NEWARK, N.J. — Actress Vanessa Johansson recently found herself in the middle of a steamy interracial romance, one complicated by a gunshot and a looming lawsuit. It was also purely fictional.
Johansson, older sister of Scarlett, was sitting in a comfy recording studio, narrating Sandra Kitt’s novel “Close Encounters” for Audible Inc., the industry leader in audiobooks.
In one of six darkened recording spaces at Audible’s sleek, inviting headquarters in Newark, N.J., the actress read from a glowing iPad, silently swiping pages as she moved through the book.
She read from page 374: “He was busy consoling himself over losing Carol for this second time. But he was pragmatic. It was Carol who had changed much more than he had in the past few years.”
Just then, Johansson was gently stopped by director Ian Hackney. “Let’s take that sentence one more time,” he said. Johansson dived into the passage again.
Audiobooks — for so long dismissed as the things on CD you hope keep the kids quiet during long car trips — are all grown up, and lately the balance of power has shifted from the author to the presentation.
Just as the technology has gotten a digital upgrade, the bland narrators of the past have been replaced by theater pros such as Alan Cumming (“The Poetry of Scotland”), Jim Norton (“Dubliners”) and Michael C. Hall (“Breakfast at Tiffany’s”) and A-list actors, including Nicole Kidman (“To the Lighthouse”), Jake Gyllenhaal (“The Great Gatsby”), Matthew McConaughey (“White Man’s Problems”) and Reese Witherspoon (“Go Set a Watchman”).
The increase in celebrity interest is mirrored by soaring profits. The Audio Publishers Association estimates that audiobook sales in 2014 totaled more than $1.47 billion, up 13.5 percent over 2013, a bump attributed to easier digital downloads and higher quality.
The number of audiobooks published last year was 25,787, more than four times the 6,200 titles in 2010. According to the independent Edison Research firm, about 55 million people listened to an audiobook in the past year.
“To millions of people, it’s their preferred way of experiencing literature,” said Donald Katz, founder and CEO of Audible, owned by Amazon. “And it has this massive utility in a busy time because you can’t use your eyes to read or look at a screen or watch a play if you’re in a car or on a StairMaster.”
Vanessa Johansson, an actress and artistic associate with the Scandinavian American Theater Co., prepares for each reading like a stage role. She reads the book with attention to how the story flows and adds texture to the voices. She looks for clues in the text about her approach and even sends an e-mail to authors.
