June 23, 2005 In the Mix At a time when it seems the entire corporate world is tightening its grip on copyrighted content, it's refreshing to find one company that's giving it away for free … or at least lending it out. Fiction publishing house Penguin has posted downloadable samples of their audiobooks to their Web site. They not only allow you to use them, they're encouraging you to — by sponsoring a small contest. Here's how it works: You download your choice of excerpts. Then put your mega mad DJ skillz to use, turning the readings into sound samples and mixing them into music. Upload your jams to the Penguin Web site and you're in the game. Choose Kerouac's On the Road, read by David Carridine. Or get into Alan Cumming's reading of Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling. There's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Bram Stoker's Dracula. Or cut a spybreak with Ian Flemming's Casino Royale. The prizes are a little underwhelming, but include a chance to have your song made into a digital audiobook along with nine other top entries. Even without a mix of your own, the Web site is worth a visit, since you can listen to some impressive trax already posted. Each one's a beat-driven reminder of the beauty and power of prose. Check out the contest at PenguinRemixed.co.uk.