The condition causes extreme pain due to hemifacial atrophy leading to a host of other debilitating symptoms, including an associated condition known as Trigeminal Neurgalgia. There is not a single doctor in Canada that specializes in the Parry Rombergs. Since December 2011, Nicole has been trying to get by with only symptomatic treatment.

So the voice-over community is rallying together to support Nicole and her loved ones in raising money and awareness so that she may travel to a Mayo Clinic in the US to obtain adequate treatment of the disease itself.

In an effort to help many voice actors and coaches are coming together to raise funds. Julie Williams presents The 2013 Audiobook Gold Rush webinar with Patrick Fraley and Scott Brick including special guest Bob Deyan.  100% of the proceeds will go to Nicole’s cause. The webinar will take place on Tuesday May 21^nd, 2013 at 6:00 PT (9:00 EST). Fraley is also accepting donations through his website.

Donations (and hugs) are also being accepted through Giveforward.com. There are many other ways to offer Nicole and her family assistance. Additional information on how one can help can be found on Facebook.

One or two stories will be released each day via the Going Public website and will also be hosted on a different industry blog throughout June. A full list of dates, times, stories, and narrators is available on the website. Going Public… in Shorts is a joint effort of the Spoken Freely narrators and many others who donated their time and energy to bring the project to life. Engineering and mastering is provided by Jeffrey Kafer and SpringBrook Audio. Graphic design provided by f power design. Published by Blackstone Audio. Project coordination and executive production provided by Xe Sands.

When asked about the meaning of the title, Sands explained, “Well, the project was born out of my side effort, Going Public, a weekly offering of recordings from work (mostly) in the public domain – hence the “Going Public” part of the title. Once we decided on a short story collection, we wanted a way to tie in both the “Going Public” origin, the public domain aspect of the stories, and a play on the short story aspect of the project. Hence, the tongue-in-cheek, “Going Public…in Shorts!” was born.”

The stories will be available to listen to for free, for one week as a special “thank you!” to audiobook fans. In association with Blackstone Audio the complete collection will be available for purchase at the end of the month. All proceeds from the Going Public… in Shorts project go to Reach Out and Read, an organization serving more than 4 million children and their families across the US, with an emphasis on serving those in low-income communities.

“Last Fall, it occurred to me that it would be amazing to offer a month-long “give-back” to listeners – a recording of a short story from a different narrator, for each day of JIAM. So I proposed the project to many of my colleagues, and was thrilled when they were overwhelmingly supportive of the idea,” said Sands. “Shortly after we came together, Karen White suggested that it would be wonderful if the project could also act as a philanthropic effort, and Johnny Heller suggested children’s literacy as a cause. We decided to pursue the fundraising angle, did a bit of research and settled on Reach Out and Read as the beneficiary due to their broad and innovative outreach efforts.”

JIAM is an annual event in its 18th year, started by the Audiobook Publishers Association (APA). Each year, the month of June introduces more and more people to the world of Audiobooks. According to the APA website, in 2011 “75 authors and narrators teamed up with publishers to reach approximately 7.5 million people through all forms of social media (adding to the nearly 4 million reached in 2010).”

“… the quality of professional narration continues to amaze me. Audiobooks are truly performed by their narrator, not merely read. There is full expression of the author’s intent, so for the reader who is looking for an enhanced reading experience, audiobooks can add that extra wonderful layer,” Sands mused. “Also, the prevalence of devices that can play audiobooks make them so convenient to listen to while doing chores, yard work, exercising… you name it!”

With events like Going Public… in Shorts spreading the love for the written (and recorded) word, this year’s month long celebration is sure to give audiobook fans, publishers, and narrators much to look forward to.

Viewers will be treated to zany storylines such as the crime fighting pair attempting to defeat a super computer at chess and why an author/werewolf cannot finish a novel. The show will hold a fifteen minute time slot but when it will air has not yet been specified.

Tyson began a second career in entertainment after retiring from boxing in 2006, which has included a cameo in the 2009 hit comedy film “The Hangover” and a 2011 television documentary series about his own flock of racing pigeons.

Source: Reuters

(Photo by Axelle Woussen / Bauer-Griffin)

The film tells the story of a teenage girl who finds herself in a secret world, witness to a battle between the forces of good and evil. Once there, she must help a team of fun and whimsical characters to save their world and in the process save the real world as well.

An all-star cast rounds out the film with Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried, Christoph Waltz, Aziz Ansari, Chris O’Dowd, Jason Sudeikis, rapper Pitbull, and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler.

Director: Chris Wedge
Producers: Lori Forte and Jerry Davis
Screenplay: Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember
Based on the novel: The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs by William Joyce

Arrested earlier this year, Robbins pleaded guilty to the charges in April. He has already spent eight months in a rehab program, reducing his prison term to 110 days. Robbins has received a ten year “stay away” order from the doctor and will have to pay out $15,081 in restitution to his ex-girlfriend.

Robbins lent his voice to the cartoon movie specials “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

Source: CNN

On the heels of  the inaugural VoiceWorld Toronto, presented by Voices.com, there are many other industry conferences to attend this year. Some popular choices to look forward to in 2013 are:

Edge Studio – David Goldberg Road-Trip Multiple Cities, May, June, July, 2013

For those with an interest in voice-over or those who need more direction, these two day workshops offer a practical way to determine if  voice-over is the right career.

APA Conference and Audie Awards, New York, May 29-30, 2013

Presented by the Audio Publishers Association, this two day conference features a closing awards ceremony that honours Audiobook producers, narrators, writers and more.

THAT’S VOICEOVER! Los Angeles, August 17, 2013

Presented by some of the industries top voice actors and buyers this is a  behind-the-scenes career event for new and experienced voice talent or to those working in one of the supporting careers (producers, writers, directors, agents) that make up the broader industry.

FAFFCON San Antonio Texas, October 4-5, 2013

FaffCon is an unconference, driven by peer-to-peer professional development for working voice over talent.

Anime Conventions Master List of Anime Conventions

This is a huge list of Anime conventions and conferences throughout the US, Canada and the UK.

©iStockphoto.com/Skynesher

The film takes a witty look inside the Hollywood voice-over industry as it follows Carol Solomon (played by Bell), a down-on-her-luck voice coach trying to make ends meet. Carol becomes determined to break into the highly competitive male dominated world of movie trailer narration, all while flourishing a new relationship with her audio engineer. She soon finds herself competing for a lucrative gig against the voiceover king himself, who happens to be her condescending father.

The cast includes voice-over pros such as Joe Cipriano, Mark Elliott and Marc Graue. “In a World…” made its first appearance earlier year at the Sundance London Film Festival, winning Bell the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. Roadside Attractions picked up the US distribution rights and the film is slated for release in US theatres later this summer.

Director: Lake Bell
Screenwriter: Lake Bell
Executive Producers: Ross Jacobson, Sean O’Grady
Producers: Lake Bell, Mark Roberts, Jett Steiger, Eddie Vaisman
Cinematographer: Seamus Tierney
Editor: Tom McArdle
Production Designer: Megan Fenton
Composer: Ryan Miller
Principal Cast: Lake Bell, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Fred Melamed

Now, for all those voice actors out there, you might be wondering who did the voices in The Croods movie.  Here’s a quick run down of the voice cast:

• Nicolas Cage stars as Grug
• Emma Stone co-stars as Eep
• Ryan Reynolds is the voice of Guy
• Catherine Keener does the voices of Ugga
• Cloris Leachman voices the Gran or Granny character
• Clark Duke voices Thunk
• Chris Sanders lends his skills to voice Belt
• Randy Thom is the voice of Sandy

What did you think of the voice acting in The Croods?  Let us know your favorite character in the comments below.

Today, the finalists for the 2013 Audies were announced.  The finalists are as follows:

Finalists in this year’s competition include the following titles:

AUDIO DRAMA

• Die, Snow White! Die, Damn You!, by Yuri Rasovsky, Narrated by a full cast, Blackstone Audio.
• The Star Angel, by Jerry Robbins, Narrated by Jerry Robbins and The Colonial Radio Players, Brilliance Audio.
• Trouble on His Wings, by L. Ron Hubbard, Narrated by Jennifer Aspen, Bob Caso, RF Daley, Jim Meskimen, Matt Scott, Galaxy Press.
• Swordspoint, by Ellen Kushner, Narrated by Ellen Kushner & Supporting Cast Dion Graham, Katherine Kellgren (Katherine won  3 Audies for Curse of the Blue Tattoo), Robert Fass, Nick Sullivan, Simon Jones, Sam Guncler & Anne Bobby, SueMedia Productions.
• Titanium Rain, Episode One, by Josh Finney, Narrated by a full cast, The AudioComics Company.

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR

• Cronkite, by Douglas Brinkley, Narrated by George Guidall, Harper Audio.
• My Cross to Bear, by Greg Allman and Alan Light, Narrated by Will Patton, Harper Audio.
• Two Rings, by Millie Werber and Eve Keller, Narrated by Yelena Shmulenson; introduction read by Eve Keller, HighBridge.
• Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey, by The Countess of Carnarvon, Narrated by Wanda McCaddon, Tantor Media.
• The Seamstress, by Bernstein, Sara Tuvel; Thornton, Louise Loots; Samuels, Marlene Bernstein, Narrated by Wanda McCaddon.

BUSINESS/EDUCATIONAL

• A Capitalism for the People, by Luigi Zingales, Narrated by Jonathan Davis, Audible Inc.
• The Personal MBA, by Josh Kaufman, Narrated by Josh Kaufman, Audible Inc.
• Great on The Job, by Jodi Glickman, Narrated by Tanya Eby, Brilliance Audio.
• Inside Apple, by Adam Lashinsky, Narrated by Adam Lashinsky, Hachette Audio.
• Spy The Lie, by Philip Houston, Michael Floyd, Susan Carnicero, Don Tennant, Narrated by Fred Berman, Macmillan Audio.

Finalists are selected and, from that group of finalists, one winner is awarded. Finalists will be notified in March 2013, and showcased on the APA website, to the press, and in APA materials. Winners will be recognized at the exciting Audies gala in New York City on May 30, 2013.

Two special awards highlight outstanding achievements: The Distinguished Achievement in Production Award goes to an audiobook that demonstrates excellence in all areas of production, while the Audiobook of the Year recognizes the audiobook that, through quality, innovation, marketing and sales, has had the most significant impact on the industry. Separate Calls for Entries will go out for these awards in September and the recipients will be announced at the 2013 Audies Gala.

The Audible iPad app allows you to listen to great audiobooks, anytime, anywhere. The site boasts 100,000+ titles in categories as broad as biographies and memoires, business titles, science fiction, religion and romance as well as every other genre of literature you can think of. You can even exchange any book you didn’t like, which sometimes happens.  All the books I’ve listened to are read by skilled narrators.

The iPad app complements their iPhone app which has been out July 10, 2010. These mobile apps let you take books with you wherever you go and earn listening badges, a gamification element more apps are including recently.

MacWorld reviews the new Audible iPad app by saying “Three big buttons now dominate the navigation within a book: a 30-second rewind button, in case you temporarily lose track of the narrative; a play button; and a bookmark button for finding your way back to your location in the book. If you want to do more substantial fast-forwards or rewinds, you can use the slider button at the top of the page to quickly pick your new location quickly.”

Personally, I’m a fan of audiobooks and have at least two dozen loaded on my iPhone at any given time. Recent favorites include “Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World” by Michael Hyatt, “The Principle of the Path” by Andy Stanley and “What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast” by Laura Vanderkam.

Which audiobooks are you listening to currently?