HarperAudio will release audiobook versions of fifteen backlist titles by celebrated Czech author Milan Kundera. This marks the first time these Kundera titles will be available in audiobook format.

Actors Richmond Hoxie (fiction) and Graeme Malcolm (nonfiction) will narrate these works. They will be released throughout the rest of this year.

Executive editor Terry Karten had this statement in the release: ”The publication in audio format of the complete works of Milan Kundera, one of the most distinguished and innovative authors of our era, is a major literary event. Harper Perennial has recently reissued Kundera’s backlist with new covers featuring original artwork from the author. These developments are sure to bring renewed attention to this renowned author.”

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This week Open Letter Books used a $20,000 grant from Amazon.com (AMZN) to help publish and promote the new book, “Wall in My Head: Words and Images from the Fall of the Iron Curtain.”

Published to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s fall, the anthology collects fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Conceived by the editors of Words Without Borders, the anthology contains work by 30 authors, including Milan Kundera, Ryszard Kapuscinski, and Victor Pelevin. The grant will also help fund the Wall in My Head blog.

Here’s more from Open Letter director Chad W. Post: “Our goal with Open Letter Books is to increase the access American readers have to the best works and ideas from cultures around the world, and he Wall in My Head is a perfect example of how we achieve this. It’s especially gratifying that Amazon.com is interested in helping us to achieve this goal. heir
support will definitely help us strengthen our efforts and reach a larger audience than we otherwise might have.”