In the Recording Studio : Santa Barbara Literary Festival

Go behind-the-scenes of audiobook production in a panel discussion with award-winning director Keith Reynolds and award-winning narrators Vikas Adam, Claudia Dunn, and Andrew Eiden. Get the inside scoop on how a book gets from the page to your ears and celebrate the joy of listening to great stories told by your favorite voices.

This panel is presented by Braille Institute, a nonprofit that has been transforming the lives of individuals with blindness and low vision for more than 100 years. Located throughout Southern California, including downtown Santa Barbara, Braille Institute provides thousands of audiobooks, braille books, and large-print titles each year—free of charge. Through tailored services and programs, Braille Institute is committed to helping people with vision loss embrace a world of possibilities. Please consider making a donation to help bring the world of literature to everyone.

Vikas Adam is an award winning actor, voiceover artist, director and producer with work seen across numerous commercials, industrials, independent films and shows.He is one of the audiobook industry’s most sought after artists, having recorded over 575 audiobooks. He regularly records for Apple News and The New York Times Audio. Vikas has won the Audie Award (the Oscars of audiobooks and is a 17 time nominee), a Voice Arts Award award, 25+ Earphones awards, is on several “Best of the Year” lists and is an inaugural inductee into the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame. He was recently awarded a life time honor as a Golden Voice by AudioFile Magazine. Vikas rounds out his time as faculty at the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television where he teaches Acting, Voice, and Character Exploration and Development through Movement.

Claudia Dunn is an audiobook narrator and award-winning voice actor of over three decades, holding a B.A. in Theatre & Dance from UMD and an M.A. from USC. Classically trained at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre, she has performed in plays and musicals on stages from the East Coast to L.A. and with USO tours internationally. A White House Press Office alum and four-time SOVAS Awards finalist, Claudia has provided the Audio Description on 1,000+ films, television episodes as well as pictorial audiobooks for young audiences. She is a return presenter at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, has appeared on multiple audio industry podcasts, the Braille Institute’s Film Club and is co-host of the Clubhouse room, Narrator Uplift. Claudia works closely withpublishers and independent authors to serve and bring their stories to life.

Andrew Eiden is an eclectic performer whose work ranges from joyful, humorous storytelling for young audiences with books like The Bad Seed, or Disney’s Frozen Storybook collection. Classic literature like various works by Jack Kerouac or William Faulkner to emotionally intense adult fiction like The Perfect Marriage, or The Sideways Life of Denny Voss. His affinity with grounded and natural narration has led to award winning work in non fiction as well for titles such as Alone on the Wall, and American Oasis. He is known for his facility with complex and poetic language, and also widely recognized under his pseudonym, Teddy Hamilton, for passionate performances in romances such as Fourth Wing, and Haunting Adeline that have earned him a devoted following of listeners.

is Braille Institute's Senior Manager of Digital Storytelling. Keith spent nearly a decade directing audiobooks at Audible before founding Spoke Media, one of the world's premier podcast production companies. His work has received numerous awards, including 7 Signal Awards, 4 APA Audies, 2 TPA Ambies, 2 Webbies, a W3 Award, a NY Festival Radio Award, an iHeartRadio Podcast Award, the Society of Professional Journalists John C. Ensslin Award for Podcast Excellence, IndieWire's Podcast of The Year, and the Society for Features Journalism Award.

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Host or Publisher Santa Barbara Literary Festival