News Brief: Alison Larkin named ambassador in U.S. by Jane Austen Literacy Foundation

Stockbridge — Author, actress, stand-up comic and audiobook narrator Alison Larkin has just been named Ambassador of the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation in the United States. Larkin’s award-winning narration of the works of Jane Austen including “Pride and Prejudice,” “Persuasion” and “Emma” brought her to the attention of Foundation creator Caroline Jane Knight, who conferred the Ambassadorship. To mark her appointment, Larkin is donating $5 to the Foundation for every Jane Austen audiobook purchased through her website during the month of December.

Money donated from the purchase of Larkin’s Jane Austen audiobooks will be directed by the Foundation to support the Literacy Network of South Berkshire, a nonprofit organization with whose mission is to make one-on-one instruction in basic academic skills accessible to adults living or working in southern Berkshire County.

Larkin is an internationally acclaimed comedienne, award-winning audiobook narrator, voice artist, actress, producer, screenwriter and the bestselling author of “The English American.” Larkin was born in Washington, D.C., adopted by British parents and raised in England and Africa. At age 28, when she discovered her birth mother living in Bald Mountain, Tennessee, she moved to America and became a stand-up comic. Her celebrated one-woman show has been seen in concert performances on both sides of the Atlantic and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charitable organizations. Larkin has narrated more than 150 audiobooks, many of them New York Times bestsellers.