People 5/19

The National Book Foundation has elected four new members to its Board of Directors: Greg Greeley, ceo, Simon & Schuster; Franklin Leonard, founder & ceo, The Black List; Elizabeth McNamara, partner, Davis Wright Tremaine; and Miwa Messer, executive producer of author events and content, Barnes & Noble. The addition of the new members brings the Board to 22 governing members.

Taylor Belgrade has been promoted to associate, school & library marketing.

Ava Grayson has joined as literary agent. She was previously editor at Quill & Flame Publishing House.

The Bookseller reports that Bolinda Audio has made an agreement with the estate of late romance writer Barbara Cartland to use an AI-cloned voice of Cartland in audiobook versions of titles from her 700-book catalogue. Cartland’s voice will be used at the opening and closing of the books, while the books themselves will be narrated by professional actors.

Bolinda tells The Bookseller, “The AI voice is used as a complementary creative layer within the overall production, enhancing the listener experience while preserving the integrity of performance.”