The Reading Warehouse

S. Ansky, Shloyme-Zanvel Rappaport (1863-1920), who wrote under the name Semyon Akimovich Ansky, was born in Belarus to a traditional, Yiddish-speaking Jewish family. He became a populist activist, ethnographer, and author of fiction, poetry, and drama in Yiddish and Russian. From 1911 to 1914, he traveled through villages as head of a Jewish ethnographic expedition. A story he heard during his researches became the foundation for his famous play, The Dybbuk.

Edward "Ed" Asner is an American actor best known for his Emmy-winning role as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, later continued in a spin-off series, Lou Grant. He has made dozens of appearances--including voice-over work--on television shows and has recorded a number of audiobooks.

Yuri Rasovsky (1944-2012) was the leading writer, producer, and director of audio drama in the United States. Also a distinguished actor, narrator, and critic, his numerous honors include two Peabody Awards, eight Audie Awards, and a Grammy.

Robertson Dean has played leading roles on and off Broadway and at dozens of regional theaters throughout the country. He has a BA from Tufts University and an MFA from Yale. His audiobook narration has garnered numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he works in film and television in addition to narrating.

Barbara Rosenblat, one of the most awarded narrators in the business, was selected by AudioFile magazine as one of the Golden Voices of the Twentieth Century. She has received the prestigious Audie Award multiple times and has earned fifty-four AudioFile Earphones Awards. She has also appeared in film, television, and theater, both in London's West End and on Broadway.

Harlan Ellison has written or edited more than 120 books and more than 1,700 stories, essays, and articles, as well as dozens of screenplays and teleplays. He has won numerous awards, including the Edgar Award, Hugo Award, an Audie Award for Best Solo Narration, and his fifth Nebula Award, breaking genre records. Ellison was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2006. He lives in California.

Lorna Raver, named one of AudioFile magazine's Best Voices of the Year, has received numerous Audie nominations and AudioFile Earphones Awards. An experienced stage actress, she has also guest-starred on many top television series and starred in director Sam Raimi's film Drag Me to Hell. Among her many Blackstone titles are The Age of Innocence, Up from Orchard Street, The Lodger, Selected Readings from the Portable Dorothy Parker, and Diamond Ruby.

Carl Reiner is an actor, film director, producer, writer, and comedian. He began his directing career on the Dick Van Dyke Show and his first feature film was an adaptation of Joseph Stein's play Enter Laughing. Reiner has also written a number of books, including the memoir My Anecdotal Life.

Richard Kind is an American actor known for his roles in television sitcoms, including Mad About You and Spin City. Also a prominent voice actor, his work includes Disney's Tom and Jerry: The Movie, A Bug's Life, Cars, and Cars 2. He lives in Santa Monica.

Kristoffer Tabori made his screen debut when he was six years old and appeared on Broadway for the first time at age sixteen. He has garnered numerous honors for his stage, screen, television, and radio acting and directing, including an Emmy. His first solo narration won the 1993 Audie Award for best audiobook of the year.

James Otis Kaler (1848--1912) was an American journalist and author of children's literature. He used the pen name James Otis.

Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than three thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than three hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014 and was named one of AudioFile's Golden Voices in 2012.