Audible and the Center for Independent Publishing Announce New Imprint, “AUDIBLE IndieFirst”

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The leading provider of premium digital spoken audio information and entertainment, Audible Inc., an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ: AMZN), has announced AUDIBLE IndieFirst, a new imprint developed by Audible and the Center for Independent Publishing (CIP) to surface fresh, original works from independent publishers and deliver them in digital audio before the print edition is available.

Audible and the CIP issued a call for manuscripts from the top tier of independent publishers, asking them to identify their best and most promising upcoming titles for consideration in the Audible IndieFirst program. From these submissions, Audible has selected a number of upcoming titles to publish in audio. To create a listening experience on par with the tremendous quality of these writers, Audible will pair each book with a superb narrator chosen specifically to bring that book to life in a unique and compelling manner. The goal is to introduce innovative writers on the verge of popular renown to the large world of book lovers and audiobook listeners.

As part of an exclusive pre-release program, Audible will publish the digital audiobook one month prior to its print release. The audiobooks will be available at both Audible.com and iTunes.

“We want to bring the tremendous quality of independently published titles, which generally aren’t produced in audio, to the hundreds of thousands of people who experience literature through listening,” said Beth Anderson, executive vice president and Publisher, Audible, Inc. “We believe the program will not only expand the depth of choice for consumers of audiobooks, but also introduce book lovers to new and emerging writers.”

“This collaborative initiative seeks to increase the public’s awareness of the crucial and creative work put forth by independent presses,” said Lloyd Jassin, Executive Committee Chairman, CIP.

The inaugural IndieFirst selection is Joe Meno’s Demons in the Spring. The print edition of Meno’s short story collection, being published by New York-based Akashic Books in September, has been called a “stellar collection” in a starred Publishers Weekly review. Audible has selected Victor Bevine to narrate. The versatile Bevine has appeared on television in shows including C.S.I. and Dark Angel, and has narrated many audiobooks including Kurt Vonnegut’s Mother Night and the recent blog-turned-book Stuff White People Like.

In the coming weeks, Audible will produce and publish titles that range across genres to showcase the breadth and talent of brilliant writers otherwise unavailable in audio. Upcoming titles include the first English translation of A Child of All Nations, by Irmgard Keun, from Overlook Press; the memoir Girl Boy Girl: How I Became J.T. LeRoy, by Savannah Knoop, from Seven Stories Press; and the literary espionage novel Stray Dog Winter, by David Francis, from MacAdam Cage. Narrators for these books have yet to be announced.

About the CIP.

The New York Center for Independent Publishing (www.nycip.org), established in 1984, serves as a forum for independent book publishers and is actively involved in increasing the public's awareness of important creative works published by independent presses. The CIP encourages excellence and free expression in publishing through public lectures, book fairs, exhibits, publisher workshops and other programs, many held at its literary landmark building in NYC. The CIP is a non-profit educational program of the The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York.

About Audible

Audible (www.audible.com) is the leader in spoken audio information and entertainment on the Internet. Content from Audible is downloaded and played back on personal computers, CDs, or AudibleReady computer-based and wireless mobile devices. Audible has over 40,000 audio programs from more than 470 content providers that include leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers, and business information providers. Audible is the preeminent provider of spoken-word audio products for Apple's iTunes Store. Audible, Audible.com, AudibleListener, AudibleReady and AudibleKids are trademarks of Audible, Inc. or its affiliates. Other product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc., (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as books, movies, music & games, digital downloads, electronics & computers, home & garden, toys, kids & baby, grocery, apparel, shoes & jewelry, health & beauty, sports & outdoors, and tools, auto & industrial.

Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Examples of the services offered by Amazon Web Services are Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), Amazon SimpleDB, Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS), Amazon Flexible Payments Service (Amazon FPS), and Amazon Mechanical Turk.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, and the Joyo Amazon websites at www.joyo.cn and www.amazon.cn.

As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, significant amount of indebtedness, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, and subsequent filings.