The International Costumers’ Guild Press has just published its first audiobook, Jules Verne and the First Science Fiction Masquerade by ICG member Kathe Gust. The book is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and now audiobook versions.
Following the publication of her book in late March, Kathe was approached by several members of the costuming community who said that they would love to read it but they are visually impaired. They asked her whether she had ever considered publishing an audiobook version. After going through the book, she thought that the story could be adapted for the audiobook format, and approached the ICG Press with the idea, offering to narrate it herself. Kathe has a degree in speech communications and is comfortable with audio narration.
Several issues would need to be resolved to create an audiobook version. The first was how to handle the many photos and illustrations. The captions in the print and ebook versions were meant to supplement the photos and illustrations. They would not give an audiobook listener a good idea of what was actually depicted. After trying several approaches, the decision was to read the caption, and then to follow that with a short description of the photo or illustration, similar to what is done with assistive audio narration for theatrical productions..
For example, in the print and ebook versions, the photo of the Verne’s house in Amiens France, where the second masquerade was held, has the caption “Jules Verne house at 2, rue Charles Dubois, c. 1894.” In the audiobook version, the additional description is, “Three-story brick building with a four-story tower at left. Verne is in the courtyard and his wife stands on the front steps.” The description provides enough information to form an image for the listener without being overly long. Placement is done in a way that falls naturally in with the narrative, and is prefaced by the word “Photo” or “Illustration.”
Another issue was how to present citations and references to online sources. Trying to read URLs that appear in the print and ebook versions seemed awkward. The decision was to name the source, but to omit the URL. For example, the citation
Gentlemen’s Fancy Dress: How to Choose It by Ardern Holt, 1882.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Gentlemen_s_Fancy_Dress/ED8CAAAAQAAJM
was read as
Gentlemen’s Fancy Dress: How to Choose It by Ardern Holt, 1882.
Available from Google Books.
The final issue was how to produce and distribute the audiobook. Audiobooks have some specific technical requirements. Fortunately, there are enough online articles about the process that it was possible to learn about what is required, including structure, audio formats, and metadata.
It was also necessary to identify distribution partners who can handle audiobooks. Our print distribution partner, IngamSpark, handles print and ebooks but not audiobooks. Fortunately our other distribution partner, Payhip, who distributes our ebook and PDF versions, can also distribute our audiobook versions. Kathe’s audiobook became available from them in late May 2026. We have also signed an agreement with Voices by INaudio, one of the largest audiobook distributors, to distribute our audiobooks to their extensive network of sellers. Kathe’s audiobook should be available through those sellers by July, 2026.
Now that the ICG Press has the capability to produce audiobooks, we will evaluate future publications to see if they would be suitable for this format. We are also evaluating our current publications.
To learn more about Kathe’s book, Jules Verne and the First Science Fiction Masquerade and to locate a seller for the audiobook and other formats, visit the book page on the ICG Press website.
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