Alphie Mccourt's THE SOULSWIMMER Now Available In Audiobook

Hachette Audio is proud to announce that it is publishing Alphie McCourt's posthumous final collection, THE SOULSWIMMER, in April 2019, as an audiobook read by NYC-based performer Joe Hurley and others. Alphie McCourt, the youngest of the literary McCourt family first made famous through his brother Frank's Pulitzer Prize-winning Angela's Ashes, had a fruitful relationship with Hachette Audio in the latter years of his life, as he reflected on stories that spanned experience from Ireland to the US.

Alphie's wife, Lynn McCourt, calls THE SOULSWIMMER "a sensitive, kind, loving, heartfelt collection of poems, songs and stories of a life well lived." Anthony Goff, Publisher & SVP of Hachette Audio said, "Recording THE SOULSWIMMER was something that Alphie had wanted to do for the longest time and I felt there was no better way to pay tribute to such honorable man and the legacy he leaves than through his tight-knit family and friends who have all brought his prose to life once again in his honor. This production preserves not only recordings that he left behind but celebrates pieces that he had hoped one day to share in audio. His timeless wisdom and sharp wit are as relevant today as ever."

"I hope that Alphie's wonderful legacy will be further celebrated with these SoulSwimmer recordings," said Hurley, a musician and two-time Audie Award winning narrator - including Audiobook Of The Year - for Keith Richard's LIFE, with Johnny Depp. He continued: "That his unique voice, his gift of observation, and huge heart will continue to shine a light, to move and touch all who enter his world. And what a world it was. Made kinder by the compassion and off-kilter humour he offered all­­ - the sympathetic entertainer. In his own self-deprecating, humble way, I know he'd be secretly delighted to have another piece of his magnificent soul bared for all to hear. He wasn't afraid of vulnerability. He embraced it. And in doing so, he made us all feel connected, and utterly uplifted at all times. I was blessed to call him my friend.

Pulitzer Prize winner Frank McCourt famously said 'Alphie is the poet in the family.' With a sparkle in the eye, his inherent kindness, an irreverent sense of humour, and an undying curiosity that transcends empathy and leads us into new lands of hope and understanding, Alphie McCourt's THE SOULSWIMMER is a beautiful reminder of Frank's words. Of Alphie's heart. We miss our poet." Joe Hurley

With 3.5 hours of recordings from Alphie McCourt, Malachy McCourt, Jack O'Connell, Ellen McCourt, Lynn McCourt, Joe Hurley, and Marta Szabo, THE SOULSWIMMER is available now wherever digital audiobooks are sold, and on CD by demand online from Blackstone Publishing/Hachette Audio.