Tuesday, July 22, 12:00-1:00 p.m. ET
Free for WMG members; $15 for non-members (Zoom)
Audiobooks are the fastest-growing book segment of U.S. book publishing. In 2024, audiobook sales experienced double-digit growth rate, increasing 13% over 2023. And last month, the Audio Publishers Association released its annual consumer survey, showing that 51% of Americans have listened to an audiobook. Those are huge numbers, with the other 49% of readers primed for potential conversion to audiobook listening. The future is very bright for audiobooks!
In this program, we will focus on the various pieces of the audiobook production process: how do successful audiobooks get made? Our panel of accomplished experts will discuss the thought process behind deciding what to produce in audio; how to approach the production design; as well as casting, narrating, immersive audio, bonus content, and marketing assets. This program will be helpful for both publishing professionals in the audiobook world and independent authors and narrators interested in creating audiobook editions for the first time.
Speakers:
Dubbed “the Adele of Audiobooks” by The New Yorker, Julia Whelan is one of the top narrators of audiobooks and long form journalism recording today. She has performed over 700 audiobooks in all genres and has won scores of awards, including the 2025 Audie Award for Best Fiction Narrator for Kristin Hannah’s The Women. She was presented with Audiofile Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Golden Voice Award in 2020, and this year she received the Gracie Awards’ first-ever audiobook honor. Whelan is also an acclaimed actor and an award-winning author of the international bestsellers My Oxford Year (which will premiere on Netflix next month), and Thank You For Listening, a Best of the Year pick at Amazon, Audible, and NPR. In 2024, she used her latest novel, the audio-first romance Casanova LLC, to launch her own audio publishing company and app, Audiobrary, which seeks to create a sustainable future for human storytelling.
Julie Wilson is Director of Casting, Digital Production Platforms, and Strategic Partnerships at Penguin Random House Audio. She has worked with worldwide celebrities and bestselling authors on 1,500+ audiobooks across genres. Recent collaborations include working with Adam Grant, Jordan Peele, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alicia Keys, Brandi Carlile, Seth Rogen, and The Tiny Chef. She created and developed the global voiceover casting platform Ahab Talent, which increases diverse casting options for content creators.
Marnye Young is Founder and CEO of Audio Sorceress (along with Managing Director Denise Black), an audiobook production house. She is also an award-winning narrator for New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling authors. A SAG-AFTRA voice, stage, and screen actor, she earned her MFA from the Geffen School of Drama at Yale University. She is also a member of WMG!
Moderator:
Jennifer A. Perry served as WMG President for three years, WMG Treasurer for one year, and remains an active member of the Board of Directors as President Emerita. She is Director of eCommerce Digital Content at Barnes & Noble and Executive Director of PEP Consulting, a content development company that creates educational content and experiences of all types for publishers, museums, and non-profit organizations.
This is a ✏️WMG Lunch & Learn✏️ event! WMG Lunch & Learns are part of a series of midday events designed to help you learn, grow, and connect in only 60 minutes. This presentation is fully interactive to give participants opportunities to share their voices.
Refunds available up to 24 hours before the event. No refunds for cancellations made within 24 hours of the event.
