Good news everyone: Zorgamazoo has been awarded Germany’s prize for best children’s audiobook of 2012.
My German is quite poor (non-existent), but with the help of a German-speaking friend and some online translation robots, I’ve extracted some choice quotes from this article in Germany’s BuchMarkt magazine:
“Following the announcement of the first six winners of the German audiobook prize last week, the seventh and final winner has now been added: In the category of ‘Best Children’s Audio Book’ the five-member children’s jury from the magazine ZEITLeo unanimously elected the reading of Zorgamazoo, published by Silberfisch (Audiobook Hamburg). Martin Baltscheit was honored for his service with the German Performer’s Audiobook Prize.”
…
“Imaginative, vibrant, fast-paced, this audiobook humorously rekindles the pleasure of rhyme,” raved the nominating jury. “Uwe-Michael Gutzschhahn translated Robert Paul Weston’s long poem into lively German. And the fantastic reading by Martin Baltscheit contributes to the revival of an almost extinct art form.”
…
“Fantastic!” Dorte Brunotte, the program director at Silberfisch, cheered when she learned of the decision from the children’s jury…”This is an audiobook in the truest sense of the word—when a poem for the ears gets the prize it’s an award for the spoken word itself.”
Needless to say, I’m extremely pleased. Zorgamazoo has now won audiobook awards in both English and German.
Ultimately, however, this is an award for the people behind the German edition: Uwe-Michael Gutzschhahn, the translator, Martin Baltscheit, who performed the reading, Silberfisch, who produced the audiobook, and Jacoby-Stuart, the publishers who brought the book to Germany in the first place. Congrats to all of you! It’s wonderful to see my odd little book with a new life in a new language. Many thanks.
