £6.3bn, up 20% on 2015, but the Publishers Association says sector needs government support to weather coronavirusBook sales in the UK hit record levels in 2019, driven by a surge in audiobook and nonfiction titles, according to new figures released as... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-07-21 23:01:08 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury says books were a lockdown hit, with children’s division revenue up 27%The backlash against JK Rowling’s views on transgender law reform has failed to dent the popularity of the Harry Potter author’s books, with publisher Bloomsbury saying they have proved a lockdown hit, pushing... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-07-21 12:29:43 UTC ]
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NetGalley has added audiobook support to its platform and launched its first app allowing members to read and listen to its content. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-13 18:47:51 UTC ]
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BAFTA-nominated actor Steven Mackintosh is to narrate the audiobook of Louise Candlish's 2020 thriller The Other Passenger (Simon & Schuster). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-12 17:42:43 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House Audio is releasing Edinburgh Unlocked, a comedy festival in audiobook format featuring names such as Ivo Graham, Jessie Cave, Sofie Hagen and Dane Baptiste. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-12 14:00:06 UTC ]
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If thrillers with complicated relationships are your cup of murder-y tea, here are some audiobook thrillers to keep you in suspense. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-07-07 10:32:59 UTC ]
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Armchair detectives, get ready for a voyage around the world. You don't need to pack a bag--just pick up these audiobook mysteries and get sleuthing. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-07-07 10:31:58 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. On today’s episode, host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb revisit the Hunger Games, this... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-03 08:06:39 UTC ]
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Three mission-driven indie bookstores well-known for their commitment to social justice have ceased stocking books written by J.K. Rowling, accusing the Harry Potter author of promoting hatred towards transgender people. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins is releasing an unabridged audiobook of J R R Tolkien's The Hobbit, read by Andy Serkis who starred as Gollum in the blockbuster movies. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-01 17:52:05 UTC ]
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“Maybe the WPA let new passions into the public space.” David A. Taylor on how the government supported the arts during the (first) Great Depression. | Lit Hub History Missing the drama of sports? James Tate Hill has some audiobook recommendations to fill the competitive void. | Lit Hub... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-29 10:30:26 UTC ]
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“Fleabag” star Sian Clifford is narrating the audiobook of Olive, the debut novel by author and broadcaster Emma Gannon. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-29 08:42:04 UTC ]
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Hardboiled mysteries, obscure farming communities, and tales of home and family provide ample entertainment in June’s audiobook roundup. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-06-23 23:13:15 UTC ]
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Hardboiled mysteries, obscure farming communities, and tales of home and family provide ample entertainment in June’s audiobook roundup. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-06-23 23:13:15 UTC ]
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Hardboiled mysteries, obscure farming communities, and tales of home and family provide ample entertainment in June’s audiobook roundup. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-06-23 23:13:15 UTC ]
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