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FEBRUARY 8, 2019

Happy Friday! We had some Big Events this week—namely, the SOTU and the Super Bowl—but it felt like the juiciest stories were from outside those major arenas. Maybe it’s because we stan everything Angie Thomas, but…

This might have been our favorite news of the week.

A day before Angie Thomas’s new novel, On the Come Up, launched this week, the author announced that it will be made into a film! George Tillman Jr., who was the director of The Hate U Give (Thomas’s first novel and our 2017 Audiobook of the Year), will return behind the camera, and Thomas shared in an interview with us this week that she will act as a producer on the movie. Check back next week to listen to that interview, and enjoy the moments in which editor Katie barely maintains her chill.

And THIS was certainly stranger than fiction.

The New Yorker blew our minds with a wild feature on best-selling author Dan Mallory, aka A.J. Finn of The Woman in the Window fame. In twist after twist, the article suggested Mallory had faked brain cancer, his parents’ death, a double doctorate—and even a British accent. Shades of Highsmith, no doubt, but our favorite writer in the story was Sophie Hannah, the author continuing the Agatha Christie series. Apparently, rumors about Mallory inspired the plot of one of her novels, and she may have hired a detective to have him checked him out! Perhaps Poirot can clue us into what’s next in the saga, because our jaws are still on the floor.

Lift every voice.

A big part of our Black History Month celebration this year is about highlighting real-life stories that aren’t widely known but are so rich with importance that they’re begging to find a larger audience. A Black woman helped take down Lucky Luciano? Tell us more! We’ve also highlighted collections of essential historical and contemporary Black authors, and included voices from across our company as we lift every voice. And because we know that limiting the celebration to a single month a year isn’t enough to pay homage to the Black men and women who’ve made this nation what it is today, we’ll continue to update it throughout the year with even more rich collections of authors and stories.

“Alexa, entertain my family with a reimagined favorite…”

Some of editor Courtney’s earliest memories of the written word involve well-worn copies of the Choose Your Own Adventure series covertly passed from friend to friend between classes. Now a mother of two budding storyphiles who are also Alexa power-users, she’s feeling a blissful mix of nostalgia with a distinctly of-the-moment storytelling experience via Audible-narrated versions of the classic tales The Abominable Snowman and Journey Under The Sea. A side benefit: her kiddos are learning the value of compromise as they decide which paths to take. Here’s hoping they can survive the search for Yeti with minimal outbreaks of sibling rivalry.

Our editor from Virginia found herself at a loss for words this week…

So instead, editor Emily turned to this remarkable specimen of the state bird who’s clearly doing the both-sideism thing in the best way possible. This photograph of a bi-colored cardinal represents a phenomenon in nature called “bilateral gynandromorphy” (a trait that can be observed in not only birds, but also insects and crustaceans), in which the animal is half male, half female. Regardless, we think it’s 100% gorgeous, just like this lovingly recounted tale from a passionate bird-watcher.
Till Next Week!
—the audible editors

Audiobooks in This Edition

On the Come Up Audiobook By Angie Thomas cover art
The Woman in the Window Audiobook By A. J. Finn cover art
Harry Clarke Audiobook By David Cale cover art
Closed Casket Audiobook By Sophie Hannah, Agatha Christie cover art
Invisible Audiobook By Stephen L. Carter cover art
The Hate U Give Audiobook By Angie Thomas cover art