Dear Fellow Creatives,

As we speak, we are about to upload onto international platforms a work (we are so very proud of) - Fiona Foley - Provocateur, by the stunning writer Louise Martin-Chew; have an audition call-out for Some People Want to Shoot Me (about indigenous leader Wayne Bergmann), and have signed a contract with Kind Press author - April Simone (whose book, Pain as a Portal is being released in May).  

Self narration isn't as easy as it sounds! We check the voice to ensure it is audio-compatible, provide tuition and scripting advice, studio management, adjust the book for audio, and also direction in recording. I know that our conversations with self-narrators - is always full of excitement, and much is learned about the translation of a sentence into sound! If you do decide to go that way - having a team of experts behind you to ensure your self-narrated work is brilliant, is essential. 

It has been a dramatic year for all of us - and the world of audiobooks continues to plunge into the storytelling we all need to partake in. The achievements this year have been momentous - breakthroughs in subjects that are critical to our understanding of human nature -  subjects of abuse, discrimination, as well as self-empowerment, using pain to advantage, frugality as abundance - and then the sheer joy of fictional drama and Indigenous mythology - all of these contributing to enriching our inner and outer lives. 

And, the Department of Communities and Justice Anthology we have produced for three years running now - with its rich mission to capture the stories of our elders, and do so in 11 community languages! Total immersion, and our team at its best - working with Richa Bulchandani of the Dept. Thanks Caroline George, Cristin Kelly and Marty Gallagher - and performers Chloe Schwank, Janine Penfold and David Tredinnick. 

Below - Cristin Kelly below gives details of some of our productions. This does not include the ongoing relationship we maintain with authors we have worked with - these continue! Eg Nina Angelo - whose book Don't Cry Dance was produced last year - is being interviewed soon on SBS on the subjects covered in her book. I am moved by the fact that Lex Marinos was the narrator performing Nina's father (Alberto). Vale Lex. A wonderful person and performer. His audio files were made available to SBS reporter Sandra Fulloon for her program. 

Already our schedule is filling - and I do encourage you to speak with us if you are planning an audiobook production for 2025!

Have a nourishing and creative festive period and summer month of December! 

Maria 

Maria

Maria IssarisHead of Audiobooksaudiobooksradio

Voice Performer Call Out Reminder - Some People Want to Shoot Me

Our latest audition call-out is now open for submissions, with an aim for a mid to late December start for the successful candidate.

Some People Want to Shoot Me is the story of Indigenous leader Wayne Bergmann, from the Kimberly region, told in third person. The authors are open to female and male sounding voices. Indigenous and non-Indigenous performers are invited to apply. Please note: the successful candidate will work with the authors via Zoom meetings and voice recordings regarding words in language and dialect. 

The preferred accent is Australian, with the ability to convey both gravitas and larrikin humour. The performance is warm, confident, and never didactic. 

Click the button below to go to the audition form with full information about the project, audition script, and more information about the book.

Auditions close Sunday 15 December at midnight.

We look forward to hearing your auditions!

2024 In Audiobooks!

It has been our honour this year to help turn these books into audiobooks. Thank you to the authors and publishers for entrusting us with your books, and to the voice performers who took such good care of them. We always say that we fall in love with every book we work on (occupational hazard!), and this year was no exception.

The audiobooks we produced in 2024 have been:

-Whole Hearted: Self-leadership for Women in Transition by Terri Connellan, performed by Christina Percival

-The Bowman Standard by Scott Wilson, performed by Samuel Johnson

-The Art of Frugal Hedonism by Annie Raser-Rowland with Adam Grubb, performed by Alice Ansara

-Your Body is the Portal to Your Soul, written and preformed by Iris Angellys

-Mastering Hard Conversations, written and performed by Mark Rosenberg

-Agnes: A Childhood Betrayed and Reclaimed by Judy King, performed by Lisa Armytage

-Mega-Soar-Us, written and performed by Sufira Mingara

-Seniors’ Stories: Volume 10, a compilation by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, edited by Colleen Parker, performed by Janine Penfold, Chloe Schwank, David Tredinnick and 11 community language narrators

-Stammering Against Truth by Wen Gibson, performed by Sarah Armanious

Production Updates

In Production

-It’s a wrap on Fiona Foley: Provocateur by Louise-Martin Chew. This memoir of the renowned artist is both a journalistic account of her life and career and a story of friendship. It has been a collaborative process, with Christina Percival as the voice of the author and Tabatha Saunders speaking the words of Fiona Foley. Find it on all platforms in the coming weeks!

-We will be working through December and right back to it in the new year with Some People Want to Shoot Me (see audition notice above) and several projects on the books between now and mid-2025. We are booking up, so be in touch if you have an audiobook project you’d like to work together on!

Do you have a Home Studio?

We are currently compiling a list of performers with excellent home studios who may be available for small jobs and/or fast-turnaround projects that come our way from time to time. 

If we have not worked with you or you have upgraded your studio, pleas be in touch with maria@audiobooksradio.com.au to tell us about your set up.

Do you know an author, narrator, or anyone else who would like to keep up with audiobooksradio? Forward them this newsletter to let them know that they can SUBSCRIBE here (use the button below). And, be sure to mark our emails SAFE to ensure that they don’t filter into you “spam” folders.