The Wild Things

October 1st is also the release date for Dave Eggers' much-anticipated novelization of the Maurice Sendak classic, Where the Wild Things Are. Blackstone is very excited to present the accompanying audio version. Dion Graham, who gave a magnificent rendering of What Is the What (currently the only other Eggers novel available in audio), narrates with a playful but ominous style that reflects the novel's exploration of pre-adolescent confusion and angst. The novel expands quite a bit on the Spike Jonze film version, digging deeper into the frustrated psyche of nine-year-old Max, whose yearning for untrammeled freedom takes him on an adventure to an uncharted island of giant, child-like creatures.

Twisted Tree

Four years ago Kent Meyer's penned The Work of Wolves, a much-admired novel about the epic conflicts found in the tiny town of Twisted Tree, South Dakota. His new novel returns to that setting to explore the tragic effects of a serial killer's visit to this dusty, forlorn locale. The narrative is divided into a dozen or more unique voices and we have accomodated that by bringing an all-star group into our Ashland and LA studios. Ray Porter and Dion Graham happened to be visiting town during the sessions, so we were able to add their contributions to those of Traci Svensgaard, Tai Sammons, Paul Michael Garcia, Malcolm Hillgartner, Anthony Heald, G. Valmont Thomas and myself. Mark Bramhall, Cassandra Campbell, Robertson Dean and Lorna Raver chimed in from LA. The writing is so compelling that every reader asked if he or she could record the whole thing! The release date is October 1st. If you love Raymond Carver, Cormac McCarthy and Andre Dubus, don't fail to pick this up.

Republican Gomorrah

Max Blumenthal's wry skewering of the Religious Right has shot up to #48 on Amazon and hit the New York Times' Bestseller List. We've just acquired the rights and will attempt to set a production record in hustling this out for download, retail and library distribution. William Hughes just wrapped up Andrew Sorkin's monumental Too Big Too Fail (a co-pub with Penguin Audio) but he won't get much of a break, since he'll be heading into the studios tonight to do this one. Bill is a poli-sci professor here in Ashland with a real gift for narrating (and probably the most amazing ear for accents and mimicry I've ever come across). He picked up an AudioFile Earphones Award for The Next 100 Years and turned out a stunning rendition of Steve Lopez's The Soloist. Between Blumenthal's pithy, hyper-observant exposé and Bill's knack for dry wit, this will be a fun listen.

The Amityville Horror

A whole generation of readers was kept up nights by this "true story" of a family's struggle against a ghastly series of hauntings in their "ideal" suburban home. (Remember Jody the Pig? Shudder!) Ray Porter, who brought a perfect blend of camp and creep to Richard Matheson's Hell House, will be narrating. We should be releasing this within a month or so on Audible, hard release to follow. Get ready to relive your nightmares!

A Happy Marriage

At one point during the Audiofile Lobsterbake, Ben Cheever came over to me and handed me a book by his friend, novelist Rafael Yglesias. He was very excited about it, hinted that some very solid reviews were forthcoming, and wondered if Blackstone would be interested in pursuing the audio rights. Sure enough, the next day's New York Times Book Review contained a glowing full-page review, and the daily review which followed was equally strong.

To make a long story short, we pursued it and got the rights (not without some competition--the book was selling at #265 on Amazon within a few days!). It's a wonderful story--I'll quote from the Publisher's Weekly review:

As the novel opens in 1975, 21-year-old Enrique Sabas, a high school–dropout literary wunderkind, has just met Margaret Cohen, a vivacious, beautiful budding graphic designer who will become the love of his life. Enrique and Margaret's romantic and sexual misadventures during the first awkward weeks of their courtship are interspersed with scenes from the couple's three decades together before Margaret succumbs to cancer: raising children, losing a parent, the temptation of an easy affair. Margaret's physical decline and Enrique's acknowledgment of guilt, inadequacy and a selfish desire to postpone his loss are described in blunt, heart-wrenching detail, and Enrique's ongoing struggles to define the nature of masculinity, the significance of art and the value of marriage add a philosophical layer to the domestic snapshots.

We are currently consulting with the author about the choice of narrator. We've got some very good ones in mind, so we're confident it will be an engrossing listen.

Update 9/7/09: I've been chosen to narrate (no, I didn't try to skew the submissions--we had several excellent ones and I frankly felt like a runner-up!) so I'll be getting to this later in the month.

Rick Bragg reads for Blackstone

My assistant and co-producer/director Andrew Barnes has just finished what had to have been an utterly enjoyable task--listening to Rick Bragg read his latest book, The Most They Ever Had. Rick is that rare animal, a masterful author-narrator who won an Audie Award for his 2004 performance of Ava's Man. The sessions, patched in from Mobile, Alabama, took all of two days and were a pleasure from start to finish. Those familiar with Rick's warm, spontaneous reading style and richly authentic sound will relish this tender, moving paean to the hard-working, hard-living residents of the Southern mill towns he grew up in. It's a heart-warming--and heart-breaking--experience. Blackstone is extremely proud of this "dual" acquisition--a great book and a great reader--and we're currently putting the finishing touches on the audio production in preparation for its October 1st release.

A Quiet Belief in Angels

R. J. Ellory is a British writer with a very unusual background and an admiration for Southern Gothic writers. His latest novel, A Quiet Belief in Angels, is a masterpiece--beautifully written and tensely plotted. The year is 1939, and a town in rural Georgia is plagued by a series of vicious killings. As one child after another disappears and the law stands helplessly by, young Joseph Vaughan and his friends form a group called "The Guardians" in an effort to protect themselves and the other children from the dreadful plague. The plan backfires badly, and Joseph goes on to live a life haunted by the past. Decades later he must confront the nightmare that has overshadowed his entire life.

In the tradition of Harper Lee, Truman Capote and Cormac McCarthy, this combination of coming-of-age memoir and hair-raising thriller is impossible to put down. I had to stop myself from reading it in one sitting. Mark Bramhall, one of my favorite narrators, will bring his warm, emotional approach to what I'm sure will be an unforgettable audio experience. We're pushing ahead on production and hope to get this out as close to the September 8th release date as possible.