While University Press of Mississippi has licensed titles for audiobook production since 2011, UPM has never developed its own independent audiobook imprint—until now. Beginning this month, UPM will offer select titles under the imprint University Press of Mississippi Audiobooks.

University Press of Mississippi Audiobooks expresses UPM’s commitment to emerging technologies, matching an industry-wide trend of increasing interest in audio content. Both convenient and accessible, audiobooks have become increasingly popular, especially during the pandemic.

For the current publishing season, UPM has selected six titles to produce and distribute as audiobooks: Last Stand of the Louisiana Shrimpers by Emma X Lirette; The Preventorium: A Memoir by Susan Annah Currie; Political Animal: The Life and Times of Stewart Butler by Frank Perez; Reading Confederate Monuments edited by Maria Seger; The LGBTQ+ Comics Studies Reader: Critical Openings, Future Directions edited by Alison Halsall and Jonathan Warren; and Do You Remember?: Celebrating Fifty Years of Earth, Wind & Fire by Trenton Bailey.

“Audiobooks are the fastest growing sector in publishing, and UPM is actively working to increase the number of our titles available in the audiobook format,” said Craig Gill, Director of the Press. “We are excited by this new venture and the challenges and opportunities it presents. All departments of the press are involved in learning the intricacies of audiobook publishing, from production to marketing. I remember when we created our ebook program many years ago, and it is exhilarating to be part of the next step forward for the press.”

Audiobooks will not be available for direct sale from UPM’s website but can be purchased through several mainstream vendors.  

Our first five audiobooks published under University Press of Mississippi Audiobooks are available now!  

Do You Remember?: Celebrating Fifty Years of Earth, Wind & Fire is forthcoming. Its print, ebook, and audiobook editions will all be available in January.  

To explore UPM titles published with other imprints, visit: https://universitypressaudiobooks.com/presses.php and https://tantor.com/.