Thanks to Nina Jackson on LM_Net for the link!

Subtract the illustrations from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, add the author’s narration and what do you get? This year’s Odyssey Award-winning title recognized as the best in audiobook production. Audiobooks for young listeners have long featured the audio rendition of text plus added music & effects. But what about audiobooks of titles for older readers minus the illustrations, as in the Absolutely True Diary or Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules? Even the Caldecott-winning, 550 page novel in words and pictures, The Invention of Hugo Cabret was re-imagined as an audiobook featuring music & sound effects. The Booklist audiobook  review addresses some of the concerns of this comment about Hugo posted on an eariler Audiobooker post:

Is it just me, or is there something really off about the idea of an audio version of Hugo Cabret? Half of the book’s glory (hell, half of the book period) is the illustrations.

There was a similar reaction when the Hugo audiobook was debated on Roger Sutton’s blog, including the response post by author Selznick below on the topic:

I’m never quite sure if an author is supposed to comment about their own work on a blog, but I’ve enjoyed Roger’s blog in the past and just came across this discussion of the audiobook. I wanted to say that I had the same reservations about the idea of an audio book for Hugo…it seemed that the whole point of the book is that it is told with pictures to reference it’s relationship to early movies. But I’ll tell you the reason I said yes (and worked hard with the producers) on this audio project. In 1931, sound was a new thing to the movies (having been introduced of course in The Jazz Singer in 1927), but directors such as Rene Clair thought that sound might ruin movies. He believed that movies were essentially a visual medium, and that sound would make the storytelling too easy. So (for example) in a movie he made in 1931, Under the Roofs of Paris, he used sound sporadically, experimentally, and left the rest of the movie “silent.” This actually was part of the inspiration for having the bursts of images in Hugo (it would parallel the bursts of sound in Clair’s film). SO, when the idea of the audio version of the book was introduced, I was intrigued by the idea of how to use sound the way Clair did. The structure of the audio book is very much like the actual book, in that there are two distinct ways of storytelling working together (hopefully) to tell the tale. We worked really hard to make listening to Hugo its own distinct experience. Yes, it’s different from the book, but the ultimate goal of it was the same, and for me I know I wouldn’t have undertaken the project if there wasn’t something unique that the audio book could do that was different from the book.
Oh, and the DVD is completely separate from the storytelling. It’s a half hour interview with me about making the book, and there is a section where you can see the picture sequences while I talk about the research and ideas that went into drawing them, kind of like a director’s commentary on a movie DVD. But the DVD is really just a bonus. The story exists entirely on the audio CD.
Hope this clarifies some of the ideas behind the audiobook.

Author Augusten Burroughs discusses his re-imagined adult audiobook “A Wolf at the Table” in this video from Macmillan Audio. I’m glad that audiobooks for grown-ups are experimenting with adding music & sound effects. But what are your feelings about titles that depend solely on sound, music, or the voice of a great narrator to convey the spirit of an illustrated tale? Great or ghastly? Does the listener’s impression depend on whether they listen with fresh ears or have experienced the print title first? I am curious in what your comments will say about titles like The Book Thief or The Wright 3 !

Thanks to Random House’s Science Fiction blog, Suvudu, for the link!

Audio, video, lesson plans & more available for free at Teaching Books.net. Here’s more from TeachingBook’s founder, Nick Glass:

A few weeks ago I posted a request for a few hard-to-find cover images of books that were recognized by the Coretta Scott King Book Award. Needless to say, ALSC colleagues came through — generously scanning and emailing these images to me.  Thanks!  From the link below you can now browse through a database that has cover images of all 231 books that have ever been recognized by the Coretta Scott King Book Award in its 40 years of existence.

Besides the book covers, though, are over 250 new, original audio recordings with as many of the recipients that we could reach — as well as a collection of all online resources about these books, authors, and illustrators.  All of this is completely free to use, share, and link to.

From our announcement at ALA when we launched this resource, “The Coretta Scott King Book Award Curriculum Resource Center contains more than eight hours of originally produced audio with award-winning authors and illustrators, presented in accessible, two- to three-minute clips. Searches can be executed by author, illustrator, title, grade level, and curriculum area, as well as by the year or specific Coretta Scott King Book Award citation.

In addition to free, online primary source materials (audio recordings and book readings), the collection features hundreds of lesson plans and original movies filmed in the studios of some of the award-winning authors and illustrators.

Among the more than 250 recordings are Dr. Maya Angelou and George Ford-two of the first recipients of the award in the early 1970s-as well as Dr. Toni Morrison, Walter Dean Myers, Kadir Nelson, Faith Ringgold, and Jacqueline Woodson, some of the most famous and successful recipients.

This Curriculum Resource Center was created by TeachingBooks.net with the support of the Coretta Scott King Book Award 40th Anniversary Public Awareness Campaign Committee. Special thanks to the committee and the co-chairs Andrea Davis Pinkney and Deborah Taylor. Thanks to Satia Orange and Isaac Tufvesson at the American Library Association’s Office for Literacy and Outreach Services.

Thanks, realjohngreen, for the Twitter alert!

Audiobook fans, mark your calendars now: Monday 7/13, 3:30-5:30pm, McCormick Place West in W-470b. This is a free event, no ticket needed. Grab your seats early, as last year this was a standing-room only event -I even spotted a few Newbery-award winners sitting on the floor! The Odyssey Award recognizes excellence in the production of audiobooks for children & young adults, and is sponsored by ALSC, YALSA, and Booklist. The 2009 Odyssey Awards Presentation and Reception will include appearances by  Sherman Alexie, Mirron Willis, and Katherine Kellgren. Refreshments at the Odyssey celebration are courtesy of the Audio Publishers Association. Come recognize the work of the best and brightest in audiobook publishing – and the hard-working members of the 2009 Odyssey Award committee. Hope to see you there!

Audiobook narrator extraordinaire, recognised as the gold standard, gracious grand dame of voice actors – the accolades could go on and on. Barbara Rosenblat is this year’s Voice of Choice, Booklist Magazine’s recognition of lasting impact in the world of audiobook narration. Read Joyce Sarick’s reflections on  Rosenblat’s artistry to learn more about this master performer. And be sure to stop by Rosenblat’s website to drop her a note of congratulations!

Audiobook of the Year: The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman, narrated by Neil Gaiman (HarperAudio)

Distinguished Achievement in Production: Curse of the Blue Tattoo, by L.A. Meyer, narrated by Katherine Kellgren (Listen & Live Audio)

Solo Narration – Male: The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, narrated by John Lee (Blackstone Audio, Inc.)

Solo Narration – Female: Curse of the Blue Tattoo, by L.A. Meyer, narrated by Katherine Kellgren (Listen & Live Audio)

Narration by the Author: When You Are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris, narrated by David Sedaris (Hachette Audio)

Multi-Voiced Performance: Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan, narrated by Joey Collins, Peter Jay Fernandez, Kate Forbes, Ezra Knight, Brenday Pressley and Tom Stechschulte (Recorded Books)

Fiction: (tie) Duma Key, by Stephen King, narrated by John Slattery (Simon & Schuster Audio) and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows, narrated by A full cast (Books on Tape)

Literary Fiction: Elmer Gantry, by Sinclair Lewis, narrated by Anthony Heald (Blackstone Audio, Inc.)

Mystery: Voice of the Violin, by Andrea Camilleri, narrated by Grover Gardner (Blackstone Audio, Inc.)

Thriller/Suspense: Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith, narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris (Hachette Audio)

Romance: The Dark Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning, narrated by Phil Gigante (Brilliance Audio)

Science Fiction: Calculating God, by Robert J. Sawyer, narrated by Jonathan Davis (Audible, Inc.)

Business/Educational: The Little Red Book of Selling, by Jeffrey Gitomer, narrated by Jeffrey Gitomer (Simon & Schuster Audio)

Inspirational/Faith-based Fiction: Prague Counterpoint, by Bodie and Brock Thoene, narrated by Sean Barrett (FamilyAudioLibrary.com)

Classic: Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, narrated by Simon Vance (Tantor Media)

Children’s Titles – Up to Age 8: James Herriot’s Treasury for Children, by James Herriot, narrated by Jim Dale (Macmillan Audio)

Children’s Titles for Ages 8-12: The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman, narrated by Neil Gaiman (HarperAudio)

Teen: Curse of the Blue Tattoo, by L.A. Meyer, narrated by Katherine Kellgren (Listen & Live Audio)

History: Gandhi and Churchill, by Arthur Herman, narrated by John Curless (Recorded Books)

Audio Drama: The Odyssey, by Homer, narrated by Tim McInnerny, Amanda Redman and a full cast (BBC Audiobooks America)

Inspirational/Faith-Based Non-Fiction: The Word of Promise: Next Generation-New Testament, by Various Authors, narrated by Sean Astin and a full cast including Codey Linley, AnnaSophia Robb and Jordin Sparks (Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

Humor: The Learners, by Chip Kidd, narrated by Bronson Pinchot (Blackstone Audio, Inc.)

Short Stories/Collections: Armageddon in Retrospect, by Kurt Vonnegut, narrated by Rip Torn and Michael Vonnegut (Penguin Audio)

Audiobook Adaptation: English Majors: A Comedy Collection for the Highly Literate, by Garrison Keillor, narrated by Garrison Keillor and cast, with special guests Billy Collins, Roy Blount Jr., Robert Bly, Donald Hall, Allen Ginsberg, and Calvin Trillin (HighBridge Company)

Non-Fiction: Hot, Flat and Crowded, by Thomas Friedman, narrated by Oliver Wyman (Macmillan Audio)

Biography/Memoir: The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch, narrated by Erik Singer (HyperionAudio)

Personal Development: You Staying Young, by Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz, narrated by Johnny Heller (Recorded Books)

Spanish Language: Por un Dia Más, by Mitch Albom, narrated by Jose Manuel Vieira (FonoLibro, Inc.)

Judges’ Award – Politics: Hot, Flat and Crowded, by Thomas Friedman, narrated by Oliver Wyman (Macmillan Audio)

Original Work: Louis Vuitton Soundwalk, China: Beijing, by Stephan Crasneanscki, narrated by Gong Li (Soundwalk)

Package Design: Founding Fathers, by Arthur M. Schlesinger, narrated by Ira Claffey and Richard Rohan (Macmillan Audio)

I’ve been busy winding up the school year – the last day with students is June 2nd! But tonight I’m packing for a long weekend in New York City (thank heavens for personal days). I’m going to my very first BookExpo America and to the Audio Publishers Association Conference on Thursday. But best of all, I will be attending the Audies Award Gala where the 2009 Audies will be announced. I had the honor of being a judge for the newly created Distinguished Achievement in Production award, so I will be thrilled to be in the audience as the winner is revealed. And yes, I know the winning audiobook, but I have taken an oath of silence. Check the list of all the Audie Award catagories, and see if any of your favorites are nominated. You can check here for the winners after the ceremony which takes place on May 29th.

And while I am at APAC & BEA, I might take the leap into Twittering – can’t let Keir “I am a Twit” Graff be the only Booklister tweeting. You can follow me (if I ever post anything!) at http://twitter.com/mburkey If you will be in NYC, I hope our paths will cross. Just look for a befuddled newbie in comfortable shoes