Audio from the Author: Part II

Colmcille Press and North West Regional College have partnered to trial new voice replication technology*, designed to help authors and independent publishers create professional audiobooks quickly and affordably. In this second of three pilots, produced by Aaron McKeever, Consultant at NWRC's XR Hub, author Conor Bowman reads the title story (novella) from his new short-story collection The Half-Life of Edith Hopkins.

• Voice replication software uses deep-learning algorithms and neural networks to extract unique acoustic features—such as pitch, timbre, and prosody—from a target speaker's audio data to synthesise a high-fidelity digital replica capable of generating new speech with the original speaker's vocal identity. It has the potential to enable the automated production of personalised audiobooks, so allowing authors to narrate their own digital works indefinitely. Other applications include preserving a parent's vocal presence for reading to children, and streamlining cost-effective, high-volume audio content creation for publishers.