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Audiobook Buzz: June Update
- Maria Issaris
- Aug 13
- 4 min read
Dear Fellow Creatives,
Turning your manuscript into a rich aural experience that gets across your themes, your passion, your insights and wisdom, is not a transcript!
Co-creation has been the key to solving many issues arising from the wide variety of manuscripts that we have produced into audiobooks over the past few months! From therapy modalities requiring meditation and reflection - to scientific works with references and quotes, to picture-laden books with practical instructions.
It is very exciting for our team to sit with you as the author or narrator and see how it can best be turned into an audio experience. Some sentences are perfect in print - and just don't work spoken out loud.
The spirit of the book is what is needed to make an audiobook work - whether you are an ophthalmologist or a fantasy writer or a farmer, you want to impart the message to your listener in a stunning way. And those listeners are a much broader range of demographic (age, background, literacy level) than a print book will ever reach.
We are continuing also with providing little videos that allow you to pick up tips about audiobook production - how to prep your manuscript no matter what stage you are at.
Many thanks to the multi-talented, and intuitive Cristin Kelly on our team. And Marty Gallagher - our extraordinary audio engineer. And Lorretta Jessop with her insightful contributions to the way we communicate and orient our information! The synergy here benefits our authors, our publishers and our incredibly talented performers.
Have fun listening and reading!
Maria
Maria IssarisHead of Audiobooksaudiobooksradio
Voice Performer Call Out Reminder - When Time Means Nothing - Auditions Close 10 June
Our latest audition call-out is now open for submissions.
When Time Means Nothing by Judi Nash is a 90,000 word book about the author’s evolving commitment to self-development and the fiercely challenging journey into the unchartered minefields of her past - a past which embodies important issues of Australia's identity.
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 Tuesday 10 June at midnight.
We look forward to hearing your auditions!
If this call-out is not right for you, but you know someone who would be perfect, please forward this along!
Find the full information and audition form here.
Production Updates
Maria and Lorretta had a chat recently about different production processes - and yes, any type of book can be turned into a audiobook!
Now Available
Look on your preferred audiobook platform for these new additions!
-Wayne Bergmann and Madelaine Dickie's remarkable memoir Some People Want to Shoot Me (published by Fremantle Press) is narrated by Tamala Shelton. This story documents Wayne’s work on the Kimberley Land Council, his commitment to the Traditional owners, and the controversial and dangerous fight he found himself in.
-Gaia Village is Saeko Angwin’s exploration into the true self - a self-healing journey. Performer Nicky Whichelow brings her perception and skill with language , while Martin Gallagher’s soundscape builds an immersive experience.
-And for a bit of lighter fare, David Treddinick’s storytelling is the perfect match for MS Lawson’s Hollywood romance No Wolves in Los Angeles. This one is under $1 on most platforms, so you may want to give it a try!
Coming Soon
-Alexandra Aadams has an exciting launch coming up! The Self-Made Saint (published by High Frequency Press) will be released in all formats - including the delicious audiobook narrated by Lisa Armytage - on 2 October. You can follow her debut author journey on her Instagram.
-An incredible, epic story based on her mother’s lived experience during the Partition of India and Pakistan, Manjula Waldon's Love Partitioned, will be up on all platforms in the coming weeks. Caroline L George outdid herself with her performance of this book, and Martin Gallagher worked with Manjula to bring to life her ideas for musical touches that bring us to the time period.
-Excuse our fan-like gushing, but Captain Michelle Huntington is just so cool. She recorded her memoir, Lady MacGyver, with us directing and engineering her work as she narrated! She wowed everyone with exciting tales of her years as an airline pilot. Lady MacGyver is published by Ginninderra Press and will be released later this winter in all formats. Follow the Captain on Instagram for release updates.
-April Simone really put her heart on the line as she recorded her healing journey Pain is a Portal . April knew that self-narration would be a big challenge, so she and Maria worked together for weeks ahead of her recording session. April is a trained therapist with a deep commitment to helping people to use their pain as a means of transformation. Her audiobook will be on all platforms soon.
In Production
We really do learn something new everyday in this line of work, and that has never been more true than with Jeanette Gower’s The Thinking Horse Breeder. Jeanette has been breeding horses for over 50 years under the Chalani prefix! Christina Percival is currently recording the final chapters of Jeanette’s guide to horse breeding. This audiobook will also have a PDF attachment, and we are rather smitten with the gorgeous horses!
Do you have a book that should be an audiobook? Please be in touch to speak with us about the specifics of your project.
The Last Mile Problem: We Can Help
It is not unusual for us to hear from authors who have an audiobook recorded, but have gotten stuck at the final stage of file management and upload. It’s not surprising - audiobooks are complicated and finnicky, much more so than podcasts.
Recently, we worked with Alex Urquhart, whose novel Imagining the Bennets was recorded by Lisa Armytage. We helped organise the files, checked them for audiobook standard quality, ensured all the metadata and details were taken care of, and facilitated the upload of files for distribution. You’ll find Imagining the Bennets on worldwide platforms in the next couple of weeks!
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.
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