New Laois-based audiobook offshoot launches with titles from Rob Doyle, J.P. Donleavy and more

Irish book titles are at the heart of a new initiative that will take Irish writing definitively into the audiobook age. Michael Harding, Rob Doyle, Estelle Birdy and the legendary J. P. Donleavy are among the authors whose works are being launched by Caleb and Kyle Audiobooks – the brand new, Co. Laois-based offshoot of Audio-To-Go, one of Europe’s largest independent audiobook publishers.

Caleb and Kyle already have a selection of English-language originals and first-ever English translations available, effectively ushering in what promises to be a fascinating new phase of literary activity here at home – and in other English language speaking territories.

Aiming at listeners across Ireland, the UK, North America, Australia and beyond, the dedicated English-language audiobook publishers specialise in crime, thrillers, romance, historical fiction, non-fiction, humour, and translations of selected international bestsellers. Its audiobooks are produced with professional human narrators in studio environments across Dublin, London and Los Angeles – with zero synthetic or AI-generated voices involved.

Caleb and Kyle Audiobooks – based in Mountmellick, Co. Laois – are also offering first-ever English translations of selected titles from Audio-To-Go’s successful German catalogue, including Mac P. Lorne’s award-winning The Lion’s Claws. The historical epic is part of his acclaimed, five-book Robin Hood origin saga, which has been one of Audio-To-Go’s most successful productions.

The English-language audiobook edition of The Lion’s Claws is narrated by John Lee, one of the most renowned voices in the English-language audiobook world – who has scored multiple Audie Awards, as well as AudioFile’s Golden Voice honour.

“The Lion’s Claws is exactly the kind of historical fiction we love to bring to audio: rich, intelligent, dramatic, and built on a scale that rewards long-form listening,” says Marc Sieper, Publisher at Caleb and Kyle. “Mac P. Lorne has taken a legend everyone thinks they know and placed it in a much larger, more politically charged historical world. With John Lee’s performance, the story becomes truly immersive.”

The Irish connection is really important to Caleb and Kyle. Works in ‘The Voice of Ireland’ series are rooted in memory, place, humour, heartbreak, rebellion and personality.

At the heart of the list is Michael Harding’s Bird in the Snow, a tender novel following one woman through a single sleepless night of grief, memory and reckoning – with celebrated Irish actress Marcella Riordan providing the narration.

Estelle Birdy’s compellingly original Ravelling (narrated by Gareth O’Connor) delves into the lives of five young men in the Liberties in Dublin; Catriona Shine’s Habitat (narrated by Edoardo Ballerini) follows seven interconnected neighbours in an Oslo apartment block that’s falling apart; Rob Doyle’s debut Here Are The Young Men – a raw portrait of masculinity set in post-boom Dublin – is brought to life through immersive performances by Kevin Hely, Seán Burke and Derek Murphy; and the legendary J.P. Donleavy’s satirical The Unexpurgated Code – once described by The New York Times as “possibly the funniest book ever written” – is narrated by multi-award-winning character actor Simon Callow.

Music fans, meanwhile, will enjoy Moving Hearts saxophonist Keith Donald’s self-narrated Music and Mayhem, which follows his journey from sectarian Belfast to international stages, in a story shaped by recovery and resilience.

• The initial catalogue of 14 titles is available now, with more to come in the next weeks and months. For more information, see calebandkyle.com