
2015 HEAR Now Festival Featured Programming
OPENING EVENT:
The Making of
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
from METABOOK Full Cast Audiobook & App
Purchase an ALL ACCESS FESTIVAL PASS, to attend any of our events, or select individual tickets to specific events you want to attend:
Individual Event Ticket Costs:
$8.00 per 90 minute "listening event" in Cinemark Theaters
$30.00 per 5 sessions (FIVE 90 minute "listening events" in Cinemark Theaters)
$15.00 for Thursday Night Opening event - Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil
$15.00 for Saturday Afternoon Reading With Your Ears: The Art of the Audiobook (This program is free with a Kansas City library RSVP.)
$15.00 for Saturday Night AUDIO Tonight!
$15.00 for Closing Brunch and Awards Ceremony
The following programs are free and require no tickets: Never Again War: The Sacrifice of Kathe Kollwitz and Celebrating Mark Twain.
OPENING EVENT:
The Making of
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
from METABOOK Full Cast Audiobook & App
Purchase an ALL ACCESS FESTIVAL PASS, to attend any of our events, or select individual tickets to specific events you want to attend:
Individual Event Ticket Costs:
$8.00 per 90 minute "listening event" in Cinemark Theaters
$30.00 per 5 sessions (FIVE 90 minute "listening events" in Cinemark Theaters)
$15.00 for Thursday Night Opening event - Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil
$15.00 for Saturday Afternoon Reading With Your Ears: The Art of the Audiobook (This program is free with a Kansas City library RSVP.)
$15.00 for Saturday Night AUDIO Tonight!
$15.00 for Closing Brunch and Awards Ceremony
The following programs are free and require no tickets: Never Again War: The Sacrifice of Kathe Kollwitz and Celebrating Mark Twain.
Thursday, June 11th, 7:30pm-9:00pm, Holiday Inn Ballroom moderated by Angela Elam of New Letters on The Air.
HEAR Now & New Letters On The Air present a panel featuring Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil author John Berendt (Pulitzer Prize Finalist), the audio drama's director Robin Miles (who also plays Minerva), METABOOK™ creator Benjamin Alfonsi, and audio stars Barbara Rosenblat (Mary Harty/Darlene), Dion Graham (Dr. Collier/Simon Glover), Alice Rosengard (Blanche Williams / Georgia Fawcett), and Carol Monda (Serena Dawes). Featured in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is Laverne Cox (Orange is the New Black) , as The Lady Chablis, who will be showcased being directed by Miles in the recording studio.
"Metabook is visionary," said Berendt. "Brilliantly conceived and superbly carried out, it catapults publishing to a whole new level." The Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil METABOOK™ app for iPad and iPhone is available exclusively at the Apple App Store.
Moderator Angela Elam has been hosting and producing New Letters on the Air since 1996. Produced by New Letters magazine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, New Letters On The Air is the longest continuously-running broadcast of a national literary radio series on public radio, with more than 1,200 programs by many of the world’s most prominent writers. The radio program widens the scope of the magazine to promote great literature both on the page and on the air and has won several awards, most recently the 2013 Clarion Award from the Association of Women in Communications for Best Regular Radio Interview Program.
The evening's panel will be recorded 'live to tape' for national broadcast.
Immediately following will be a Reception and After Party hosted by SAG/AFTRA at Simpson House for Festival ALL ACCESS PASS holders & VIP guests of SAG/AFTRA.
"Metabook is visionary," said Berendt. "Brilliantly conceived and superbly carried out, it catapults publishing to a whole new level." The Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil METABOOK™ app for iPad and iPhone is available exclusively at the Apple App Store.
Moderator Angela Elam has been hosting and producing New Letters on the Air since 1996. Produced by New Letters magazine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, New Letters On The Air is the longest continuously-running broadcast of a national literary radio series on public radio, with more than 1,200 programs by many of the world’s most prominent writers. The radio program widens the scope of the magazine to promote great literature both on the page and on the air and has won several awards, most recently the 2013 Clarion Award from the Association of Women in Communications for Best Regular Radio Interview Program.
The evening's panel will be recorded 'live to tape' for national broadcast.
Immediately following will be a Reception and After Party hosted by SAG/AFTRA at Simpson House for Festival ALL ACCESS PASS holders & VIP guests of SAG/AFTRA.
Author John Berendt, known for writing the best-selling Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize, will be at HEAR Now to discuss the adaptation of his book into an audio drama and app.
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Angela Elam, moderator, has been the producer/host of UMKC's literary radio show New Letters on the Air since 1996.
She has worked in public radio since 1988 and received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Georgia in dramatic writing. Angela has also produced radio dramas and special features, including stories for NPR, one of which "Train Whistles or Horns?," won the 1994 PRNDI Award for best use of sound. |
Additional Guests Include:

Barbara Rosenblat (Mary Harty/Darlene)
Barbara Rosenblat is an actor living in New York City and has enjoyed a long career both here and the UK. She can currently be seen playing the cancer-ridden prisoner Miss Rosa on the Netflix original series Orange Is The New Black as well as a new recurring role on the Fox series 'Gotham'.
On Broadway, she created the role of Mrs Medlock in the 3-time Tony award winning musical,The Secret Garden.
Barbara is also one of the most sought after voice actors in the country. She is one of the audiobook industry's most beloved recording artists with 8 Audie Awards and countless other commendations for a distinguished body of work.
One critic was moved to write, 'Barbara is to audiobooks what Meryl Streep is to film'.

Dion Graham (Dr. Collier/Simon Glover)
Dion Graham, from HBO’s The Wire , also narrates The First 48 on A&E. A multiple Audie Award–winning and critically acclaimed actor and narrator, he has performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, internationally, in films, and in several hit television series. Most recently he played Fred Cole on CBS's Madam Secretary.
He also narrated this year's Odyssey Award winner H.O.R.S.E. His performances have been praised as thoughtful and compelling, vivid and full of life.
Carol Monda (Serena Dawes)
Carol Monda is a two-time Audie Award-winner, recipient of the Audio Publishers Association Earphones Award, and member of the Sag-Aftra National Audiobook Committee. She has narrated over 150 audiobooks in a wide range of genres including Biography, History, Dramatic Fiction, Inspirational, Young Adult, Fantasy, Mystery, Current Affairs & Politics, Sci-Fi, Western, Pulp Fiction, and Romance. Carol has narrated for Recorded Books, Audible Inc., Harper Audio, Hachette Book Group, Books On Tape, listentogenius.com, Clipper Audio, Academic Merit, Edge Studio, HighBridge Audio, and EBookExtreme. Carol has been featured in interviews for VoiceOverxtra, TeenReads, Emily’s Reading Room, and AudioFile Magazine. Her narration of Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway was named among the top10 audiobooks of 2013 by salon.com. |
Alice Rosengard (Blanche Williams / Georgia Fawcett) Alice Rosengard is classically trained actor and singer with many corporate videos, commercials and animated films to her credit, Alice brings clarity, warmth, and intelligence to her recordings. She has narrated audiobooks for Audible, Inc., Simon & Schuster Audio, Harper Audio, Troll Books, and AFB Talking Books Productions. |

Robin Miles - Director & Cast Member (Minerva)
Known for great accents and emotional nuance, narrator Robin Miles brings words to life. A veteran of Broadway, classical plays, TV/film, and museum exhibitions, with 300+ Audiobook titles, she is the 2014 ALA Voice of Choice, an Audiofile Magazine Golden Voice and Grammy finalist (directing), with multiple awards (Audies, Best of the Year), Earphones).
Robin owns Voxpertise® training & production studio. She graduated from Yale University and the Yale School of Drama.
Benjamin Alfonsi Metabook Creative Director Drawing upon his diverse professional background, Benjamin created Metabook™ as the ultimate expression of his belief in the power of technology to elevate the human experience. Metabook™ has been called "visionary" (John Berendt), "huge" (David Sedaris), "stupendous" (Wally Lamb), "an explosive extravaganza" (John Waters), and "the gold standard" (Tom Perrotta). Benjamin's work has attracted top talents in music, acting, design, production, and visual arts; his artistry is present in every pixel of Metabook™. |