AUDIBLE LAUNCHES “NEIL GAIMAN PRESENTS” ON THE AUDIOBOOK CREATION EXCHANGE
Gaiman uses ACX to curate and produce an exclusive group of handpicked titles never
before available in unabridged audio
NEWARK, NJ – October 25, 2011 – Audible, Inc., today announced the launch of Neil
Gaiman Presents, a bespoke line of audiobooks personally selected by the internationally
best-selling author and screenwriter, and then produced on the Audiobook Creation
Exchange (ACX.com). Gaiman, an avid reader as well as an award-winning audiobook
narrator and connoisseur of spoken-word performance, has chosen some of his favorite
works of fiction and nonfiction with their specific attributes for audio in mind, and then
personally supervised the casting for each book so that each author’s work is performed
by that book’s ideal narrator.
Gaiman explained, “I’ve picked books I loved and wanted more people to find, and
worked as closely as I could with each author to find just the right narrator for each
audiobook.” Gaiman has written and recorded an introduction to each audiobook
produced under his label.
ACX, an online audiobook rights marketplace and audiobook production platform that
matches book rights holders with narrators and producers, has facilitated the audiobook
production of the books Gaiman has chosen for Neil Gaiman Presents.
The first of these new productions are scheduled for release today. The initial list of
Neil Gaiman Presents audiobooks highlights an eclectic group of literary masters
whose works ought to have been in audio but for the time in which they were published,
including New York Times best-selling author Jonathan Carroll’s The Land of Laughs; Robert
Sheckley’s influential Dimension of Miracles, narrated by John Hodgman; Keith Roberts’s
landmark work of alternate history, Pavane; Ellen Kushner’s classic Swordspoint, the
production of which features multicast dramatizations interspersed with the author’s
narration; and The Adventures of Doctor Eszterhazy, collecting for the first time in any format
all of the Dr. Eszterhazy stories by the Hugo- and Edgar Award-winning Avram Davidson.
“The books in the Neil Gaiman Presents line aren’t any one thing,” said Gaiman. “They
wander from genre to genre. I don’t like just one kind of book, after all.”
Many of Gaiman’s picks already in the pipeline are planned for production via ACX and
will be released under the Neil Gaiman Presents aegis throughout 2012 and beyond. The
full list of titles comprising the Neil Gaiman Presents label at launch is:
The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill
The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll
You Must Go and Win by Alina Simone
Light by M. John Harrison
Pavane by Keith Roberts
Figures of Earth by James Branch Cabell
The High Place by James Branch Cabell
Jurgen by James Branch Cabell
White Apples by Jonathan Carroll
The Adventures of Doctor Eszterhazy by Avram Davidson
Viriconium by M. John Harrison
Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner
Anita by Keith Roberts
Was by Geoff Ryman
Dimension of Miracles by Robert Sheckley
Green Phoenix by Thomas Burnett Swann
“Neil’s passions align perfectly with the goals of ACX, which is why we are so thrilled
he’s launching Neil Gaiman Presents through the ACX service,” said Donald Katz,
founder and CEO of Audible.com, which has developed the ACX.com marketplace
website and underlying technologies. “Neil is a longtime advocate for audio, and his
profound respect for the enduring literary tradition of storytelling, and his appreciation for
the pleasures of being read to, inspire all of us at Audible.”
“I love audiobooks,” added Gaiman. “I don’t remember a time I didn’t love listening to
stories. I think that listening to a book performed well is its own special thing, a unique
experience, combining the joy of a dramatic performance with the special relationship
a reader has with a book. Sharing books I love, and helping to make them available in
audio, is great fun and an enormous privilege.”
ACX, which launched this past May, currently has over 400 audiobooks in production,
with almost 100 audiobooks already available for purchase at Audible.com. Offering
rights holders unparalleled access to top-flight narrators and producers, and helping
empower actors to seek out and audition for exciting projects, ACX is giving an
increasing number of books and authors a new life in audio, while introducing these
previously unavailable titles to a fervent and ever-growing audiobook audience.
For further information, please contact Matthew Thornton at mthornton@audible.com or
973-820-0402.
http://www.audible.com/mt/Neil_Gaiman_Presents
About Audible.com
Audible (www.audible.com) is the leading provider of premium digital spoken audio
information and entertainment on the Internet. Content from Audible is downloaded
and played back on personal computers, CDs, or AudibleReady computer-based and
wireless mobile devices. Audible has over 100,000 audio programs from more than 1,800
content providers that include leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers,
magazine and newspaper publishers, and business information providers. Audible is the
preeminent provider of spoken-word audio products for Apple’s iTunes Store. Audible,
Audible.com, AudibleListener and AudibleReady are trademarks of Audible, Inc. or its
affiliates. Other product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of
their respective owners.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle,
opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection.
Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers
can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer
its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions
of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music
& Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids
& Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and
Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers
with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end
technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business.
The new latest generation Kindle is the lightest, most compact Kindle ever and features
the same 6-inch, most advanced electronic ink display that reads like real paper even in
bright sunlight. Kindle Touch is a new addition to the Kindle family with an easy-to-use
touch screen that makes it easier than ever to turn pages, search, shop, and take notes
– still with all the benefits of the most advanced electronic ink display. Kindle Touch 3G
is the top of the line e-reader and offers the same new design and features of Kindle
Touch, with the unparalleled added convenience of free 3G. Kindle Fire is the Kindle for
movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, apps, games and web browsing with all the
content, free storage in the Amazon Cloud, Whispersync, Amazon Silk (Amazon’s new
revolutionary cloud-accelerated web browser), vibrant color touch screen, and powerful
dual-core processor.
Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including http://www.amazon.com,
http://www.amazon.co.uk, http://www.amazon.de, http://www.amazon.co.jp, http://www.amazon.fr,
http://www.amazon.ca, http://www.amazon.cn, http://www.amazon.it, and http://www.amazon.es. As used
herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its
subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section
27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management’s expectations.
These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among
others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services
and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion,
outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality,
commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange
rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments
and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com’s
financial results is included in Amazon.com’s filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent
filings.
