The Other Side of the Desk: A Discussion with Danielle D'Orlando, Princeton UP's Audio Books Editor

Does listening to an audio book count as reading? Can audio books help democratize education? Will more academic presses be creating audio versions of their books? Princeton University Press audio books editor Danielle D’Orlando joins us to share about the exciting future of audio books for academia.

More about PUP Audio: In 2018, the Princeton University Press team launched the first university press audiobook program, Princeton Audio. Four years and almost a thousand hours of published audiobooks later, they published their hundredth audiobook. Along the way, they have had the privilege of learning from their trusted partners in audio, from authors and agents to narrators, producers, proof-listeners, directors, and engineers. Their hundredth audio production is “only the tip of the iceberg”, which also includes co-publications with other publishers, audiobooks produced by partners new and old including Audible, Recorded Books, Blackstone, University Press Audio and many others.

More about our guest: Danielle D’Orlando is the Curator of Audio at Princeton University Press, home to the first in-house university press audiobook division: Princeton Audio. She spent much of her career at Yale University Press where she spearheaded their audio program, including the development of Yale Press Audio. She has an M.S. in Publishing and lives in Connecticut with her spouse, two children, and, as featured in today’s episode, her 10-year-old dog, Lacey.

More about our host: Dr. Christina Gessler holds a PhD in history, which she uses to explore what stories we tell and what happens to those we never tell. She is a freelance book editor, and has served as content director and producer of the Academic Life podcast since she launched it in 2020. The Academic Life is proud to be an academic partner of the New Books Network.

Listeners to this episode may be interested in:

• Becoming the Writer You Already Are, by Michelle Boyd
• The Grant Writing Guide, by Betty S. Lai
• The Book Proposal Book, by Laura Portwood-Stacer
• Writing with Pleasure, by Helen Sword
• How To Impress an Acquisitions Editor
• The libro playlist of African-American studies audio books for AP students

Listeners may be interested in these Academic Life episodes:

• This conversation on revising your dissertation for press submission
• This conversation on determining if you need a developmental editor
• This discussion of the top ten things to fix in your manuscript before submitting it
• This conversation on university press submissions and the peer review process
• This conversation on marketing your scholarly book
• This conversation about how to write a book proposal
• This conversation explaining open-access publishing
• This discussion about doing archival research
• This conversation about Where Research Begins

Welcome to the Academic Life! Join us here to learn from experts inside and outside the academy, and around the world, and embrace the broad definition of what it truly means to live an academic life. Missed any of the 150+ Academic Life episodes? You can find them all archived here. And check back soon: we’re in the studio preparing more episodes for your academic journey—and beyond!

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