Bronzeville Books Joins Growing Roster of SAG-AFTRA Signatory Audiobook Publishers

Independent publisher Bronzeville Books will begin producing covered audio recordings effective immediately through its sister LLC, Bronzeville Pictures, starting with its most recent book release, Ace Boon Coon: The Tales of Elliot Caprice by Danny Gardner. The agreement was facilitated by actor and longtime former SAG National Board member and National 1st Vice President Anne-Marie Johnson. 

Currently, SAG-AFTRA has more than 65 agreements with audiobook publishers, and it is the fastest-growing category of work under the union’s jurisdiction.  

Gardner, who also is an actor, director and screenwriter, founded Bronzeville Books in 2018 to elevate the voices, stories and talent of Black and other underrepresented creatives. Through its expansion into audiobooks, Bronzeville also will create new opportunities for narrators of color. 

“We are thrilled to be working with Danny and the team at Bronzeville Books,” said SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris. “The audiobook industry has been experiencing explosive growth and with that we’ve seen the need for greater diversity and authenticity both in terms of narrators and the stories that are chosen to be told in this format. Bronzeville has a unique role to play in cultivating diverse storytellers.”

“As a member of SAG-AFTRA for more than 30 years, I wanted to leverage my role as a publisher to provide opportunities for actors of color in the same way that the union has taken steps to create diversity and inclusion initiatives for its members,” said Gardner. “I am proud to be involved, both as an actor and a publisher.”

“Americans today demand the kind of authentic, rich storytelling that can only be achieved when both creatives and decisionmakers are committed to recognizing and honoring diverse experiences and voices,” said Johnson, who will be a co-producer for Bronzeville. “SAG-AFTRA and Bronzeville’s partnership has the potential to not only produce compelling entertainment, but also to help cultivate the pipeline of narrators from diverse racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds.” 

As a SAG-AFTRA signatory, Bronzeville will have access to a deep roster of both established and up-and-coming narrators from all walks of life to help bring its stories to life.  
 

About SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.