Audio-Reader Network, University Press of Kansas to partner on audiobooks

LAWRENCE — The Audio-Reader Network, a public service organization affiliated with Kansas Public Radio, has entered into an audiobook publishing partnership with the University Press of Kansas (UPK). Both are based in Lawrence and have institutional ties with the University of Kansas.

Feloniz Lovato-Winston, director of Audio-Reader and Kansas Public Radio, began discussions with Tim Paulson, director of UPK, over the last year. Both organizations have had a longstanding relationship of helping to promote each other’s work, but as the two teams became better acquainted, affirmed an increasing sense of how common their missions are and complementary their work is to each other.

“Tim engaged us early on in his tenure at UPK with some get-to-know-you conversations, and we quickly discovered that there may be more we could do together,” Lovato-Winston said.

Coming from a publishing background, Paulson knew how important audio has been to publishing over the last decade. “There have been many ups and downs in publishing over the recent years, but one area that has only grown is audiobooks,” Paulson said.

Audio-Reader has been producing audio content for blind, visually impaired and print-disabled individuals for 50 years, and it has built up a capability in audio production, while UPK has a backlist of over 2,000 titles, most of which have not been released as audiobooks.

“Once we realized that Audio-Reader had the capability to do this for UPK and UPK had the need,” Lovato-Winson said, “it became clear we should try to make this happen.”

“Right now we’re limiting access to many potential users of our content,” Paulson said, “who either prefer audio content or need audio, given any disability they might have. With our new partnership, we can directly publish audiobooks in commercial channels and provide audio content for free through Audio-Reader’s channels. In both cases, we’re moving our missions forward, thanks to this partnership.”

“At Audio-Reader,” Lovato-Winston said, “we’re always looking for new ways to serve our listeners and increase opportunities for volunteers. We’re hoping that this new partnership will help serve Kansas and beyond in new and impactful ways. We are also looking forward to increasing collaboration between UPK and Kansas Public Radio.”

“I’m new to Kansas,” Paulson said, “but this feels like another way that the people in Kansas and institutions like the University of Kansas find practical ways to make a difference in society.”

The first audiobook to be produced in the partnership will be a memoir, “Whirlwind,” written and narrated by Bill Kurtis, publishing in September. A natural storyteller and KU graduate, Kurtis remembers his career with honesty and insight and gives a rare picture of American history and broadcast journalism.

The Audio-Reader Network fosters independence by providing access to information and the arts for people who have difficulty reading standard print due to vision loss, physical or learning disability, mobility challenges and age. Audio-Reader services are free of charge to anyone who is unable to read standard printed material. The organization relies on volunteer readers to create the content for services, and it is 100% supported by donors and grants.

The University Press of Kansas is a scholarly and regional trade publisher governed by the six state universities in Kansas: Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University, Pittsburg State University, the University of Kansas and Wichita State University. UPK has been publishing books since 1946; the Press specializes in U.S. politics and law, military history, U.S. history, and books about Kansas and the Midwest.