The Audies, run by the Audio Publishing Association, are the industry’s most prestigious awards for audiobooks. And they are of particular interest to us because they have no barriers to entry for indie authors. Indeed, as I have reported over the years, we are sometimes nominated and have even been known to win (2021’s Heroine by Mary Jane Wells). If I had ever been so bold as to proclaim, “The indies are coming!” I would be frustrated at the slow progress over the past few years.
ALLi News Editor, Dan Holloway
Nonetheless, when this year’s shortlist was released last week, my usual scouring revealed, I think, that three indie titles (out of 28 categories—that’s slim pickings, but it’s the highest I’ve seen) were present. Publishing Perspectives also provides an overview of the competition. So, in the immortal words of Fatboy Slim, I want to praise them like I should.
Indie Authors Shine at the Audies
In the Erotica category, as far as I can tell, The Beta by Avanne Michaels and Faking with Benefits by Lily Gold are both indie titles. Huge congratulations, and it’s great to see that indie authors are doing so well in this category. And in the “Originals” category, which is for titles that are published audio-first, congratulations to Ali Hazelwood’s Two Can Play.
The winners will be announced on March 30. I hope to report on indie success.
AI Innovations Meet Self-Publishing Opportunities
Picking up from the last of those titles, Ali Hazelwood’s romance set in the world of video games, Mark Williams brought an interesting AI development to my attention that he believes has great crossover potential with gaming. It’s the only real AI-related story I have this week (am I speaking too soon?). The Chinese tech giant Tencent has just unveiled Hunyuan 3D 2.0. In short, this is a generative AI tool that creates 3D shapes from 2D. This can render animated images that could help writers create immersive worlds—or it could generate templates for 3D-printed merchandise based on our books.
This is a really big self-publishing 3.0 opportunity. And probably a perfect link into one last note: the latest proof that bookstore events are alive and well. Last week saw the release of Rebecca Yarros’ Onyx Storm, the latest in her smash-hit Empyrean series. The Guardian covered the excitement as bookstores celebrated in the time-honored (but recently less common) tradition of all-night, late-night, or early-morning openings. It’s truly heartening to see pictures of the ensuing queues!
Thoughts or further questions on this post or any self-publishing issue?
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