We just learned that Ignore Everybody (see previous post) will also be available in audio from Tantor Media.
It will also be downloadable from OverDrive and NetLibrary.
It will also be on PlayAway.
Great news for Pride Prejudice and Zombies fans; you can soon get your zombies on audio.
Entertainment Weekly’s PopWatch blog is offering the first chapter free right now, via audible.com.
Brilliance will be releasing the unabridged audio on Oct. 15, simultaneously with a “deluxe heirloom” hardcover edition of the original paperback, including a new preface and “additional scenes of zombie mayhem.”
The publisher’s sell sheet also mentions that a movie is planned for release in Fall 2010.
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The Oscars of audiobooks, the Audies were presented during BEA by the Audio Publishers Association.
Neil Gaiman’s Graveyard Book (Harper/Recorded Books) won both Audiobook of the Year and the Children’s Age 8 to 12 category.
AudioFile has a great rundown, complete with links to audio clips and their reviews. All the winners and nominees are worth checking to make sure they’re in your collection. It’s also a useful list for audio RA.
We thought we’d never see the day, given the labyrinthian issue of digital rights protection, Apple compatibility and several publishers’ reluctance to make their audios available without DRM for library borrowing, but OverDrive made this announcement yesterday,
…digital audiobook catalogs from leading publishers will be compatible with iPod® and other Apple® devices after a simple upgrade of OverDrive’s free, easy-to-use audiobook software…Participating publishers include Random House Audio, Hachette Audio, Penguin Audio, BBC Audiobooks America, Brilliance Audio, Tantor Media, and many more.
Beginning in mid-June, OverDrive’s “Transfer Wizard” will enable iPod compatibility. According to OverDrive’s David Burleigh, “A simple software upgrade is all it takes to allow the transfer of thousands of additional bestsellers to the popular media player.”
This seems like a win-win for all parties. Publishers will still have Digital Rights Management software and libraries can now offer audios for the most popular listening device.
Tell your teens that they will soon be able to download Twilight from the library to their iPods!
The full press release is available here.
Podcast: Play on page | Play in new window | Download
Congrats to this week’s sponsor, Highbridge, on getting high praise in the current issue of AudioFile for the audio version of Impulse, the latest in Ellen Hopkins’s bestselleing YA series;
Readers Laura Flanagan, Jeremy Guskin, and Steve Coombs tap into the raw, overwhelmed feelings of abused adolescents and deliver such an honest performance that it’s startling. They perform with a visceral complexity and perfect timing that are nothing short of masterful.
You can listen to a segment by clicking above.
Below is ordering information on the titles:
Identical
Crank
Glass
Burned
Impulse
There’s been some controversy about the Kindle 2’s text-to-speech capability.
You may be wondering how the automated speech actually sounds and how it’s created. NPR explored those questions on “All Things Considered” on Saturday.
It’s not Hal, but it’s eerily close.
Does it have the possibility of replacing an actual human reading a book? Replies a speech researcher, “…the technology isn’t even close to that right now — and I don’t see that happening five years from now, either.”
So, maybe six years from now? That’s eerily close, too.
Our friend, Robin Whitten of AudioFile is not prone to gushing, but she wrote to say she loves, loves, loves the audio of The Help by Kathryn Stockett, a first novel that is getting buzz (we wrote about it last week). Libraries show it on order (some have just received it) with reserves building.
After hearing from Robin, we asked the publisher, Penguin Audio, if they would be willing to make some copies available to EarlyWord readers. They agreed immediately. For all you readers advisors, it’s a great way to preview the book — consider it an “audio galley.”
First, here’s what Robin has to say about the audio:
The best, really best way to enjoy The Help is with the audio version. I reviewed it last week and it’s a Hot Pick on the AudioFile site (we’ve also posted an audio clip).
It is brilliantly cast, with each of three main “voices” — the storytellers of the book — read by a different actress. The lyrical Southern speech and rhythms are perfectly done—and just fit Miss Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny. This audiobook really shows what listening can do to enhance a book. I don’t usually gush—but this is so worth it and I am recommending it madly!
To enter to win a copy, just send an email to EarlyWord, with “The Help Audio Giveaway” in the subject line, by 11:59 p.m, Wednesday, Feb. 25th. Don’t forget to include your mailing address (specific rules for this giveaway appear below).
The Help
Stockett, Kathryn
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RULES
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
ELIGIBILITY: The giveaway is open only to librarians residing in the 50 United States.
HOW TO WIN: Winners will be randomly selected from all entries by the staff of EarlyWord. Entries must be received before 11:59 p.m. ET on February 25th.
EarlyWord is not responsible for entries lost or delayed or not received for any other reason.
PRIZES: EarlyWord will notify the randomly selected winners. Each winner will receive:
An unabridged audio version of The Help by Kathryn Stockett
HOW TO ENTER: Send an email to EarlyWord, with “The Help Audio Giveaway” in the subject line.
Be sure to include your name and address so we know where to send it!
ALL ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BY: 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 25th.
AudioFile magazine has just released their picks of the Best Audiobooks of the year, as well as the Best Voices.
OverDrive just announced that Tantor’s audio titles have been added to their collection of downloadable titles. Tantor’s catalog includes popular titles such as Three Cups of Tea, White Tiger, and Chelsea Handler’s Horizontal Life.
Tantor’s downloadable catalogs are listed below:
Winter Quarterly, with full backlist
See All Listings »