The Audio Publishers Association (APA) is the first and only not-for-profit trade organization of the audiobook industry in the United States.[1] Its mission is to "advocate the common, collective business interests of audio publishers."[2] Membership is open to "audio publishing companies and allied suppliers, distributors, and retailers of spoken word products and allied fields related to the production, distribution and sale of audiobooks."[2] Activities include national consumer surveys, gathering of industry statistics, trade-show exhibits, a newsletter and an annual conference.[2]

The APA was founded in May 1986,[3][4] when five to nine audiobook publishers joined together to form the organization initially to address the need for industry statistics, such as sales and member numbers.[5][6] The founders met for the first time in New Orleans at BookExpo America.[7] They included Newman Communications, Warner Bros. Audio, Simon & Schuster, Bantam Doubleday Dell, and Random House.[8] The first APA president was Seth Gershel who was also Simon & Schuster's director of sales.[8]

In 1994, the APA officially established the term "audiobook" as the industry standard.[9] In 1996, APA founded the Audie Awards, which AudioFile magazine called the "Oscars of the audiobook industry".[10]

References

  1. ^ Jessica E. Moyer (2010). The Readers' Advisory Handbook. American Library Association. p. 20. ISBN 9780838910429. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "About APA". Audiobook Publishers Association. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  3. ^ Preston Jones Hoffman (November 1988). "An Evaluative Directory to Producers and Distributors of Unabridged Books on Cassette Tape". University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  4. ^ Tom Spain (1986). "Progress Report: The Audio Publishers Association". Publishers Weekly. 230 (July 11), pp. 27-28.
  5. ^ Irene Watson (2008). Authors Access: 30 Success Secrets for Authors and Publishers. Loving Healing Press. p. 200. ISBN 9781932690989. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  6. ^ Margaret J. Hughes, ed. (1994). A.V. in Public and School Libraries: Selection and Policy Issues. Psychology Press. p. 55. ISBN 9781560244615. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  7. ^ "unknown". Time. Vol. 128. 1986. p. 72. Retrieved January 10, 2014. But recently, at the convention of the American Booksellers Association in New Orleans, efforts were made to create the Audio Publishers Association. Eight firms have ... ((cite news)): Cite uses generic title (help)
  8. ^ a b Aurelia C. Scott (June–July 2011). "Twenty Years and Counting: Robin Whitten's take on it all" (PDF). AudioFile. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 8, 2012. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  9. ^ Matthew Rubery, ed. (2011). "Introduction". Audiobooks, Literature, and Sound Studies. Routledge. pp. 1–21. ISBN 978-0-415-88352-8.
  10. ^ "The Audies Finalists 2008" (PDF). AudioFile. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-12-06.

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