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 ]
JK Rowling, Zadie Smith and Jamie Oliver have made the shortlist for the British Book Awards "30 from 30" trophy that will crown one book the “best” of the past three decades. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-18 13:31:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this
As a result of the coronavirus crisis, sales at digital audiobook store Libro.fm and online bookstore Bookshop.org have soared. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
An awesome daily roundup of the most interesting bookish links from around the web! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-03-15 10:30:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Do you consider yourself a hard-core Potterhead? Did you defy your Veron Dursley-esque stepfather by joining the college Quidditch team? Did a rough breakup prompt an ill-advised dalliance with Snapism? Is your work commute enlivened by the dulcet tones of the weekly MuggleCast? Have you inked a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-11 17:04:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Wild electoral swings and global public-health crises come at you fast. Two weeks ago, Bernie Sanders was in the driving seat of the Democratic primary, and the coronavirus—while certainly of growing concern—had yet to cause a death in the US; when seven Democratic presidential candidates (all... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review
[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-03-11 12:06:48 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. AudioFile’s Josephine Reed spoke with author and National Ambassador for Young People’s... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-10 08:48:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Rally enables regular investors to buy and sell shares in high-end collectibles. Crafted from individually selected Nile crocodile scales in cream and gray, Hermès’s Himalaya Birkin is one of the world’s rarest handbags, fetching more than $100,000 at auction. Rally cofounder and CEO Chris... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2020-03-10 05:00:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Bloomsbury) has been voted viewers’ favourite Blue Peter Book Award winner of the last 20 years, while Amanda Li’s Rise Up (Buster) and Vashti Hardy’s Wildspark (Scholastic) have also won prizes. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-05 02:44:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Actress Stephanie Ellyne narrates the audiobook version of Lucy Ellmann's Ducks, Newburyport, which spans 45 hours and 34 minutes. The post Lucy Ellmann’s 45-Hour Audiobook appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2020-03-04 21:30:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The journalist Garrett Graff's 'The Only Plane in the Sky'–on the attacks of 9/11–wins the Audiobook of the Year Audie for Simon & Schuster Audio. The post Audio Publishers Association Names 25th Anniversary Audie Awards appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-03-03 11:30:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this
At the Audio Publishers Association's annual Audie Awards, which marked a quarter century this year, 'The Only Plane in the Sky' took home the top award and Stephen King received a lifetime achievement as host Mo Rocca and others saluted the progress of the audiobook form over the past 25 years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-03 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Beloved stars of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films will voice the first ever audiobook edition of J.K. Rowling's THE TALES OF BEEDLE THE BARD, with proceeds to benefit the Lumos foundation. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-02-27 16:09:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this
J K Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard is being released as an audiobook read by Harry Potter stars. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-26 23:45:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A roundup of audiobook short story collections, with a single narrator or a full cast, that give listeners an incredible audiobook experience. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-02-25 11:31:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this
As the Hay Festival gets under way in Abu Dhabi, Stephen Fry and Noam Chomsky have signed an open letter calling on the UAE authorities to release imprisoned writers and demonstrate their commitment to free speech. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-25 05:08:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this
To protect your work and expand its reach, understanding film, TV and audiobook rights is a must. Publishing attorney and Grammy-award-winning audiobook producer Jessica Kaye tells how. The post Film and Audiobook Rights 101 by Jessica Kaye appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest
[ Writer's Digest | 2020-02-21 11:00:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Here are six narrators, who, as of this writing, have each recorded less than five audiobooks. This reader can't wait to listen to them again. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-02-17 11:32:05 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. In a story that shifts through time, Ramón de Ocampo is a welcome guide, and his narration is... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-17 09:00:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Headline and Dorothy Koomson have launched "Find My Verity", an open casting call designed to bring more black female voices into the world of audiobooks. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-17 06:25:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Free agent NFL quarterback and social activist Colin Kaepernick plans to publish a memoir via his own publishing venture and release an audiobook version of the untitled book via an exclusive deal with Audible. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this