First-ever "Legends of Animation" biography series by award-winning author and animation expert Jeff Lenburg offers a captivating look at the lives and worlds of the industry's most celebrated icons.

Phoenix, AZ -- (SBWire) -- 09/06/2013 --Award-winning author and animation historian Jeff Lenburg's "Legends of Animation" biographies chronicling the amazing lives and work of cartoon icons Tex Avery, Walt Disney, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Matt Groening, John Lasseter, Hayao Miyazaki, Walter Lantz, and Genndy Tartakovsky are now available as audiobooks.

"The unabridged audiobooks capture the mirth and magic of these masters of animation," Lenburg said, "besides delving into their personal lives and stories, their early work and influences, the origins of their classic characters, films, and television shows, and much, much more."

Adapted from Lenburg's hardcover series, published by Chelsea House, each audiobook surveys the lives and careers of the most honored and recognized from the worlds of film and television animation whose classic characters are known and loved around the world and the most imitated and admired today. Priced at $14.95 each, the downloadable digital audiobooks are offered online at Audible.com, Amazon.com, and iTunes. Titles include:

Tex Avery: Hollywood's Master of Screwball Cartoons
Narrator Scott O'Neill brings to life this look into the fascinating life and career of the famed Warner Bros. and MGM animator, father of "screwball animation," and creator of such classic characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, George and Junior, and Screwy Squirrel.

Walt Disney: The Mouse That Roared
Read by voice actor and narrator Al Kessel, chronicled here is the colorful life of the famous mustached animator and inspirations for his classic cartoons, revolutionary animation techniques, and world-famous characters, including his best known creation, Mickey Mouse.

William Hanna and Joseph Barbera: The Sultans of Saturday Morning
Read by two-time Emmy winning ESPN writer-producer Barry Abrams, this volume details the fascinating behind-the-scenes story of this 50-year partnership and film and television's most prolific and honored tandems that resulted in the creation of some of the most beloved and popular characters in 20th-century animation, including Tom and Jerry, Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, the Flintstones, the Jetsons, and Scooby-Doo.

Matt Groening: From Spitballs to Springfield
Broadcasting veteran and ACM Radio Personality of the Year Charlie James tells the story of this noted cartoonist, animator and producer who first rocketed to fame after launching his Life in Hell comic strip before going on to create television's longest-running primetime animated series starring a family of misfits, called The Simpsons.

Walter Lantz: Made Famous by a Woodpecker
Professional voice talent Scott R. Pollak, the voice of National Public Radio, Atlanta, and more than 1,000 local, regional and national commercials, narrates this rags-to-riches story of the ten-time Oscar-nominated producer, director, and animator who produced more than 800 cartoons, more than any other Hollywood animation studio, after starting his career during the silent picture era and was made famous by his creation of the machine-gun laughing Woody Woodpecker.

John Lasseter: The Whiz That Made Pixar King
Forty-year stage, television and voice recording artist Stan Jenson lends his voice to this remarkable biography of the two-time Academy Award-winning director and creative wizard behind Pixar Animation Studios responsible for ushering in the age of computer-animation and producing such blockbuster hits as Toy Story, Cars, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc., Wall-E, and many others.

Hayao Miyazaki: Japan's Premier Anime Storyteller
Veteran voice over artist and narrator Mark Douglas Nelson narrates the inside-story of this iconic Japanese animation filmmaker responsible for producing and directing some of the most successful anime features of all time, including Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, Ponyo, and Spirited Away.

Genndy Tartakovsky: From Russia to Coming-of-Age Animator
Twenty-five year broadcasting veteran Jason Sullivan relates the true story of this Russian-born immigrant whose love of American cartoons and comic books spurred his imagination on his way to becoming one of the most unique talents and influential animators and making his mark as the creator of such Emmy-nominated television hits as Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack.

Check out the video on YouTube: www.youtube.com/embed/sVF15atHs-o

For more information or to play a five-minute sample of any audiobook, please visit: http://www.audible.com/search/ref=mn_anon-h_tseft__galileo?advsearchKeywords=jeff+lenburg&x=0&y=0.

Lenburg's "Legends of Animation" biographies are available in print as well through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and most major booksellers. Hailed by critics, they have been called "...well researched...will introduce readers to the individuals who were responsible for creating some of the most memorable characters on film." Handsomely illustrated with full-color and black-and-white photographs and illustrations, they are sold through local and independent bookstores, including Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and national wholesalers, including Ingram Book Group and Baker and Taylor. To learn more about these editions, check out: http://www.infobasepublishing.com/Series.aspx?SeriesISBN=099766.

About Jeff Lenburg
Jeff Lenburg is a prolific, award-winning author, celebrity biographer, and animation historian. He has written more than 30 books, including celebrity memoirs, celebrity biographies, entertainment histories, popular references, and two national bestsellers. He is also a foremost authority on animation cartoons, having authored seven books about its illustrious history, among them The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons, Third Edition, the definitive source on the subject chronicling every animated cartoon--some 3,100 in all--ever made, and Who's Who in Animated Cartoons, the first-ever biographical reference on more than 300 award-winning and legendary animators in animation's 100-plus year history.

Contact:
Jeff Lenburg
Phoenix, Arizona
jefflenburg@jefflenburg.com
www.jefflenburg.com

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