

The evolution of the spoken book mirrors innovations in the music industry: Books on tape replaced vinyl audiobooks, streaming superseded compact discs and smartphones are replacing all else.
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In 2008, the Library of Congress credited that recording with “launching the audiobook industry in the United States.” How to listen to an audiobook Their first release - a collection of poems by Dylan Thomas - was narrated by the author. In 1952, Caedmon Records became the first company dedicated to selling spoken word records to the public, according to NPR. Talking books first emerged in 1932 when the American Foundation for the Blind began creating books on vinyl records for war-blinded soldiers and blind civilians who couldn’t read braille.

We are seeing multiple-voice performances with sound effects and music becoming a larger part of the landscape,” she explained.Īfter Thomas Edison created the first spoken word phonograph record in 1877, he predicted technology might one day allow books to be listened to “with great profit and amusement by the lady or gentleman whose eyes and hands may be otherwise employed.” He was right.

“Publishers are adapting non-fiction and graphic novels by using audio soundscapes to fill in what might be lost with no visuals. Now many authors are skipping print altogether and writing exclusive audio content,” Cobb said, adding that publishers are ever-widening the definition of an audiobook. “Twenty years ago an audiobook was taking a Stephen King novel and reading an abridged version. Given the increased desire for audio content, publishers are continuously exploring new ways to grab listeners’ attention. SKIP AHEAD Where to get audiobooks | Best audiobooks for getting started Yet perhaps even more surprising is the age of those listening in: According to the APA, 54% of audiobook listeners are under the age of 45, up 52% from 2019. “But we can all take comfort in that we’re collectively going through this.Audiobooks are experiencing a huge growth spurt, largely because people want to unplug, relax and just listen to a good story, according to Michele Cobb, executive director of the Audio Publishers Association (APA), which reported double-digit growth in the audio publishing space for the tenth consecutive year in 2021. We’re all trying to figure this out from our own spaces,” she says. “I had this crazy realization that the whole world is doing the exact same thing. But the Brit is trying to find solace where she can – say, the rare opportunity for uninterrupted time with her daughter, or being a part of something that, hopefully, people can escape into during these very strange days. When we chat, Dumezweni has been self-isolating for about four weeks because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and she and her daughter were attempting to figure out the process for online schooling. It’s a reminder that resonates particularly strongly at this moment in time.
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It’s full of life lessons: Birth and death are absolute, and how we go about in the world is how we will meet death. Rowling has brilliantly created a beautiful, old-fashioned fairytale,” Dumezweni adds. “It was lovely returning to it, especially because it so many of us from different in the world of Harry Potter.”įrom the collection, the award-winning actress (who you may also recognize from on-screen roles in Mary Poppins Returns and HBO’s upcoming Nicole Kidman-fronted miniseries The Undoing) reads The Tale of the Three Brothers, a fave among fans. “I just love these stories and I love this world,” says Dumezweni from her home in London. The audiobook was produced in support of Lumos, Rowling’s international children’s charity.įans will remember the title as a collection of bedtime fairytales for young wizards that plays a key role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, before the series’ scribe then turned it into an actual book. Jude Law (young Albus Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts series), Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) and Noma Dumezweni (Hermione Granger in the original West End and Broadway stagings of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) have all teamed up for The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which is now available Audible.ca. Rowling’s wizarding world books is available as an audiobook for the first time ever – and it’s narrated by some of the franchise’s biggest stars.
