Audio: News Briefs

Thomas Nelson's new NelsonFree program makes available a book's content in multiple formats at no extra charge. Readers purchasing a physical book with the NelsonFree logo can, after registering online, download the select hardcover title as both an audio MP3 file and an EPub, MobiPocket, or PDF ebook. The first two NelsonFree titles—Scott McKain's Collapse of Distinction and Michael Franzese's I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse—were released late last month; another ten will follow through the end of 2009. More info at www.thomasnelson.com.

When news leaked out that Amazon's Kindle 2 would include a text-to-speech function, Authors Guild president Roy Blount Jr. aired his grievances in a February 25 New York Times op-ed. When writer Neil Gaiman's publicist, too, voiced concern over the prospect of authors being uncompensated for audio rights, Gaiman wholly disagreed. Read his own summary of his argument at journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/02/quick-argument-summary.html.

Available this month on CD and as a digital download from Sound Library: BBC Audiobooks America: Slumdog Millionaire. Vikas Swarup's 2005 Boeke Prize-winning book, originally titled Q&A, was adapted by Simon Beufoy into a 2008 film that won eight Academy Awards, five Critics' Choice Awards, four Golden Globes, and seven BAFTA Awards. Christopher Simpson (The Buddha of Suburbia) reads. More info at www.bbcaudiobooksamerica.com.

Doctor Who star David Tennant lends his voice to Naxos AudioBooks' new collection of eight Shakespearean sonnets, From Shakespeare—with Love: The Best of the Sonnets (1 CD. retail ed. unabridged. 1¼ hrs. ISBN 978-962-634-956-4. $14.98), whose release this month ties in to the 40th anniversary of the sonnets' full publication. Actors Juliet Stevenson, Anton Lesser, and Maxine Peake also read. More info at www.naxosaudiobooks.com.

Available from GraphicAudio (www.graphicaudio.net) this month is a new series on CD: R.A. Salvatore's "The Demon War Saga," which kicks off with The Demon Awakens (6 hrs. ISBN 978-1-59950-551-0). More info and an audio clip at tinyurl.com/DemonAwakens.