APH News & Press
Louisville Narrator Receives Major National Award
News Release: Louisville, Kentucky, July 14, 2000
James DeLotel, a narrator in the studios of the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) whose career at APH has spanned 22 years, was awarded the Alexander Scourby Award for non-fiction narration. He received his award in a ceremony at Madison Square Garden in New York City on June 12.
The Scourby Award is presented annually by the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). The AFB, founded in 1921, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to eliminate inequalities for the blind and visually impaired in America. The award was founded in memory of its most popular narrator, Alexander Scourby, who recorded for the Talking Books program for nearly 50 years. Talking Books is a program of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), a division of the Library of Congress. Members of the Talking Book audience, who are blind, visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled, select the recipients of this award.
DeLotel earned a B.A. in English from Indiana University. Throughout his career in narration for Talking Books, he has recorded nearly 350 book titles, including Ben-Hur, Brave New World, The Little Prince, and numerous biographies. DeLotel has also worked on various periodicals and special products, including video tutorials. A trained singer, DeLotel has sung in over 70 productions with the Kentucky Opera since 1962.
The American Printing House for the Blind, founded in 1858, is the oldest organization of its kind in the United States and the world's largest not-for-profit company that creates educational, workplace and life-style products and services for visually impaired people. Narrators at APH studios record approximately 500 titles a year for NLS.
Contact Roberta Williams, Public Relations Specialist, for more information. Telephone: 1 -800-223-1839 or (502) 895-2405; e-mail: rwilliams@aph.org