News Desk
DUBAI: Storytel, the Arabic division of Europe’s leading platform for audiobooks, announced today that the Arabic audiobook version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – the first novel in the widely popular Harry Potter series by British author J.K. Rowling – is now available for download on its app.
The latest announcement – made at Kuttab Café, Dubai – comes 12 weeks after Storytel officially revealed its collaboration with Pottermore Publishing, the global digital publisher of stories from the Wizarding World™, at Cairo International Book Fair. The ceremony formally unveiling the partnership was attended by leading influencers and broadcast live on social media. There was a Q&A session and a live reading from top voice-over artist Samaan Ferizali, the narrator of the Arabic audio format of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone as well as the remaining six main books that will be gradually released throughout 2019.
Ferizali is a great articulator with a world-class ability to bring fictional characters to life. With a career spanning 15 years, the voice actor, dubbing artist, and presenter has recorded many books, novels, and children’s stories for several prestigious publishing houses such as Dar Al Halabi in Morocco and Wahat Al Hekayat in Egypt.
Ammar Mardawi, Country Manager, Storytel Arabia, said: “It is going to be a different experience listening to, instead of reading, the adventures of Harry Potter and his friends. Samaan has done a spectacular job bringing life to over 150 characters of the seven books and giving our listeners a fresh way to enjoy the many twists and turns of the Harry Potter series. We hope to take this wonderful collection of stories to as many places in the Arab region as possible, so that book lovers in this part of the world can experience the magic all over again in a new way. This latest venture is another way of delivering the best audiobook collection to our subscribers across the Arab region, who continue to support and trust our organization.”
The Storytel app can be downloaded on Google Play and Apple App Store. Listeners can easily download the book and listen to it offline once it is saved in the book shelf. The collaboration between Storytel and Pottermore Publishing is expected to expand Storytel’s audience and entice more audiobook listeners in the Arab world.
