Later that day, Green and the teen group discussed his new book at the library. Ten years ago, audio was not ‘cool’ or ‘awesome.’ It also shows me that we’re onto something.” “Seeing comments like, ‘This audiobook sounds awesome!’ or ‘I can’t wait to buy it!’ shows me how things have changed,” says Ditlow. Currently, the video has more than 30,000 hits on YouTube, roughly 700 comments and 16 related video responses.

Green, who is already well versed in reaching his large and loyal fan base via his blog and postings on his site, made a video featuring some of his Grand Haven adventures. Later in the evening, a dinner for Green and Paper Towns narrator Dan John Miller (who was in town for recording sessions) was hosted by a group called Books, Beer and Boats, whose membership consists of western Michigan librarians and teachers who are self-professed YA literature fanatics. Photo: Emily Mauchmar.įollowing the recording session and a celebratory luncheon with Brilliance Audio staff, journalists, audiobook buyers, as well as local librarians and the BBYA Teen Group from West Ottawa Public Schools, Green and the teens boarded a trolley for a ride to the Spring Lake District Library, where Green made an appearance in front of a standing-room-only crowd. Green with the BBYA Teen Group, on a trolley ride to the Spring Lake District Library. Green also recorded some more generic spots for use by other retailers and libraries. These audio clips are being used by B&N.com, Audible, Amazon, Penguin, Playaway, OverDrive and by a number of library accounts and independent booksellers on their Web sites. As part of the festivities, Green went into the Brilliance studios and recorded 15 account-specific introductions to a two-to-three minute audiobook segment from Paper Towns. He was the guest of honor at what Ditlow coined a John Green Festival held at Brilliance’s Grand Haven, Mich. “We worked closely with Penguin, and they opened every avenue of their publicity and promotion to us,” Ditlow says. The orchestration of this extensive undertaking was definitely a team effort.

John Green (center) in the studio at Brilliance, during the Paper Towns recording, with director Laura Grafton and narrator Dan John Miller. I have all these resources-a plethora of platforms-at my fingertips and I can get listeners a book where they live and breathe.” For Ditlow, this experiment has been a case of “the planets aligning. The various versions (a record number for a new release) include CD and MP3-CD Playaway and Audible and OverDrive downloadable options for the retail and library markets. “This is the first time we’ve ever done a multi-format, multi-channel simultaneous release with the book,” says Tim Ditlow, v-p of children’s publishing at Brilliance Audio.

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