Why AI audiobook narrators could win over some authors and readers, despite the vocal bumps

Apple and Google’s AI turn in a booming market may sound less than human and raise the ire of voiceover actors, but it has cost benefits For the first few seconds, the narrator of Kristen Ethridge’s new romance audiobook, Shelter from the Storm, sounds like a human being. The voice is light and carefully enunciated, with the slow pacing of any audiobook narrator, as it begins: “There’s a storm coming, and her name is Hope.”Then, something about the pacing of the words grates on the ear. It’s a little too regular, even robotic. “I know that sounds a little crazy,” the breathy voice continues, grinding out the words. “That something so destructive could be labeled with such a peaceful name.” Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-01-05 06:41:18 UTC ]
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BEA 2016: Reeling In Readers: Three YA Authors Tell How It’s Done

If there’s one characteristic that fans of Sarah Maas’s Throne of Glass series, Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series, and Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke & Bone series share, it’s this: they can’t read each installment fast enough. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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China author wins children's book prize

Beijing-based author Cao Wenxuan becomes the first Chinese author to win the Hans Christian Andersen award for children's literature. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2016-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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AI is already making inroads into journalism but could it win a Pulitzer?

From football reports to clickbait, programs are changing the way the news is createdLook closely at what many journalists write about artificial intelligence – from AlphaGo’s triumph at the ancient Chinese board game Go to Microsoft’s accidentally racist Twitter bot – and you might detect some... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mexican Author Wins Human Rights Award

Lydia Cacho is one of two writers who were recently named the winners of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives/Puffin Award for Human Rights Activism. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Middle Grade neglect risks isolating generation of readers, author warns

Authors and critics are warning that Middle Grade children’s books, for readers aged eight to 12 years, are failing to get the attention they merit from the media and book prize organisers because of the dominance of Young Adult titles. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French Readers Put Arab Authors on the Bestseller List

After years of writing about radicalization and terrorism in the Middle East, Arab authors are now in the spotlight in France as readers try to understand the recent Paris attacks. The post French Readers Put Arab Authors on the Bestseller List appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PRH's McMillan wins Best Audiobook title at RPAs

Roy McMillan of Penguin Random House has won the award for ‘Best Audiobook/ Readings Producer' at this year’s Radio Production Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Vera B. Williams dies at 88; award-winning children's author and illustrator

Vera B. Williams' family saved pennies and nickels to get by during the Depression. So her mother's purchase of a "real chair" — neither stick-hard nor someone's castoff but brand new and cushiony — was an extravagance. "I don't intend to work all my life and have nowhere to sit down," the woman... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Combines Mobile Gaming, Fantasy Fiction to Lure Readers

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fenwick:'authors have best reader knowledge'

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[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA debates 'power shift' to authors and readers

The theme of the International Digital Publishing Forum conference on day one at Book Expo in New York was “Putting Readers First,” but whether power has shifted from publishers and retailers to readers - asserted in a keynote by Canelo Publishing’s Michael Bhaskar - was quickly challenged by... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Single page of notes wins SF author John Scalzi $3.4m deal

Publisher Tor says ‘we’d be nuts to decline’ 13-book contract, which will include three young adult novels alongside next instalments of Old Man’s War seriesAmerican science fiction author John Scalzi has signed a 10-year, 13-book deal with publishers Tor, which will net him $3.4m (£2.2m).Scalzi... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Headteacher wins New Children’s Author Prize

Emma Cox, a headteacher from Devon, has won this year’s New Children’s Author Prize, organised by the National Literacy Trust and Bloomsbury. Malkin Moonlight, chosen from a shortlist of six books, is about a cat who is looking for his friend Roux. He comes across a group of cats at a recycling... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reese Witherspoon will narrate 'Go Set a Watchman' audiobook

'As a Southerner, it is an honor and privilege to give voice to the Southern characters who inspired my childhood love of reading, Scout and Atticus Finch,' the 'Wild' actress said in a statement. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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AWP 2015: Graywolf Press Wins Small Press Award, Celebrates Its Authors on Home Turf

With the Association of Writers & Writing Programs conference taking place in Minneapolis, Graywolf is taking full hometown advantage to celebrate its authors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UK Authors Force Clean Reader App to Stop Some Book Sales

Creators of the Clean Reader app will no longer sell books after receiving complaints from authors that their works were being altered without permission. The post UK Authors Force Clean Reader App to Stop Some Book Sales appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French author Patrick Modiano wins Nobel prize for literature

The Frenchman has written about the German occupation of his country during World War II. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon vs Hachette: readers and authors take sides in publishing dispute

The tussle between Amazon and the publishing conglomerate has been raging since spring. Heres an update on the fightA corporate boxing match broke from the ring and swelled into all-out rumpus last weekend, as readers and authors took sides in Amazon and Hachettes fight over the publishing... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Award-winning children's author Walter Dean Myers dies

Myers, author of such books as 'Hoops' and 'Monster,' recently published an essay lamenting what he saw as a lack of diverse characters in children's literature. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indie Authors, Readers Show Support for Amazon

More than a thousand readers have signed a petition in support of Amazon in its dispute with Hachette. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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