Denver, CO January 17, 2023—The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences has given the Gold Signal Award for "Most Innovative Audio Experience" to the podcast "Illustrated Audiobooks with the Audiobook Wizard" by Denver's Imagination Storybooks.
"We add rich audio description (AD) of the pictures in illustrated books, so for the first time every child, including those who are blind or have low vision, is able to fully experience the wonderful pictures in illustrated books" says Richard Rieman, Imagination Storybooks Founder, CEO and "The Audiobook Wizard."
From the Signal Awards judges: "This is an unparalleled Honor and a remarkable achievement! With more than 1,700 entries from over 30 countries—and nearly 150,000 votes cast in the Listener's Choice Awards. As a Signal Winner, you truly set the standard for podcasts. Other winners include Audible, Apple, HBO Max, ABC News, Netflix, and PBS."
"Illustrated Audiobooks" at https://anchor.fm/audiobookwizard also won the 2022 Communicator Award for Excellence as "Best Storytelling Podcast."
Richard founded the nonprofit, Imagination Storybooks, to bridge these gaps and support blind and deaf children. His team of narrators and interpreters—over a dozen of whom are blind or low vision themselves—combine digital picture books with Audio Descriptions (AD) of the illustrations and a digital braille file, as well as captions and American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation.
"Today, everything can be read in a robotic voice on a device, but we are trying to give children a performance and teach them to love books even at three, four, and five years old," Richard explains.
Imagination Storybooks partners with the nationally recognized Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP.org), funded by the U.S. Department of Education, so tens of thousands of blind children, their parents, and their teachers have free access.
About Imagination Storybooks
Imagination Storybooks of Denver, CO is part of Imagination Videobooks, Inc., a 501c3 Nonprofit at https://ImaginationStorybooks.org, which debuted in January 2021 to fill a need for accessible books that exists for over 5 million children who are blind, deaf, or neurodiverse in the U.S.
The team of over 100 volunteers and staff includes some of the top audiobook narrators in the country, video editors, audio description writers, and audio editors. Over a dozen members of the team are blind or low vision.
About The Signal Awards
A new, comprehensive award initiative for podcasts, the inaugural Signal Awards recognize the breadth of Podcast and Digital Audio work from around the globe by honoring the organizations, brands, and professionals creating and shaping the industry. The hope is that by honoring and championing this work, The Signal Awards can help set a standard of excellence and play a significant role in supporting the future of the podcast industry.
About Richard Rieman
CEO and Founder Richard Rieman, "The Audiobook Wizard," is an acclaimed authority on audio and video self-publishing. He has narrated and produced hundreds of Indie-published audiobooks. Richard is the author of the Global eBook Awards Gold Medal Winner in Writing/Publishing, "The Author's Guide to Audiobook Creation." He is a 5-time winner of the Colorado Independent Publishers Assn. EVVY Award for audiobook narration and production and the Gold Medal National Ben Franklin Independent Book Publishers Assn. (IBPA) award for Audiobook Nonfiction.
Richard's work as a former guide and racing instructor for blind skiers and as a volunteer narrator for Learning Ally kept him dedicated to the visually impaired community. Richard also has progressive Glaucoma and is losing his own eyesight; "but not," he says, "my vision."
For More Information:
For interviews, video samples, and story ideas related to audio description and children's books, contact Richard Rieman at 720-507-5970, or email him at Richard@ImaginationStorybooks.org