LIVE OAK MEDIA WINS DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION AWARD AT THE AUDIES®; ALSO TAKES CHILDREN'S TITLES FOR AGES UP TO 8 CATEGORY
Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices,
written by Walter Dean Myers and produced by Live Oak Media, has won the Audie Award® for Distinguished Achievement in Production, a special award that goes to an audiobook that "demonstrates excellence in all areas of production." Thirteen outstanding narrators read more than 50 first-person poems about residents of a fictional Harlem community, against a backdrop of evocative sound effects and original musical recordings by such musicians as Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, and Dizzy Gillespie.
AudioFile called the audiobook a "beautiful, masterful recording" and gave it an Earphones Award; Booklist, in a Starred Review, said that it "defies categorization-a marvelous cross-generational literary delight; an excellent introduction to poetry, social issues, and memoirs; and a wonderful complement to Live Oak's 2008 Odyssey Award winner Jazz (also written by Myers). This sterling production extends the print version to bring the voices of Harlem and the speakers' distinct cadences and inflections to our ears. Experience the power of music and poetry in this highly recommended title."
The audiobook was narrated by Muhammad Cunningham, Michael Early, Patricia R. Floyd, Kevin R. Free, Arthur French, Dion Graham, Nathan Hinton, Ezra Knight, Lizan Mitchell, Gail Nelson, Monica Patton, Robin Miles and Charles Turner, with an introduction read by the author. Robin Miles directed the production, which was recorded at John Marshall Sound Studio in New York City. Musical direction and sound editing was by Arnie Cardillo and Rory Young, at ACME Studio in Mamaroneck, New York. Cardillo, owner and producer of Live Oak Media, also produced the audiobook and accepted the award, along with Robin Miles, at the 16th Annual Audies® Gala Tuesday night at the Times Center in New York.
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| Debra Cardillo, Dion Graham, Arnie Cardillo and Robin Miles at the 2011 Audie Awards® |
Cardillo also accepted the Audie® for This Jazz Man, written by Karen Ehrhardt, illustrated by R. G. Roth, and read by James "D-Train" Williams, which won in the category "Children's Titles for Ages Up to 8." Live Oak Media has received four Audies® in this category in the past.
Live Oak Media, which Cardillo and his wife Debra have owned and operated since 1997, is a small company in Dutchess County, New York, that produces media adaptations of children's literature, primarily in the readalong format. The company was the recipient of the inaugural Odyssey Award, given annually by the American Library Association, for Jazz, also by Walter Dean Myers, illustrated by Christopher Myers, and read by James "D-Train" Williams and Vaneese Thomas. A second Odyssey Award followed in 2009, and an Audie Award® in 2010 for Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken, written by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Harry Bliss and read by Barbara Rosenblatt. Live Oak Media has also received three Grammy Awards® for previous recordings.
