HarperAudio Clinches Kelly Memoir
Megyn Kelly, popular host of The Kelly File on Fox News, will soon step into the studio to record her memoir, Settle for More, for HarperAudio. Kelly has been making news of her own over the past year, much of it stemming from her contentious back-and-forth with current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, which began when he disparaged her after he claimed that she asked him tough questions during an August 2015 GOP debate. Her book was the subject of a heated bidding war in February of this year and fetched an advance rumored to be in the $10 million range. Back in May, when the title and cover of the book were revealed, Kelly provided a statement via publisher HarperCollins about what readers and listeners can expect and how she chose the title: “ ‘Settle for more’ has been my life motto, ever since I was an unhappy lawyer looking to change my life years ago,” Kelly said. “I caught Dr. Phil on TV one day, who said the only difference between you and someone you envy is that you settled for less. I thought to myself: settle for more. My book delves into how I put that into action, breaking into news and finding true love—with some tears and a lot of laughs along the way, and of course, my year in the crosshairs of Donald Trump.” Fittingly, Settle for More will be released on November 11, just days after the presidential election.
Sidemen Take Center Stage at Audible
The Sidemen, a group of seven U.K. YouTubers who gained massive popularity with their vlogs featuring them playing video games and performing challenges, stunts, and skits, recently recorded Sidemen: The Audiobook for Audible Studios (October 18). The audiobook is a companion to Sidemen: The Book, which will be released simultaneously by Coronet.
The guys upload new video content daily via the official Sidemen channel, as well as their various individual YouTube channels, which boast a combined total of more than 35 million subscribers. One of the Sidemen, who goes by the moniker KSI, took the top spot in a 2015 survey conducted by Variety that ranked the most influential personalities among people ages 13–17, and his videos have been viewed billions of times, earning him millions of dollars.
The Sidemen formed as an official group in 2013, and with Sidemen: The Audiobook they invite listeners into their world with behind-the-scenes stories of their rise to fame, tales of the ins-and-outs of the YouTube universe, and over an hour of bonus content that is not included in the print book.
‘Twin Peaks’ Rises for Macmillan
The 1990–1991 critically acclaimed cult classic ABC-TV show Twin Peaks is having a multimedia revival. A new continuation of the series, which will pick up the action 25 years after the events of the show’s original run, is set to air on Showtime in 2017. Twin Peaks cocreator Mark Frost has written The Secret History of Twin Peaks, due out October 18 from Macmillan Audio and simultaneously in print from Flatiron Books. The novel offers a deeper look into the history of the mysterious town of Twin Peaks and the odd inhabitants and strange goings-on found there.
Four original cast members, who will also appear in the Showtime series, lead a talented roster of actors on the recording: Kyle MacLachlan, Russ Tamblyn, Michael Horse, and David Patrick Kelly. Frost and original cast member Chris Mulkey are also featured on the audiobook. Of the recording, Frost noted, “I am thrilled that both original cast members and new actors will be coming together on this project to bring this other aspect of the world of Twin Peaks to life.”
Brilliance Brings Out Cumming’s ‘Dreams’
Scottish actor and Tony Award–winner Alan Cumming, acclaimed for his roles on CBS-TV’s The Good Wife and in two runs of Broadway’s Cabaret, recently stepped behind the microphone for Brilliance Audio to record You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams, a collection of humorous, heartfelt, and quirky stories from his life, accompanied by his personal photographs. As an accomplished Audie-winning audiobook narrator, Cumming felt right at home in the booth. Among the highlights from his reading of the 45 essays are the tale of an awkward bonding experience with Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor and his account of receiving some tough words of advice from Oprah Winfrey. The title is due on September 13, a simultaneous release with the Rizzoli Ex Libris hardcover.
Reinhorn’s ‘Big Cats’ Gets Purrfect Celebrity Cast at Random
Holiday Reinhorn’s fiction debut, the well-received story collection Big Cats (Free Press), was first published in print in 2005. Now the book is being release on audio, and these tales are receiving an all-star treatment. Author Reinhorn and her husband, actor Rainn Wilson, were in the studio for Random House Audio, along with Patricia Arquette, Justine Bateman, Amy Brenneman, Garret Dillahunt, Jenna Fischer, Helen Hunt, Peter Krause, Virginia Madsen, Oscar Nunez, Alia Shawkat, and Lili Taylor. The audiobook goes on sale October 4.
Blackstone Goes to the Beach with Portman
Academy Award–winner Natalie Portman is set to narrate the audiobook edition of The Beach at Night by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein. This short piece is inspired by a plot strand from Ferrante’s novel The Lost Daughter and takes the form of a children’s fable told from the perspective of a lost doll. The Beach at Night will be available exclusively on Downpour.com, Blackstone Audio’s online retail site, beginning November 1, the same day the print book will be published by Europa Editions.
Scoring a Movie, Novelization, and Audiobook? Priceless
Australian brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone, who perform as the Grammy-winning Christian pop duo For King and Country, are branching out. Joel stars in the feature film Priceless, which is being directed by another brother, Ben, and which will hit the big screen October 14. The novelization, written by Joel and Luke with Nancy Rue, and narrated for Christian Audio by David Atlas and Nora Hunter, went on sale September 6. In the film, Joel plays a desperate father grieving the death of his wife, who agrees to drive a box truck cross-country for cash. He discovers he’s not transporting freight, but rather two young women, and he faces one of the biggest moral challenges of his life. The story is inspired by a mission the band has embraced from its inception, a mission they call the Priceless Movement, which they describe as “reminding women of their worth and encouraging men to respect and honor women.”
