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 ]
Booksellers are hoping that the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child later this month will offset the negative impact economic uncertainty has had on footfall following the Brexit vote. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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They were supposed to be a secret, but when word leaked that the new "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" in London was using real owls during performances, fans of the saga went wild on social media. Alas, the owls have officially flown the coop before the blockbuster West End production... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Theatre critics have responded enthusiastically to the first part of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which previewed at London’s Palace theatre last night (7th June). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Retailers are plotting a range of spellbinding evenings across the UK ahead of the release of JK Rowling’s "eighth Harry Potter book”, the play script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It’s been 19 years since the events of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” and boy does it show. The first images of upcoming West End stage play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” written by English playwright Jack Thorne and based on a story from Thorne and “Potter” scribe J.K. Rowling,... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of JK Rowling’s much-loved books jump 133%, boosted by illustrated edition, contributing to 8% profit rise at publisherHarry Potter is still working his magic for the publisher Bloomsbury after nearly 20 years, with sales more than doubling over the past year thanks to a new illustrated... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Big Green Bookshop is to donate all profits from the sales of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) to local schools to enable them to buy books for their libraries. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Actor and writer Stephen Fry has decried the deteriorating state of the public library service, saying that libraries need to be protected as they "save lives". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British surveillance agency GCHQ intervened with the launch of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book in J K Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood on Thursday is likely to draw huge crowds, including adults who grew up reading the books by J.K. Rowling and teens who watched the eight movies that followed. If you plan to brave the Potterfest, here are some... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A chair that author JK Rowling sat on while writing the first two Harry Potter books is sold at a New York auction for nearly $400,000 (£283,000). Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2016-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chair given free to JK Rowling that she used while writing the first two Harry Potter novels in Edinburgh council flat has been auctioned in New York An oak chair that JK Rowling used while writing the first two books of the Harry Potter series has sold for $394,000 (£278,000).The 1930s chair... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood is about to debut. After 2 1/2 years of construction, Wizarding World is set for its grand opening Thursday morning. Leading up to that, a red carpet event tonight will include several stars from the "Harry Potter" films, and more... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In hero-quest terms, the recovery of the Sorcerer's Stone was Harry Potter's first big win, even though he didn't get to keep it. By the time Harry woke up after his first battle with You Know Who, the stone, with all its life-extending and gold-producing properties, had, in fact, been destroyed.... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The latest in a long, ongoing legal feud between German publishers and Google ended victoriously for the search giant last month, when it was cleared of using its market dominance to allegedly punish publishers. But this is symptomatic of a larger issue surrounding ancillary copyright laws,... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2016-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The upcoming movie 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,' based in the world of 'Harry Potter,' is set in America. Upcoming stories published on the site Pottermore will reveal more about the magical culture in the US. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2016-03-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The upcoming movie 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,' based in the world of 'Harry Potter,' is set in America. Upcoming stories published on the site Pottermore will reveal more about the magical culture in the US. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2016-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J .K. Rowling has some good news for fans of her "Harry Potter" universe, especially ones on this side of the Atlantic. The author's website, Pottermore, will publish a four-part story this week called "History of Magic in North America." The story will provide the background for "Fantastic... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New research from Booklist shows page counts have grown 173% over 40 years, and suggests that JK Rowling’s boy hero may be responsible for large increase in early 2000sChildren’s novels have almost doubled in length over the last 40 years, according to research from US review journal Booklist,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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