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 ]
J. K. Rowling’s beloved Harry Potter series is once again in the news after it was banned by the St. Edward Catholic School in Tennessee. The epic fantasy series focused on young wizard Harry Potter who battles against the forces of evil is, allegedly, not fantasy enough. Reverend Dan Reehil... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-09-03 16:05:18 UTC ]
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A Catholic school in Tennessee has removed the Harry Potter books from its library after the school's priest decided they could cause a reader to conjure evil spirits. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-09-03 12:14:12 UTC ]
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FutureBook has launched an audio originals writing competition, which will see the winning work published as an audiobook and the successful author hosted at the FutureBook Conference. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-03 00:18:49 UTC ]
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The Rev. Dan Reehil warned that reading the spells in the J.K. Rowling novels could conjure up actual evil spirits. Continue reading at HuffPost
[ HuffPost | 2019-09-02 19:47:12 UTC ]
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Enter to win a a digital audio download of THE FLIGHT GIRLS Audiobook by Noelle Salazar. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-08-31 10:33:52 UTC ]
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Amazon's audiobook company Audible has agreed to delay parts of its disputed speech-to-text feature until permission and licensing issues are resolved. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-29 22:46:55 UTC ]
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Independent science fiction and fantasy publisher Baen Books has partnered with audiobook company RBmedia for an audiobook program. Under the agreement, the two companies will publish more than 170 audiobooks over the next three years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-08-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Authors Guild is supporting the Association of American Publishers (AAP) as the organisation sues Amazon’s audiobook company Audible over a new speech-to-text feature. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-27 10:51:31 UTC ]
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Major US publishers have filed a lawsuit against Amazon's audiobook company Audible in a row over a new speech-to-text feature which they say is a violation of copyright law. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-26 15:42:06 UTC ]
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Actor Hayley Atwell will narrate the audiobook for The Confession by Jessie Burton, as Picador reveals plans for the launch campaign. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-22 03:35:34 UTC ]
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Actor Russell Tovey will read the audiobook for terminally ill playwright Joe Hammond’s forthcoming memoir, A Short History of Falling: Everything I’ve Observed About Love Whilst Dying. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-21 21:12:16 UTC ]
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Taron Egerton will narrate the audiobook edition of Elton John's forthcoming autobiography, Me. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-21 12:02:50 UTC ]
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If you are an avid reader, there’s a good chance you’re also a Ravenclaw. But which one are you? Take our quiz to find out! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-08-21 10:32:47 UTC ]
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Obsessed with James, Sirius, Remus and Peter? Categorized by each member, here are 12 YA books for Marauders fans and fans of the Harry Potter books. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-08-20 10:35:27 UTC ]
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I was about 21, riding a scooter on my way home from work, when I noticed a shadow over my ... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-08-16 10:35:41 UTC ]
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Audible's push into original content now includes a team-up with a company best-known for its comic books and TV shows. The Amazon-owned audiobook service has struck a deal with Skybound, the team behind The Walking Dead, to create multiple Audible... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2019-08-13 18:43:00 UTC ]
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I was a passionate Harry Potter fan as a kid (and teenager…and adult). I obsessed over the plots and characters, ... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-08-13 10:35:35 UTC ]
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Listen to an exclusive audiobook excerpt of Ruth Ware's new psychological thriller, THE TURN OF THE KEY, narrated by Imogen Church! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-08-06 10:33:59 UTC ]
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TimesUp! Not all heroes wear capes—or carry wands. Emma Watson, the actress and activist who is still best known as resident Harry Potter smarty-pants Hermione Granger, is taking on a new role. She has launched a free legal-advice hotline with Time’s Up for women in England and Wales who are... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2019-08-05 12:57:34 UTC ]
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Audiobook and large-print publisher W F Howes has acquired the Dr Alexander Gregory trilogy by self-published author Louise Ross. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-04 18:27:22 UTC ]
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