2019 Audie Award Finalists Announced
The Audio Publisher’s Association has announced the nominees for the 2019 Audie Awards, honoring excellence in audiobooks and spoken entertainment. Winners will be announced at the Audies Gala at Guastavino’s in New York City on March 4, and hosted by Queer Eye fashion expert and upcoming author and audiobook narrator, Tan France.
Congratulations to the distinguished nominees! Below is a complete list of finalists, linked to their Booklist reviews when available.
Audiobook of the Year
An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones, narrated by Eisa Davis and Sean Crisden
Beastie Boys Book, by Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz, narrated by the authors and a full cast
Calypso, written and narrated by David Sedaris
Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi, narrated by Bahni Turpin
The Good Neighbor, by Maxwell King, narrated by LeVar Burton
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, by Michelle McNamara, narrated by Gabra Zackman, Gillian Flynn, and Patton Oswalt
Audio Drama
Alien: Sea of Sorrows, by James A. Moore, adapted by Dirk Maggs, narrated by John Chancer, Stockard Channing, Tony Gardner, Lorelei King, Laurel Lefkow, and a full cast
Disgraced, by Ayad Akhtar, narrated by Geoffrey Arend, Behzad Dabu, Hari Dhillon, Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris, and Emily Swallow
Emma, by Jane Austen, adapted by Anna Lea, narrated by Emma Thompson, Isabella Inchbald, Joanne Froggatt, Joseph Millson, Morgana Robinson, and a full cast
Girls & Boys, by Dennis Kelly, narrated by Carey Mulligan
The Martian Invasion of Earth, by HG Wells, dramatized by Nicholas Briggs, narrated by Richard Armitage and Lucy Briggs-Owen
Steal the Stars, by Mac Rogers, narrated by a full cast
Autobiography / Memoir
Educated, by Tara Westover, narrated by Julia Whelan
Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Stop Learning, written and narrated by Leslie Odom, Jr.
In Pieces, written and narrated by Sally Field
Letter to Louis, by Alison White, narrated by Eve Webster
Small Fry, by Lisa-Brennan Jobs, narrated by Eileen Stevens
Best Female Narrator
Barracoon, by Zora Neale Hurston, narrated by Robin Miles
Educated, by Tara Westover, narrated by Julia Whelan
Girls & Boys, by Dennis Kelly, narrated by Carey Mulligan
The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock, by Imogen Hermes Gowar, narrated by Juliet Stevenson
Transcription, by Kate Atkinson, narrated by Fenella Woolgar
Best Male Narrator
The Devil’s Half Mile, by Paddy Hirsch, narrated by Euan Morton
Harry Clarke, by David Cale, narrated by Billy Crudup
Pet Sematary, by Stephen King, narrated by Michael C. Hall
Stuff and Nonsense: Threadbare, Book 1, by Andrew Seiple, narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds
Watchers, by Dean Koontz, narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
Business / Personal Development
Courage to Be Disliked, by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga, narrated by Noah Galvin, Graeme Malcolm, and January LaVoy
The Dichotomy of Leadership, written and narrated by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist, written and narrated by Kate Raworth
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, by Margareta Magnusson, narrated by Juliet Stevenson
How to Be Heard, written and narrated by Julian Treasure
The Opposite of Hate, written and narrated by Sally Kohn
Faith-Based Fiction and Nonfiction
The Christmas Star, written and narrated by Donna VanLiere
Goliath Code, by Suzanne Leonhard, narrated by Gabrielle de Cuir
The Man on the Mountaintop, by Susan Trott, adapted by Libby Spurrier, narrated by Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Clare Corbett, Rachel Atkins, Jeff Harding, David Thorpe, and a full cast
Pull it Off, written and narrated by Julianna Zobrist
The Rogue: Planets Shaken, Book 1, by Lee W. Brainard, narrated by Therese Plummer
Fantasy
European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman, by Theodora Goss, narrated by Kate Reading
Jade City, by Fonda Lee, narrated by Andrew Kishino
Kill the Farm Boy, by Kevin Hearne and Delilah S. Dawson, narrated by Luke Daniels
Second Hand Curses, by Drew Hayes, narrated by Scott Aiello, Marc Vietor, and Tavia Gilbert
Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik
Fiction
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, by Hank Green, narrated by Kristen Sieh and Hank Green
The Clockmaker’s Daughter, by Kate Morton, narrated by Joanne Froggatt
The Great Alone, by Kristin Hannah, narrated by Julia Whelan
Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, narrated by Vikas Adam
Sanctuary, by Judy Nunn, narrated by John Derum
The Tattooist of Auschwitz, by Heather Morris, narrated by Richard Armitage
History / Biography
Darkest Hour, by Anthony McCarten, narrated by John Lee
The Good Neighbor, by Maxwell King, narrated by LeVar Burton
Indianapolis, by Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic, narrated by John Bedford Lloyd
Robin, by Dave Itzkoff, narrated by Fred Berman and Dave Itzkoff
We Were Soldiers Once… and Young, by Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway, narrated by Jonathan Davis
Humor
Calypso, written and narrated by David Sedaris
Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay, written and narrated by Phoebe Robinson
The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, written and narrated by Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally
How Not to Get Shot, written and narrated by D.L. Hughley
Noir, by Christopher Moore, narrated by Johnny Heller
Literary Fiction and Classics
Bleak House, by Charles Dickens, narrated by Miriam Margolyes
Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Housegirl, by Michael Donkor, narrated by Adjoa Andoh
Miguel Street, by V.S. Naipaul, narrated by Ron Butler
Musashi, by Eiji Yoshikawa, narrated by Brian Nishii
Split Tooth, written and narrated by Tanya Tagaq
Middle Grade
Finding Langston, by Lesa Cline-Ransome, narrated by Dion Graham
Grenade, by Alan Gratz, narrated by Todd Haberkorn and Andrew Eiden
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book VI, by Maryrose Wood, narrated by Fiona Hardingham
Louisiana’s Way Home, by Kate DiCamillo, narrated by Cassandra Morris
The Secret of Nightingale Wood, written and narrated by Lucy Strange
Sunny, by Jason Reynolds, narrated by Guy Lockard
Multi-Voiced Performance
An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones, narrated by Eisa Davis and Sean Crisden
Any Man, by Amber Tamblyn, narrated by Glenn Davis, Ben Foster, Marc Maron, Jason Ritter, John Roberts, Russ Tamblyn, Amber Tamblyn, January LaVoy, Phoebe Strole, Robin Miles, Thérèse Plummer, Dan Bittner, James Fouhey, and Michael Crouch
Dreamland Burning, by Jennifer Latham, narrated by Pyeng Threadgill and Luke Slattery
Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales, by Hans Christian Andersen, narrated by F. Murray Abraham and an ensemble cast
Sadie, by Courtney Summers, narrated by Dan Bittner, Rebecca Soler, Gabra Zackman, and Fred Berman
There There, by Tommy Orange, narrated by Darrell Dennis, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Alma Cuervo, and Kyla Garcia
Mystery
Lethal White, by Robert Galbraith, narrated by Robert Glenister
The Mystery of Three Quarters, by Sophie Hannah, narrated by Julian Rhind-Tutt
The Punishment She Deserves, by Elizabeth George, narrated by Simon Vance
The Tuscan Child, by Rhys Bowen, narrated by Jonathan Keeble and Katy Sobey
Wild Fire, by Ann Cleeves, narrated by Kenny Blyth
Narration by the Author or Authors
How Not to Get Shot, written and narrated by D.L. Hughley
In Pieces, written and narrated by Sally Field
My Pride, written and narrated by Alton White
The Poet X, written and narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo
Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose, written and narrated by Joe Biden
The Secret of Nightingale Wood, written and narrated by Lucy Strange
Nonfiction
The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist, by Radley Balko and Tucker Carrington, narrated by Robert FassAudio
Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America, written and narrated by Beth Macy
Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter, by Ben Goldfarb, narrated by Will Damron
Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth, written and narrated by Sarah Smarsh
The Perfectionists, written and narrated by Simon Winchester
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? by Martin Luther King, Jr., narrated by J.D. Jackson
Original Work
Fandango at the Wall, written and narrated by Kabir Sehgal
Loki Ragnarok, written and narrated by Mark Binder
Magus Elgar, by Kennedy Phillips, narrated by Ricardo Cabral, William Violenus, Christopher Moore, Sandra Espinoza, Randy Nazarian, David Autovino, Kellen Goff, Brian Stivale, Kalinda Gray, Mandanna Wright, Kennedy Phillips, and Andrew Cornell
The Old Cart Wrangler’s Saga, by Brian Price, narrated by David Ossman
Spin, by Harvey Edelman and Neil Fishman, adapted for audio by David B. Coe, narrated by Jim Dale, Barrett Leddy, Lisa Livesay, Nicola Barber, Khristine Hvam, Nick Sullivan, John Brady, and Johnny Heller
Splat! A Quirky Cat Audio Book, by Adele Park, narrated by Eric Comeau, Luke Randall, Jove Trip-Thompson, Kent Hayes, Sherri Aldred, Garry Morris, Allie Boman, Adele Park, and Cindy Clemens
Romance
Hello Stranger, by Lisa Kleypas, narrated by Mary Jane Wells
His Viking Bride, by Olivia Norem, narrated by Greg Patmore
Possession, by Jessica Hawkins, narrated by Christian Fox
Shadow and Ice, by Gena Showalter, narrated by Melissa Moran and Leo Barnabas
Wanderlust, by Lauren Blakely, narrated by Richard Armitage and Grace Grant
The Wedding Date, by Jasmine Guillory, narrated by Janina Edwards
Science Fiction
Artemis, by Andy Weir, narrated by Rosario Dawson
Black Star Renegades, by Michael Moreci, narrated by Dan Bittner
Head On, by John Scalzi, narrated by Wil Wheaton
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Hexagonal Phase, by Eoin Colfer and Douglas Adams, narrated by John Lloyd, Simon Jones, Geoff McGivern, Mark Wing-Davey, Sandra Dickinson, Susan Sheridan, Samantha Béart, Toby Longworth, Andy Secombe, Mitch Benn, Jane Horrocks, Ed Byrne, Jon Culshaw, Jim Broadbent, Professor Stephen Hawking, Lenny Henry, Tom Alexander, Philip Pope, Theo Maggs, Phillipe Bosher, and John Marsh
Planetside, by Michael Mammay, narrated by R. C. Bray
Short Stories / Collections
Eveningland: Stories, by Michael Knight, narrated by Scott Sowers
The Flame, by Leonard Cohen, narrated by Margaret Atwood, Seth Rogen, Michael Shannon, Will Patton, Rodney Crowell, John Doe, Jim Fletcher, Ari Fliakos, Maggie Hoffman, Ross Marquand, and Neela Vaswani
The Grass Harp, by Truman Capote, narrated by Cody Roberts, published by Tantor Audio
Heads of the Colored People, by Nafissa Thompson-Spires, narrated by Adenrele Ojo
You Think It, I’ll Say It, by Curtis Sittenfeld, narrated by Emily Rankin and Mark Deakins
Thriller / Suspense
Crimson Lake, by Candice Fox, narrated by Euan Morton
The Death of Mrs. Westaway, by Ruth Ware, narrated by Imogen Church
Macbeth, by Jo Nesbo, narrated by Euan Morton
The Outsider, by Stephen King, narrated by Will Patton
The Terminal List, by Jack Carr, narrated by Ray Porter
Their Lost Daughters, by Joy Ellis, narrated by Richard Armitage
Young Adult
Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi, narrated by Bahni Turpin
Far from the Tree, by Robin Benway, narrated by Julia Whelan
The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, by Mackenzi Lee, narrated by Moira Quirk
The Poet X, written and narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo
Sadie, by Courtney Summers, narrated by Dan Bittner, Rebecca Soler, Gabra Zackman, and Fred Berman
The Stars at Oktober Bend, by Glenda Millard, narrated by Candice Moll and Ron Butler
Young Listeners
Before She Was Harriet, by Lesa Cline-Ransome, narrated by SiSi Aisha Johnson, January LaVoy, Lisa Renee Pitts, and Bahni Turpin
Dreamers, by Yuyi Morales, narrated by Adriana Sananes
Esquivel!: Space-Age Sound Artist, by Susan Wood, narrated by Brian Amador
Her Right Foot, by Dave Eggars, narrated by Dion Graham
We Found a Hat, by Jon Klassen, narrated by Johnny Heller and Christopher Curry