The HighBridge LowDown

Featured Audio Giveaway: I Thought You Were Dead

Kay — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:43:15 +0000

I Thought You Were Dead

Pete Nelson; read by Josh Clark

How to Win This Audio CD

1. Be an active* subscriber to our newsletter. Just enter your email address below:

2. Send an email to newsletter@highbridgeaudio.com
3. Put the words “I Thought You Were Dead” in the subject line
Entries must be received by no later than 3/15/2010.
See the Win Audiobooks page for more details.

Alternately, you can become a FAN of HighBridge on Facebook and comment on this post, or become a FOLLOWER on Twitter and tweet or retweet this message.

About This Month’s Featured Audio

Paul doesn’t have much going for him. For starters, he never made it as a serious writer, his wife has left him, his girlfriend is dating another man, and he could stand to back off on the booze. But Paul does have Stella—assuming that having a dog you believe can talk to you can be classed as an asset. At once heartwarming, heartbreaking, and heart-wrenchingly funny, I Thought You Were Dead proves that, with the right friend by your side, you can overcome any obstacle.

Reviews/Praise

“This book will make you laugh, cry, and want a dog you can really talk to. . . .The fact that Pete Nelson can tell such a story without making the narrator’s charming talking dog seem unusual is proof of his power as a writer.”—Wyn Cooper, poet and author of Postcards from the Interior

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Last Month’s Winner

Congratulations to LAURIE CAVANAUGH, winner of last month’s giveaway, A Single Man. Thanks to all who participated.

President Obama a Life of Pi fan!

Kay — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:52:48 +0000

Quill and Quire reports in its blog that Yann Martel received an unsolicited “thank you” note from President Obama.

Barack Obama . . . had just finished reading Martel’s Life of Pi with his daughter. The president wrote that it was “a lovely book—an elegant proof of God, and the power of storytelling.” Martel . . . would frame the note “for sure,” and still takes it out sometimes to marvel at it:

“What amazes me is the gratuity of it,” [said Martel], “As you would know, there is a large measure of calculation in what public figures do. But here, what does he gain? I’m not a US citizen. In no way can I be of help to President Obama. Clearly he did it for personal reasons, as a reader and as a father. And in two lines, what an insightful analysis of Life of Pi. Bless him, bless him.”

Water for Elephants casting news

Julie — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:33:14 +0000

According to Alt Film Guide, Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) is in talks to take a role in Water for Elephants, joining Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson. Waltz, winner of many awards this season and a favorite for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, will play the role of a cruel animal trainer, originally believed to be intended for Sean Penn. Filming is slated to start in June, with Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) directing from a script by Richard LaGravenese (The Fisher King, Beloved).

A Singular Achievement

Julie — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:12:26 +0000

On Sunday, Colin Firth was awarded the Best Leading Actor prize at the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards, for his work in the film A Single Man. The competition in his field came from George Clooney (Up in the Air), Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), all Oscar nominees, and also Andy Serkis (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll).

See his acceptance speech here and a backstage interview here. Next stop: The Oscars!

Congratulations to “Featured Audio Giveaway” winner

Administrator — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:35:12 +0000

Congrats to Laurie from Brockton, MA—our Featured Audio Giveaway” winner. Your Single Man CD is in the mail….

Keillor, Sagal/Wait Wait, NPR, Hedgehog all 2010 Audie Finalists

Administrator — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:45:18 +0000

The Audio Publishers Association (APA) has announced nominations for its 2010 Audies^® competition, the only awards program in the United States devoted entirely to honoring spoken word entertainment. Winners will be announced at the Audies^® Gala on May 25, 2010, at The Museum of the City of New York in New York City.

HighBridge Company has four titles as Finalists in the following categories:

AUDIOBOOK ADAPTATION

NPR Favorite Driveway Moments
hosted by Renée Montagne
Wait Wait . . . Don't Tell Me! Famous People Who Returned Our Calls
hosted by Peter Sagal and Carl Kasell

HUMOR

Church People: The Lutherans of Lake Wobegon by Garrison Keillor;
performed by Garrison Keillor and a full cast

LITERARY FICTION

The Elegance of the Hedgehog
by Muriel Barbery;
narrated by Barbara Rosenblat and Cassandra Morris

For more information on the 2010 Audies^® celebration and the full list of nominees, see the Audio Publishers Association press release.

Yellow lab named Stella speaks volumes in I Thought You Were Dead

Kay — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:52:49 +0000

Yeah, right, you’re thinking. A story with a talking dog. How … interesting.

Well, yes, and funny and smart and full of heart. That’s what author Pete Nelson delivers with I Thought You Were Dead, read by Josh Clark. It won’t take many minutes before you love lab/shepherd mix Stella. And, before this novel is over, you’ll see why Stella loves her “downwardly mobile” owner Paul—and how love can speak to us in unexpected ways.

Josh Clark’s understated narration takes the perfect approach, allowing author Pete Nelson’s witty dialogue to draw you into Stella and Paul’s relationship as matter-of-factly as that of any two friends, despite that in this instance one of those friends is a dog.

Hear it here first: Excerpt from I Thought You Were Dead

A Single Man

Kay — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:25:39 +0000

A Single Man

Christopher Isherwood;
read by Simon Prebble

How to Win This Audio CD

1. Be an active* subscriber to our newsletter. Just enter your email address below:

2. Send an email to newsletter@highbridgeaudio.com
3. Put the words “Single Man” in the subject line
Entries must be received by no later than 2/15/2010.
See the Win Audiobooks page for more details.

Alternatively, you can become a FAN of HighBridge on Facebook and comment on this post, or become a FOLLOWER on Twitter and tweet or retweet this message (remember to @HighBridge audio; #HBgiveaway) by 2/15/2010.

About This Month’s Featured Audio

A gay man copes with the death of his partner in Isherwood’s classic novel, now a film written and directed by Tom Ford, and starring Colin Firth and Matthew Goode. Colin Firth is getting well-earn praise for his performance in the movie, but we think Simon Prebble gives him a run for the money.

Reviews/Praise

“Prebble’s narration shines.”—AudioFile

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Review this product

Last Month’s Winner

Congratulations to MARY KNAPP, winner of last month’s giveaway,
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky. Thanks to all who participated.

Manual of Detection wins fantasy fiction prize

Kay — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:45:55 +0000

Jedediah Berry has been named the winner of the 2010 William L. Crawford Award for first novel The Manual of Detection. The Award, presented annually at The International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, is for a new fantasy writer whose first book appeared the previous year.

Full story from Locus Magazine.

The audio edition has also made many year-end “best of” awards.

The Danish Girl out on audio this March

Kay — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:17:09 +0000

First it was a national bestseller, soon it will be a major motion picture, but right now The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff is a much-anticipated audiobook coming out in March. It’s inspired by the true story—and unusual marriage—of Danish painter Einar Wegener and American Greta Waud and is set in 1920’s Europe.

Nicole Kidman (also a producer) and Gwyneth Paltrow have signed on to star in the movie. The talented Jeff Woodman gives them a run for their money with his audio reading.

Releasing in March as a digital download.

Hear it here first: Excerpt from The Danish Girl