Random House Goes Wilde

Actress and activist Olivia Wilde will be reading A Path Appears by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn for Random House Audio. Wilde, best known for her role on TV’s House and parts in feature films Rush and Drinking Buddies, lends her voice to the follow-up to the husband and wife team’s bestselling Half the Sky. A Path Appears, on sale in hardcover on September 23, is a “unique and essential narrative about making a difference in the world, and becoming a conscientious global citizen through the art and science of giving,” according to the publisher.

Newbern Reads for Tantor

Notable for his work on the hit show Scandal, and as Bryan MacKenzie in Father of the Bride, actor George Newbern lends his voice to the chilling tale of Betty Lou Beets, dubbed the “Texas Black Widow,” for the audiobook of In Buried Memories: The Bloody Crimes and Execution of the Texas Black Widow by Irene Pence. The book, published in print in 2008 by Pinnacle, tells the story of murderous Beets, who, in 2000, was the second woman to be put to death in the state of Texas since the Civil War. Tantor’s audiobook goes on sale July 16.

Hachette Taps Masterson

Actress Mary Stuart Masterson will be reading Laird Hunt’s Neverhome for Hachette Audio. The book, an “extraordinary novel about a woman who disguises herself as a man, takes the name Ash, and fights in the Civil War,” is also a “love story about a woman’s effort to survive and return home to her husband,” according to the publisher. Hachette Audio’s director of production, Michele McGonigle, was “immediately inspired” to cast Masterson after “getting a sense for Ash’s character and narrative.” The audiobook goes on sale September 9.