In another celebrity casting coup, Hachette Audio landed Tom Hanks to narrate the audio edition of Stephen Colbert’s children’s book I Am a Pole (And So Can You !).
Colbert — who I am told will co-narrate the audiobook by interrupting Hanks’s performance — made the announcement last week on The Colbert Report:
The Colbert Report
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If our previous post about the audio edition of Etgar Keret’s Suddenly, A Knock on the Door, piqued your interest, check out the following audio excerpt — Ira Glass reading the book’s titular story:
Our Audiobook Q&A Series returns, and this time around we chat with Dan Zevin, author of the forthcoming memoir Dan Gets a Minivan: Life at the Intersection of Dude and Dad, about recording the audio edition of his book for AudioGO, the perils of pronunciation, and the dangers of carbonated beverages.
1. This is your first book to have an audio edition. What was behind your decision to narrate Dan Gets a Minivan yourself?
I used to contribute funny radio pieces to NPR’s Boston station, WBUR, and I also hosted a funny call-in show called “Everyday People,” where I interviewed non-celebrities like my UPS guy or a birthday-party clown. I forgot how much I loved going into a studio and recording until I posted some of those spots on my website for Dan Gets a Minivan. Narrating my book was a chance to get back into the studio again. Now I want to start doing radio again. Or maybe I can just narrate other people’s books instead of having to write my own.
2. How was the recording process for you? Was it what you expected? Was it different?
It was surreal. My book is a comic memoir about the transition from couplehood to familyhood. It’s funny, but it’s personal. Spending six hours reading it aloud was like spending six years re-living my life. Now I can fire my shrink. I’m cured.
3. What did you do to prepare before you stepped into the recording booth? Continue reading
Is it just me or are more and more celebrities narrating audiobooks?
Last month, it was Audible’s A-List Collection. And now, it’s the audio edition of Etgar Keret’s story collection Suddenly, A Knock on the Door.
Available from Macmillan Audio, the stories in Suddenly, A Knock on the Door are narrated by everyone from Ben Marcus and Dave Eggars to Willem Dafoe and Stanley Tucci.
The complete cast list is as follows: Continue reading
Fans of David Foster Wallace rejoice: Hachette Audio this month released the audio edition of the author’s classic novel Infinite Jest.
According to Megan Fitzpatrick, associate director of marketing and publicity for Hachette Digital and Hachette Audio, the audiobook clocks in at over 56 hours and includes a bonus PDF of the author’s famous and copious endnotes.
Fitzpatrick says the team at Hachette — which includes director of production Michele McGonigle, narrator Sean Pratt, producer/director John McElroy, editors, and quality control staff — spent about 756 hours bringing Infinite Jest to audio.
Fans of DFW audios will remember that McElroy was behind the scenes of Hachette’s audio production of The Pale King – which was profiled by PW in this CASE STUDY.
As you probably know by now, Stephen King will be narrating the audio edition of The Wind Through the Keyhole.
Well, our pals over at Simon & Schuster Audio caught up with King in the studio and snapped this pic:
For more information on The Wind Through the Keyhole, check out THIS LINK.
Last week we told you all about L.A. Theatre Works’s forthcoming audio edition of Dustin Lance Black’s newest play 8 — which stars the likes of Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Martin Sheen and a host of other Hollywood Stars.
Well, this week, we’ve got the pictures to prove it. Take a look after the jump at some exclusive shots from the play’s West Coast premier in Los Angeles: Continue reading
Audible last week launched “Audible Author Services,” a program that establishes at $20 million fund from which authors can earn an “honorarium” of $1 for each audio title sold on Audible.com, Audible.co.uk, and iTunes — a move that would allow the company to obtain audio rights directly from authors and circumvent audio publishers, which would get no honorarium for sales.
On its site, the company explained the new program: “We want to foster direct relationships with more authors. We have had great success working directly with authors, and these partnerships have led to audience expansion and greater consumption of audiobooks. We know authors work very hard to promote their books; we want to encourage authors to promote their audio versions at the same time. We want all authors in the Audible store to benefit from working with us.”
For analysis of this new program, check out THIS PIECE by Laura Hazard Owen from Time.
The Audio Publishers Association selected four finalists for prestigious Audiobook of the Year Award and four finalists for the Distinguished Achievement in Production Award.
The four titles in the running for the 2012 Audiobook of the Year Award are:
The Audiobook of the Year Award recognizes the audiobook that, through quality, innovation, marketing, and sales, has had the most significant impact on the audio industry.
The four titles selected to compete for the 2012 Distinguished Achievement in Production Award are:
The Distinguished Achievement in Production Award is presented to an audiobook that demonstrates excellence in all areas of production.
For more information on the nominees check out the APA’s Official Press Release.
Break out the red carpet and get ready to fend off the paparazzi, because our pals over at L.A. Theatre Works are going Hollywood with their latest audio release.
According to Trond Knutsen, audio sales director at L.A. Theatre Works, the audio publisher will soon be offering a recording of Dustin Lance Black’s latest play, 8, which had its West Coast premiere last month in Los Angeles.
The full-cast audiobook will feature the likes of Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Martin Sheen, Kevin Bacon, Jamie Lee Curtis, John C. Reilly, Yeardley Smith, George Takei, and Jane Lynch — and that’s just the beginning.
Click HERE For more on L.A. Theatre Works’ audio edition of 8.
