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Great audiobooks for guys & gals. Booklist magazine’s dynamic duo –  David Wright, Reader Services’ Librarian, Seattle (WA) Public Library and Kaite Mediatore Stover, Director, Readers’ Services, Kansas City (MO) Public Library – shared their favorite listens in the June Audiobook Showcase issue. Together, they team up to provide their fans with quirky, always interesting selections for literature lovers – this time focusing on reading with your ears.

Check out David’s “He Reads” column for his favorite male audiobook readers and Kaite’s “She Listens” column for her top voices. I discovered some new narrators to add to my listening list – hope you do, too!

See & hear the audiobook gala hosted by Michael Showalter on Tuesday, June 5, 2012, at the New-York Historical Society in New York City. You can get an idea of the glittering fun by clicking this link to 213 photos from the Audies Awards 2012. It would be great if there was some way to tag the names of the faces, so that you could match the real person to your favorite narrator. I’m lucky enough to be next to Dion Graham in #79 & Johnny Heller in #107. Want to hear the ceremonies? You have two chances to tune in…

Here are details from the Audio Publishers Association on how you can listen to the whole event:

Tune into SiriusXM’s Book Radio to Listen to a Recording of the Audies!

Are you still coming down off the great high of this year’s Audies Gala? Do you wish you could relive the night and share the excitement of the evening with family, friends and colleagues who couldn’t be there?

You can!

Tune into SiriusXM’s Book Radio (Channel 80) to listen to a complete broadcast of the awards ceremony.

Airtimes are as follows:

Thursday, June 28 (that’s today!) – 9:30-11:00pm ET/6:30-8:00pm PT
Sunday, July 1 – 4:00-5:30pm ET/1pm-2:30 PT

SiriusXM subscribers can also access the broadcast online or via the Book Radio app.

Not a SiriusXM subscriber? You can try SiriusXM’s Internet Radio free for 30 days

Audiobooks by celebrities who love books #JIAM2012. Audible’s A-List series pairs star voices with classic books and tags the titles with “Hear Great Books Preformed by Hollywood’s Finest.” Two new videos highlight Hoffman’s reading of Being There by Jerzy Kosinski and Kidman’s narration of To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. Enjoy the videos below!

Two reports on how many audiobooks are published. First, according to this report published in American Libraries, there’s been a hefty number of youth titles over the past year:

According to “Table 6 / Audiobook Average Per-Volume Prices, 2008-2011,” on pages 526-527, the 2011 number of children’s audiobook titles published is 968 and the 2011 number of young adult audiobook titles published is 960.

Compare that with the numbers for print title below, and you’ll see that nearly nearly twenty percent of YA books are sold in audiobook format! But the children’s numbers point out all too well that there’s a much smaller number of audiobook titles for younger listeners each year. Note to producers: there’s a HUGE need for short chapter book audios for intermediate readers!

According to “Table 1 / American Book Production, 2007-2011,” on page 515, the 2011 number of children’s titles published is 20,127 and the 2011 number of young adult titles published is 4,905.

For the complete picture, you can check out BookStats, featuring net unit and dollar sales for the full U.S. publishing industry from 2008 through 2011 here.

To get a handle on how Amazon (owner of the Audible download company and Brilliance Audio) has made inroads on capturing audiobook publishing through actor/producers royalty stipends and actual bounty payments to authors, read this enlightening interview with Jason Ojalvo, Amazon’s VP of Content Creation. Dave Courvoisier interviewed Ojalvo for his Voice Over Blog, focusing on the first year of  Amazon’s  Audiobook Creation Exchange initiative. Here’s just one interesting snippet:

What other statistics can you share that show the growth and success of ACX?

Ojalvo: About 50 audiobooks go into production every week on ACX.  And that number is continuing to grow.  Many hundreds of titles are currently in production, and that number continues to swell every month.

And I’ll soon have numbers from the Audio Publishers Association on the growth of the industry as a whole. But one things clear: #JIAM2012 June is Audiobook Month is a great time to celebrate that listeners are consuming more audiobooks than ever, and the increasing production has only heightened the desire more more great titles!

Recorded Books’ videos with favorite narrators & Book Reporters’ Focus on June is Audiobook Month. Both have tremendously interesting snipets for all audiobook lovers – from what books made your favorite narrator cry (Johnny Heller’s sobs during The Day No Pigs Would Die), to lengthy reflections by award-winning authors of narrating their own works (such as Rachel Simon on reading Riding the Bus With My Sister). Both are substantial efforts in documenting the very best in audiobook production. Each year’s celebration of June is Audiobook Month just gets better and better – especially when companies like Recorded Books & BookReporter feature such great content – be sure to take a look!

Narrator & author Gilbert‘s reflections on speaking another’s life story – so thoughtful and enlightening. Tavia shared her thoughts with me while I was preparing for the “Voices in My Head” column I write for the print edition of Booklist. But once I had included the equally wonderful thoughts of Mirron Willis and Dion Graham, I had to abbreviate all three narrator’s responses to fit my page limit. That’s why I LOVE that I have the chance to let blog readers read the complete interviews here! And what a perfect day to feature the divine Ms. Gilbert – stop by her Facebook page to wish her a Happy Birthday – and how fitting that she celebrates in #JIAM June is Audiobook Month !

Tavia Gilbert on the art of memoir narration:

As a non-ficiton writer (I’m just about to begin my final semester of the creative non-fiction MFA at Vermont College), memoir and literary non-fiction are very close to my heart. Non-fiction, too, then, holds a special place in my work as a voice actor. When I read for pleasure, it is quite often memoir or another non-fiction narrative. So the voice of the author of the non-fiction work is of great interest and concern.

Whenever I am narrating something beautifully rendered, I believe my job is to fade away—to get completely out of sight of the listener—so that the language on the page is all that is present. Particularly when narrating memoirs, when the narrative voice is strong, the writing deep and honest and authentic, it is so pleasurable to absolutely relax into the voice of the author and give oneself over completely to the words. If an author has the technical skill, precision, and relaxation to create a rich performance, the listening experience can be profoundly moving. But if they do not have voice skills, their story deserves the most compassionate, most thoughtfully cast performance possible.

It intrigues me that I find it quite difficult to narrate my own material. This is, in part, because I am an emerging writer, at the very beginnings of practicing the writing craft, so my work is new to me. But part of it is that to narrate words I myself have written—my thoughts, my memories, my challenges—I must mine an even deeper vein in myself. The words are no longer on the page, they take form. That is an only slightly less vulnerable place to live than to perform one’s own words for a live audience.

I hope I continue to have the opportunity to voice other writers’ stories, stories about people creating lives of meaning and purpose, like Kristin Kimball’s wonderful The Dirty Life, or stories of transcendence and humanity, like Loung Ung’s incredibly brave First They Killed My Father. Those true stories are personally where my heart opens widest, and they teach me how to be a better writer and human being.

Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful thoughts, Tavia!!

Narrators, autographs, FREE audios - #JIAM2012 June is Audiobook Month at the American Library Association’s Annual Convention in Anaheim. If you are attending, add these terrific FREE events to your calendar!

SUNDAY June 24, 1:00pm – 4:00pm PopTop Stage,  located at the end of the 2700 aisle on the Exhibit Floor.
Audio Publishers Association hosts “Get Caught Listening!”

Featured will be the various aspects of audiobooks with a mix of authors, voice talent and actors. The APA consists of audio publishing companies and allied suppliers, distributors, and retailers of spoken word products and allied fields related to the production, distribution and sale of audiobooks. Drop by these FREE sessions:

1:00pm   Ramon de Ocampo narrator of the Wimpy Kid series and award-winning Producer Bob Deyan, Recorded Books

1:20pm   Maggie Stiefvater, Steve West & Fiona  Hardingham, author and narrators of 2012 Odyssey Honor, Scorpio Races, Scholastic Audio

1:40pm   Nancy Cartwight, voice of Bart Simpson, and Travis Oates, voice of Winnie-the-Pooh’s Piglet, performing radio theater “Stories from the Golden Age”, Galaxy Press

2:00pm  Daniel Kraus and Kirby Heyborne, author and narrator of 2012 Odyssey Award winner, Rotters, Listening Library/BOT

2:20pm  Trent Reedy and Ariana Delawari, author and narrator, Words in the Dust, Scholastic Audio

2:40pm  Director of Audio Production, Dan Zitt and narrator Kathe Mazur to discuss the art of audiobook-making, Random House Audio/BOT

3:00pm  Kelly Gildea and Lincoln Hoppe, producer and narrator 2012 Odyssey Honor, Okay for Now, Listening Library/BOT

3:20pm   Jennifer Bradshaw and Antony Ferguson, reading from a collection of short stories and The Missing of the Somme, AudioGo

3:40pm   David Cochran Heath will be selections from reading from the Bible, Christian Audio

MONDAY June 25, 4:00pm – 5:30pm, Anaheim Convention Center, Room 213D. Cocktail Reception to Follow.        The Sweet Sounds of the Odyssey Ceremony – FREE to attend!

The Odyssey Award is given to the producer of the best audiobook produced for children  and/or young adults, available in English in the United States. Stepping out from behind the recording booth, your favorite narrators perform a piece from their Odyssey Award-winning audiobooks at this engaging presentation. Celebrating the magic of audio and storytelling has never been so much fun.
PLUS, every attendee walks away with a FRE

Link up with narrators, fans & industry insiders for #JIAM2012 June is Audiobook Month!

Audiobook Community on Facebook is an uncensored, unbranded forum for all audiobook listeners to discover audiobooks and connect with other fans, publishers, authors, and narrators. You’ll find posts from just about everyone in the audiobook world. Essential for every audio affecienando!

Audiobook Crowd on Facebook is a collection of audiobook professionals talking shop, a great place for those interested in learning more about the industry.

Miss Susie created an awesome collection of Twitter links to narrators, blogs, and audio publishers – sadly, I missed the post requesting links, so my Audiobooker Twitter link is missing from the list.

Celebrate June is Audiobook Month by making connections with the friendly voices you’ve been hearing in your head

June is Audiobook Month and the listenin’ is easy. Great suggestions for an in-car book club to make traveling time fly by are in the links below!

NPR’s Audiobooks That’ll Make the Family Road Trip Fly By

USA Today’s Good Picks for Audiobooks on Your Road Trip This Summer

SiriusXM’s Kids Place Live Summer Book Club

AudioFile Magazine’s Audiobooks on the Go Summer Listening for Kids & Families

Random House Audio’s Heard Any Good Books Lately (with three free titles!)

Need hints for including summer audiobook listening to your library’s programming & promotions? Try these suggestions from Books on Tape or grab links to FREE audiobook titles plus promotion materials from SYNC

Free webinar for fans & librarians Tuesday June 12, 2pm Eastern. Celebrate National Audiobook Month this June with Booklist! Representatives from AudioGO, Books on Tape/Random House, Dreamscape, Recorded Books, and Tantor Audio will discuss the latest audios and upcoming trends in this hour-long, free webinar. Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with audiobook experts and get a preview of summer and fall listening titles. If you can’t attendin real time, sign up any way – you’ll get a link to the archived webinar

Free webinar for fans & librarians Tuesday June 12 – perfect for #JIAM2012 June is Audiobook Month. I love that Booklist’s webinars are archived, so that those interested can view any of the past webinars here. And if you can’t take part in real time at 2pm Eastern on Tuesday, sign up here anyway – you’ll get an email with a link to the video of the archived session as soon as it’s available. Here’s the complete scoop:

Celebrate National Audiobook Month this June with Booklist! Representatives from AudioGO, Books on Tape/Random House, Dreamscape, Recorded Books, and Tantor Audio will discuss the latest audios and upcoming trends in this hour-long, free webinar. Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with audiobook experts and get a preview of summer and fall listening titles.

Celebrate June is Audiobook Month #JIAM2012 by getting acquainted with Dion Graham, the recipient of this year’s Booklist Voice of Choice Award. You can read all about Dion’s acting career in Joyce Saricks’ feature article here: http://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=5491067.

Look for more about Dion here on Audiobooker in a coming interview where we chat about the art of narrating memoirs. I was so thrilled to spend time with Dion at the Audies Gala last Tuesday evening – he is a gracious and warm gentleman. Plus, a slam-dunk addition to the “Hot Men & Women of Audio” calendar that I’m trying to organize

Find out about past Voice of Choice recipients Katherine Kellgren, Simon Prebble, Simon Vance, and Barbara Rosenblat - the all the very best audiobook voices!

Congratulations to the winners of the Oscars of the audiobook world! 2012′s top narrators & producers were recognized at the Audio Publishers Association’s Audies Award Gala June 5th at the New York Historical Society in New York City. Comedian, actor, writer and director Michael Showalter emceed the event, where I was thrilled to be in the company of the stars of the industry. The highlight of the evening was the announcement of the Audiobook of the Year recognized for unparalleled listening experiences; creative, innovative and effective marketing; and significant sales impact on the audiobook industry.

Congratulations to the three finalists for Audiobook of the Year:
• American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition, by Neil Gaiman, Narrated by Neil Gaiman, Dennis Boutsikaris, Daniel Oreskes, Ron McLarty, Sarah Jones and a full cast (HarperAudio)
• Go the F**k to Sleep, by Adam Mansbach, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson (Audible)
• Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson, narrated by Dylan Baker with an introduction by the author (Simon & Schuster Audio)

AND THE AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER IS: Bossypants, written and narrated by Tina Fey (Hachette Audio)

The prestigious Distinguished Achievement in Production Award recognizes a production that represents the best the format has to offer in listening excellence. Congratulations to the three finalists:

• The Mark of Zorro, by Yuri Rasovsky, narrated by Val Kilmer and a full cast (Blackstone Audio, Inc.)
• She Walks in Beauty: A Woman’s Journey Through Poems, selected, introduced and narrated by Caroline Kennedy and a full cast (Hyperion Audio)
• The Witches of Lublin, by Ellen Kushner, Elizabeth Schwartz and Yale Strom, Narrated by Tovah Feldshuh, Neil Gaiman, Simon Jones, Barbara Rosenblat, Elizabeth Boskey, Joanne Borts, Yelena Shmulenson, Joyce Feurring, Tim Jerome, Miriam Margolyes and a full cast (SueMedia Productions)

AND THE DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION AWARD WINNER IS: The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic, by Allan Wolf, narrated by Michael Page, Phil Gigante, Christopher Lane, Laural Merlington and Angela Dawe (Candlewick on Brilliance Audio)

And the winners of the following Audies cataories…

SOLO NARRATION—FEMALE

Rosalyn Landor, narrator of The Winter Sea, by Susanna Kearsley, Audible, Inc.

SOLO NARRATION—MALE

Simon Vance, narrator of The King’s Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy, by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi, Tantor Audio

AUDIO DRAMA

I, Claudius, by Robert Graves, Narrated by Derek Jacobi, Tim McInnerny, Harriet Walter,  AudioGO/BBC Audio

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR

Bossypants, by Tina Fey, Narrated by Tina Fey, Hachette Audio

BUSINESS/EDUCATIONAL

The Barefoot Executive, by Carrie Wilkerson, Narrated by Carrie Wilkerson, Oasis Audio

CHILDREN’S TITLES FOR AGES 8-12

Heart and Soul, by Kadir Nelson, Narrated by Debbie Allen, HarperAudio

CHILDREN’S TITLES FOR AGES UP TO 8

Django: World’s Greatest Jazz Guitarist, by Bonnie Christensen, Narrated by George Guidall, Live Oak Media

CLASSIC

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, by Charles Dickens, Narrated by Simon Vance,�

Get the inside scoop from two pro narrators sharing interviews for #JIAM June is Audiobook Month. Narrator Karen White will be posting her interviews with industry insiders on her Home Cooked Books blog, beginning with this chat with Blackstone Audio’s Tanya Perez. Narrator Robert Fass will be posting a video each day on his YouTube channel. I’m featuring his interview with AudioGo’s Michele Cobb, president of the Audio Publishers Association below. I hope to meet up with Karen, Robert and Michele at today’s Audiobook Publishers Association Annual Conference or at tomorrow’s Audies Award Gala. Keep tuned updates on all things Audies from NYC!

Your voicemail by award-winning audiobook narrator? Enter this #JIAM2012 June is Audiobook Month contest from Recorded Books and you could have George Guidall or Barbara Rosenblat as the official voice of your library! Here’s how Recorded Books is celebrating JIAM:

Check out our Audiobook Month events:

• Record a short (1 minute max) video sharing your favorite audiobook moment or write a few lines to tell us what audiobooks mean to you. Post your video online and send us the link viafacebook.com/recordedbooks,twitter.com/recordedbooks, or email us. At the end of June, we’ll pick two winners who will get a personalized voicemail message for their library read by an AudioFile Golden Voice: George Guidall or Barbara Rosenblat!*
• On the RB blog ( www.recordedbooksblog.com), we’ll be featuring “favorite audiobook moments&rsquo from some of our favorite narrators, including Simon Vance, Robin Miles, Barbara Rosenblat, Christina Moore, Jenny Sterlin, Andrew Garman, Robert Ian Mackenzie, George Guidall, Carol Monda, Johnny Heller, Mark Turetsky, and many more.
• At this year’s ALA conference (June 21-26, 2012), anyone who stops by booth #900 for ademonstration of OneClickdigital or any of our digital products will receive a copy of Robyn Carr’s “Hidden Summit”and be entered to win a free iPad®!

 

Vote for $5,000 winner! 10 finalists at www.youtube.com/getcaughtlistening Perfect #JIAM2012 way to start off the second day of June is Audiobook Month. Watch the finalists of the Audio Publishers Association’s great way to reach more people than ever about audiobooks. The grand prize winner gets $5,000; second place gets $2,000; third place gets $1,000. Why not post the link on your library’s web site or share with friends? Get more info about the free resources available through the Get Caught Listening promotion here!