It would be fair say that we’re fascinated by audiobooks and learning about their production, distribution, and everything else involved in the process. Last month we interviewed Jamie Dupras and Jeff Guillot from Deyan Audio in Los Angeles, but for this month’s podcast episode, we brought the conversation to Canada. Ann Jansen, Director of Audiobook Production at Penguin Random House Canada, and David Caron, Co-Publisher at ECW Press, joined BookNet Canada Research Associate Shimona Hirchberg for a conversation about the state of the audiobook industry in Canada and what’s on the horizon for this rapidly evolving chapter of publishing.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2020/8/31/podcast-the-story-of-canadian-audiobooks)

Links:

-BookNet Canada's Press Play: Audiobook Use in Canada 2020: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/press-play-audiobook-use-in-canada-2020

-ECW Press' office land acknowledgment: https://ecwpress.com/pages/about-us

-Longest audiobook Ann has ever worked on, First Snow, Last Light by Wayne Johnston: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/549668/first-snow-last-light-by-wayne-johnston/9780735272576

-Longest audiobook David has ever worked on, Membering by Austin Clarke: https://ecwpress.com/products/membering

-Audiobook on about diversity and inclusion that PRHC licensed, The Authenticity Principle by Ritu Bhasin: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/605932/the-authenticity-principle-by-written-and-read-by-ritu-bhasin/9780771009747

-Audiobook PRHC is about to co-publish with Dundurn Press, Seven by Farzana Doctor: https://www.dundurn.com/books/Seven

-Audiobook Ann was recently directing remotely, Dearly by Margaret Atwood: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/647306/dearly-by-margaret-atwood/9780771012969

-Backlist books PRHC has worked on or is currently working on:

Funny Boy by Shyam Selvadurai: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/163908/funny-boy-by-shyam-selvadurai/9780771001758

Halfbreed by Maria Campbell: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/610927/halfbreed-by-maria-campbell/9780771024092

Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/113915/fugitive-pieces-by-anne-michaels/9780771058820

Lives of the Saints by Nino Ricci: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/153652/lives-of-the-saints-by-nino-ricci/9780385696050

Richard Wagamese’s books: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/authors/32220/richard-wagamese

-Titles part of ECW’s Bespeak list:

Policing Black Lives by Robin Maynard, narrated by Marcia Johnson: https://ecwpress.com/products/policing-black-lives

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom, narrated by Adri Almeida: https://ecwpress.com/products/fierce-femmes-and-notorious-liars

In Search of April Raintree by Beatrice Mosionier, narrated by Michaela Washburn: https://ecwpress.com/products/in-search-of-april-raintree

Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead: https://ecwpress.com/products/jonny-appleseed

Islands of Decolonial Love by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, narrated by Tantoo Cardinal: https://ecwpress.com/products/islands-of-decolonial-love

For last month’s podcast episode we had planned to include bits of an interview BookNet Canada Research Associate Shimona Hirchberg had with Jamie Dupras and Jeff Guillot from Deyan Audio but the conversation was so rich we decided to share the full interview in this month’s episode. Among other things, they talked about

-the nitty-gritty of audiobook production and distribution;

-audiobooks in languages other than English;

-casting and working with diverse narrators; and

-the Canadian audiobook market.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2020/7/27/podcast-the-whys-and-hows-of-audiobooks-a-conversation-with-deyan-audio)

Links:

-BookNet Canada's Press Play: Audiobook Use in Canada 2020: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/press-play-audiobook-use-in-canada-2020

-ACP symposium report Audiobooks: Building Capacity for Canadian Creation and Publishing: https://publishers.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ACP_audiobook_report_FA_05-11-2020_SM.pdf

-ACP and eBOUND's Accessible Publishing Research Project: https://www.eboundcanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ACP_eBound_AccessibilityReport_final.pdf

-Audiobook quality control service Pozotron: https://www.pozotron.com/

-Deyan Audio website: https://deyanaudio.squarespace.com/

-Deyan Audio actor index for casting: https://www.deyanaudio.com/castingindex.html

-Fortune article: Chef Marcus Samuelsson Wants to Redefine Cookbooks Through Audiobooks: https://fortune.com/2019/06/29/marcus-samuelsson-audiobook/

-"How Do YOU Read?" study conducted by the National Network of Equitable Library Service: https://nnels.ca/HDYR-KeyFindings

Our biennial study on audiobook use among Canadians is here! Join BookNet Canada Research Associate Shimona Hirchberg and President & CEO Noah Genner as they go over how Canadian audiobook listeners discover, use, and feel about audiobooks, including what they like to listen to, when they like to listen, and how they obtain their audiobook content.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2020/6/29/podcast-press-play-audiobook-use-in-canada-2020)

Links:

- BookNet Canada's research: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/bnc-research

- Press Play: Audiobook Use in Canada 2020: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/press-play-audiobook-use-in-canada-2020

- Canadian Leisure & Reading Study 2020: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/canadian-leisure-and-reading-2020

- Noah Genner's Audiobooks in Canada presentation: https://youtu.be/t9CTydJMRrk

- The Impact of COVID-19 On Reading survey results on the BNC Blog: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2020/4/15/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-reading

- Inaugural Press Play email course sign up: https://booknetcanada.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4576b1cb7fdce43af498937a5&id=fd163659c8

Isadora Cal goes over how in Brazil, a country with so many adversities in all areas, accessible publishing is being tackled. She shares how Bookwire Brazil is taking part on it, being in the position of an aggregator, and what further options they’re currently exploring. Accessible publishing is a social issue, but one that will be profitable for companies and for the market as a whole.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2020/5/26/podcast-making-brazilian-literature-accessible)

The results for our annual Canadian Leisure and Reading survey are in! BookNet Canada President & CEO Noah Genner and Research Associate Shimona Hirchberg will tell you all about them in this month's podcast episode.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2020/4/27/podcast-canadian-leisure-amp-reading-study-2020)

Links:

- BookNet Canada's research: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/bnc-research

- Canadian Leisure & Reading Study 2020: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/canadian-leisure-and-reading-2020

- Noah Genner’s Book industry state of the nation 2020 presentation: https://youtu.be/nr-Lrvxz5Nc

Reading Together: Book Clubs in Canada: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/reading-together

What better time than the present to start a podcast? Learn how to get started and create the best podcast possible with tips from BookNet Canada’s Marketing Manager and Tech Forum speaker, Zalina Alvi in this podcast sharing her Tech Forum presentation, Podcasting for beginners.

(Find the transcript here: Find a transcript to the episode at https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2020/3/31/podcast-podcasting-for-beginners)

Links

Podcasting for beginners on YouTube: https://youtu.be/uoEy_OoZtAM

Podcasting for beginners presentation slides: https://www.slideshare.net/booknetcanada/getting-started-with-audio-podcasting-for-beginners-zalina-alvi-booknet-canada-tech-forum-2020

Cynthia Pong, feminist career strategist, founder of Embrace Change, and Tech Forum 2020 speaker, joins us this month to talk about the publishing industry’s vertical segregation problem, why stats on diversity haven’t been shifting much, and how we can balance addressing systemic issues with helping individuals to empower themselves.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2020/2/24/podcast-finding-empowerment-in-the-book-industry-with-cynthia-pong)

Links:

- Meg Bolger’s definitions of diversity, equity, and inclusion: https://generalassemb.ly/blog/diversity-inclusion-equity-differences-in-meaning/

- Problems with the equity vs. equality graphic you’ve been seeing: https://culturalorganizing.org/the-problem-with-that-equity-vs-equality-graphic/

- Jhaymee Tynan’s commitment to sponsor 100 women of colour by 2030: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellevate/2020/02/05/why-im-sponsoring-100-women-of-color-in-healthcare-by-2030/#184672083f3f

- Wordup Community Bookshop: https://www.wordupbooks.com/

- Cynthia’s workshop at Tech Forum on March 25: https://sched.co/aDhQ

With the recent release of new BISAC subject codes for 2019, host Elizabeth Barker goes over the changes, what they mean for Indigenous books in Canada, and asks publishers Theytus Books, Second Story Press, and Kegedonce to share their thoughts.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2020/1/27/podcast-new-bisac-codes-for-indigenous-books)

Episode links:

- BISG press release https://bisg.org/news/481848/Updated-BISAC-Subject-Headings-Released.htm

- BISG Appendix of Inactivated Codes https://bisg.org/page/InactivatedCodes

- What's New In Bibliographic Standards https://booknetcanada.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/UserDocs/pages/1378799/What+s+New+In+Bibliographic+Standards

- Theytus Books http://www.theytus.com/

- Second Story Press https://secondstorypress.ca/

- Kegedonce https://kegedonce.com/

In this episode, we talk to BookNet President and CEO, Noah Genner, about the decade in review. What were the biggest trends in publishing? What were the biggest changes to the supply chain? And what happened at BookNet Canada? We're also bringing you highlights from our top five most popular episodes.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2019/12/16/podcast-a-look-back-at-the-decade)

Further reading/listening

- What’s In Store: The State of Independent Bookselling in Canada: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/whats-in-store

- Innovative bookselling, part 1: Outside-the-box partnerships: https://soundcloud.com/booknet-canada/innovative-bookselling-part-1-outside-the-box-partnerships

-49th Shelf: https://49thshelf.com/

- Briny Books: http://www.brinybooks.ca/

- Shoot for the Moon: Awards for underrepresented writers: https://soundcloud.com/booknet-canada/shoot-for-the-moon-awards-for-underrepresented-writers

- shootforthemoon.art: https://shootforthemoon.art/

- Information Doesn't Want to be Free - Cory Doctorow - Tech Forum 2015: https://soundcloud.com/booknet-canada/information-doesnt-want-to-be-free-cory-doctorow-tech-forum-2015

- True Crime: https://soundcloud.com/booknet-canada/true-crime

- Slate: The True Crime Memoir: https://slate.com/culture/2017/08/the-true-crime-memoir-when-mfa-grads-and-literary-aspirants-write-true-crime.html

- Buzzfeed: Being "polite" often gets women killed: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/scaachikoul/whats-your-favorite-murder#.oqbqp223a

- Demand for Diversity: https://soundcloud.com/booknet-canada/demand-for-diversity

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) has been used for decades in other industries, like in car manufacturing and for commercial use as anti-theft systems. And while the technology could have applications in the book supply chain, it has never been put into practice. This month's host, Elizabeth Barker, and BookNet Canada Bibliographic Manager Tom Richardson discuss RFID's potential for tracking books and why the book industry will never adopt them.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2019/11/26/podcast-radio-frequency-identification-amp-the-publishing-industry)