You can hear change too. After twenty years of giving voice to great characters, Audio Renaissance is now Macmillan Audio. We’re celebrating our platinum anniversary with a new name and a celebration of the art of storytelling.

On November 6, St. Martin’s Press will be publishing the hardcover of the long-awaited novel, RHETT BUTLER’S PEOPLE. Authorized by the Margaret Mitchell estate, this novel by award-winning author Donald McCaig parallels the Great American Novel, Gone With the Wind. Macmillan Audio has created and is publishing an unabridged audio edition of the novel as well.

But who do you hire to give voice to such an iconic character as Rhett Butler? The casting process is one of the most interesting and crucial parts of audiobook publishing. Certainly the casting discussions are the most spirited segment of our staff meetings. For every book the debate will rage: single voice or multi-cast? Male or female? Young or old? Gritty or smooth? And what about accents?

But back to Rhett. We needed an actor who could use his voice to create the atmosphere of the American South before, during and just after the Civil war; could portray the many characters who shaped the personality of Rhett – from his unyielding father to the overseer’s daughter Belle Watling to the former slave and Rhett’s best friend Tunis Bonneau to, of course, the headstrong and vivacious Scarlett O’Hara; all the while revealing that dashing scoundrel, Rhett Butler. Our producer Laura knew she wanted an actor with a “leading man” voice. So she turned to stage, film, and television actor John Bedford Lloyd, whom AudioFile Magazine has described as “a commanding reader with a voice that grabs the listener by the throat.”

We think he’s done a great job giving voice to this epic character. Click here, sit back, and close your eyes. I think you’ll be transported to a world of plantations, duels, blockade runners, and legendary love stories.

Mary Beth Roche is the Publisher of Macmillan Audio