AudioBook SYNC Blog

Listening readers of all ages know that our natural environment faces perilous changes. Sometimes disaster strikes outright, in the form of an industrial failure or an extreme weather event. This week’s free audiobooks carry us into the hearts of two such disasters.

The act of betrayal is a weapon in itself, regardless of whether the traitor brings physical harm or “only” the psychological pain of breaking trust. Buckle up for a pair of such experiences this week with a play from William Shakespeare and a novel written in the second person. Both pull listeners right into the encounter with a traitor.

With less than a week to go before SYNC 2019's opening day on April 25, we have some bells and whistles to share. First of all, if you have any questions about the OverDrive interface needed to access the 28 free audiobooks throughout the summer, be sure to register for next week's free webinar. If you're in a position to help others with access issues, the webinar will also be helpful as we'll explain some of the "why's" you might be asked.

Our weekly audiobook pairs typically share themes while contrasting in treatments by the authors of those themes and providing different narration styles. That makes each pair a good choice for discussion groups! If you plan to include programming or class time to such discussions, we have some tips to help you get listeners engaged in taking that next step from personal experience of an audiobook into talking about listening’s effects.

During each week of the SYNC season, we place two thematically related audiobooks on offer and for keeps. Why a pair? We have lots of reasons and are sure you’ve discovered a few more, if you are a SYNC veteran.

We know teachers, librarians, and other group leaders who share information about and activities related to SYNC are busy, so each year, we create and update a Toolkit to help you in promoting the program and answering common questions.

We’re delighted to welcome Recorded Books and Tantor Media back to SYNC for the 2019 season! They are providing listeners with a total of four audiobooks that include three #OwnVoices titles, each tinged with traces of fantastic elements, and some nonfiction from a popular science author who tells fact as though it were hilarious science fiction.

As we plan each new SYNC season, we work to include a variety of performance techniques as well as subject matter. As much as possible, we search out brand new and older titles both, because we want to give teen listeners opportunities to experience audiobooks conveying as wide a range of possibilities as are available. To meet all that criteria, both Dreamscape and Hachette annually step up to give access to audiobooks that offer many experiential paths listeners can take.

Now that SYNC is entering its tenth year, we can look back and notice how some audiobook publishers have returned year after year and provided teen listeners with listening experiences they might still keep to hear again and again across the decade.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of AudiobookSYNC and our publishers are celebrating by offering a wide range of free audiobooks to build your personal listening shelf. In the coming weeks, we'll introduce the titles publisher by publisher (as soon as all the contracts are completed!). Today, however, we can give you a lot of details to feed your own and your teen listeners' anticipation.