Simon & Schuster Audio To Publish Fully Dramatized Shakespeare Productions From The Folger Shakespeare Library Theatre

NEW YORK, July 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Simon & Schuster Audio is proud to announce the publication of fully dramatized audio productions of Shakespeare's classic plays from the Folger Shakespeare Library, the world's leading center for Shakespeare studies.

Simon & Schuster Audio will launch the new line, Folger Shakespeare Library Presents, on August 5, 2014 with the publication of Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night's Dream on CD and for download– the five most popular plays in the Shakespeare canon.

"We are thrilled to be working with the Folger Shakespeare Library and Folger Theatre to bring their extraordinary audio productions to a wide audience," says Chris Lynch, President & Publisher, Simon Schuster Audio.  "These will soon be regarded as the definitive audio adaptations of Shakespeare's timeless works."

Listeners will enjoy the ultimate Shakespeare audio experience with these dynamic studio recordings, expertly produced by Folger Theatre from the complete, unabridged texts of the Folger Editions and performed by leading Shakespearean actors.

"We know that Shakespeare's plays were written with the human voice – an actor's voice – in mind, which is why it is so important to encounter the Folger Editions with one's ears as well as eyes," says Michael Witmore, Director of the Folger Shakespeare Library. "These recordings offer 'another way in' to Shakespeare's plays by offering powerful audio performances."

Considered a gold standard text, the Folger Editions of Shakespeare's plays are familiar to generations of teachers and students. The Folger Editions represent the best in current thinking about Shakespeare's plays and were edited at the Folger Shakespeare Library, home to the world's largest Shakespeare collection. The Folger team now brings their expertise to the audiobook market with the help of Simon & Schuster Audio through the eagerly anticipated publications of Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night's Dream in August. Simon & Schuster is also the print and ebook publisher of the Folger Shakespeare Library Editions and recently co-launched the interactive Folger Luminary Shakespeare app with the Folger Shakespeare Library and Luminary Digital Media.

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster Audio is a leading publisher of general interest audiobooks including bestselling fiction, nonfiction, business/finance, self-improvement, inspiration, language learning programs, original audiobook productions, and children's titles. In addition to a list that includes such unparalleled authors as Mary Higgins Clark, Vince Flynn, Ernest Hemingway, Stephen King, Michael Lewis, and David McCullough. Simon & Schuster Audio has produced audiobooks that have won seven Grammy Awards and earned thirty-five Grammy nominations since 1989. For more information about Simon & Schuster Audio, visit our website at www.audio.simonandschuster.com.

Simon & Schuster, a part of the CBS Corporation, is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Digital, and international companies in and international companies in Australia, Canada, India and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com.

ABOUT FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY: Folger Shakespeare Library is a world-renowned center for scholarship, learning, culture, and the arts. It is home to the world's largest Shakespeare collection and a primary repository for rare materials from the early modern period (1500–1750). The Folger is an internationally recognized research library offering advanced scholarly programs in the humanities; an innovator in the preservation of rare materials; a national leader in how Shakespeare is taught in grades K–12; and an award-winning producer of cultural and arts programs—theater, music, poetry, exhibits, lectures, and family programs. By promoting understanding of Shakespeare and his world, the Folger reminds us of the enduring influence of his works, the formative effects of the Renaissance on our own time, and the power of the written and spoken word. A gift to the American people from industrialist Henry Clay Folger, the Folger Shakespeare Library—located one block east of the U.S. Capitol—opened in 1932. Learn more at www.folger.edu.

SOURCE Simon & Schuster