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 ]
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 Robin Whitten discuss Barbara’s narration of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-23 08:20:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Being a book publisher comes with a set of tough moral responsibilities. You provide livelihoods for authors and booksellers, your hiring decisions can greatly influence how UK culture is shaped, and you’re also a company with a duty of care towards your staff. Sometimes these duties come into... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-23 03:23:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Celebrate Pride Month and queer voices by reading these three captivating audiobook memoirs written and narrated by queer women. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-06-22 10:36:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this
J K Rowling's agency The Blair Partnership has lost four of its author clients over the controversy surrounding the Harry Potter author's views on transgender law reform. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-22 05:27:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Have you ever dropped a thermometer and watched its ball of mercury break into a scatter of glistening droplets? That’s my mind right now. The table next to my bed is anchoring a tottering tower of books I have begun and then abandoned, not out of displeasure but because… well, I actually... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-17 08:48:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Julia Whelan audiobooks are some of the best listens out there. This guide will help you find your perfect audiobook by the award-winning performer. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-06-12 10:38:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Husband and wife duo Polly Samson and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd have teamed up to work on the audiobook of Samson's novel A Theatre for Dreamers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-11 22:58:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In order to create the Ultimate Summer 2020 Reading List, we’ve ventured into unfamiliar territory and employed… math. | Lit Hub How JK Rowling betrayed the world she created: Gabrielle Bellot on growing up with the Harry Potter universe. | Lit Hub “The pace and frequency of Trump’s falsehoods... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-10 10:30:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Penguin Random House Audio is bringing together wellbeing experts, including fitness author Chloe Madeley and performance coach Sara Milne Rowe, in a new audio anthology, The Here and Now. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-09 10:56:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this
After the author’s widely criticized round of gender identity tweets over the weekend, the actor spoke up on behalf of transgender women. The creator of Harry Potter seems to have lost Harry Potter himself, as Daniel Radcliffe comes to the defense of trans women in the wake of J.K. Rowling’s... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2020-06-09 10:00:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this
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. Host Michele Cobb speaks with narrator Julia Whelan, one of AudioFile’s 2020 Golden Voices,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-08 09:15:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this
If your local bookstore is all sold out of its books on anti-racism, good. Finally. Backorder them for yourself. But in the meantime, the audiobook version of Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the 2016 National Book Award... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-04 14:34:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The audiobook of STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING by Ibram X. Kendi is currently available for free on Spotify. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-06-04 12:58:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Publishers are increasingly seeking out audio talent that reflects the race and experience of the books’ authors and characters. But what constitutes a black, Latino or Asian voice? Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-06-03 12:00:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this
While many readers have understandably found refuge from pandemic anxiety with thick biographies and door-stopping classics, others have had trouble focusing for long periods. With work laptops constantly open and homeschooled children orbiting, the solution to our short attention spans might be... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-02 08:48:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Today's news marks the next step in Beat Technologies' drive to create bespoke D2C audiobook and ebook platforms for marquee-level publishers. The post Norway’s Beat Technology Signs a Denmark Trio for an Audiobook Platform appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-05-29 13:48:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Get listening to Kevin R. Free audiobook performances with this guide to for where to start. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-05-29 10:34:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this
"Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling is releasing her new book, "The Ickabog," in free online installments. The first two chapters are out now. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-05-26 19:33:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is releasing her latest book as a free online serial for kids "needing distraction during the strange and difficult time we're passing through" — and she's also calling on young fans to help create illustrations... Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2020-05-26 15:57:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Harry Potter series creator is also asking her young readers to supply illustrations for the print version of the novel, available in November. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-05-26 15:11:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this