Monday night, the Audio Publishers Association (APA) revealed the winners of the 31st Annual Audie Awards during a ceremony held in New York City. The awards celebrate excellence in audiobooks and spoken-word narration.
This year marked a historic one for audiobooks. Not only did the APA receive more than 2,300 submissions—a 42% increase over the last five years—but sales and overall interest in audiobooks are up for Americans.
As for the audiobooks that won, some are from bestselling franchises—like this year’s Audiobook of the Year winner, Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. Others, meanwhile, were touched by celebrity: Autobiography/Memoir winner Matriarch by Tina Knowles was narrated by Beyoncé, Solange, Kelly Rowland; and Gone Before Goodbye was narrated, in part, by Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine.
Below are the winners of the 31st Annual Audie Awards.
AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Narrated by Jefferson White
Published by Scholastic Audio
ADAPTATION/ORIGINAL WORK
The Big Fix: A Jack Bergin Mystery by John Mankiewicz, Jamie Napoli, Daniel Pyne, Katie Pyne, and Aaron Lipstadt
Narrated by Jon Hamm, Ana de la Reguera, Alia Shawkat, Omar Epps, Erin Moriarty, Sosie Bacon, John Slattery, and a full cast
Published by Audible Originals
AUTOBIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
Matriarch by Tina Knowles
Narrated by Tina Knowles, Beyoncé, Solange, Kelly Rowland, and Angie Beyincé
Published by Penguin Random House Audio
BEST FICTION NARRATOR
Kristin Atherton
for Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Published by Recorded Books, a division of RBmedia
BEST NON-FICTION NARRATOR
Blair Underwood
For Truly by Lionel Richie
Published by HarperAudio
PRODUCTION & SOUND DESIGN
Dragon Day by Bob Proehl
Narrated by Hayley Atwell, Michael Chiklis, Aldis Hodge, Greta Lee, Jimmi Simpson, and a full cast
Published by Audible Originals
BUSINESS/PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
The Next Conversation, written and narrated by Jefferson Fisher
Published by Penguin Random House Audio
ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Narrated by Maggi-Meg Reed, Jane Oppenheimer, Carly Robins, Jeff Ebner, David Pittu, Chris Andrew Ciulla, Mark Bramhall, Petrea Burchard, Robert Petkoff, Kimberly Farr, Jim Seybert, Cerris Morgan-Moyer, Jade Wheeler, Peter Ganim, and Steve West
Published by Penguin Random House Audio
EROTICA
American Queen by Sierra Simone
Narrated by Sophie Eastlake, Teddy Hamilton, Rex Rhys, Shane East, and Valerie Azlynn
Published by Audiobrary
ESPANÞOL – SPANISH LANGUAGE
Apocalipsis Z – El principio del fin by Manel Loureiro
Narrated by Javier Rey, Maggie Civantos, José María de Tavira, Manuel Chacón, Oleg Kricunova, Marta Barriuso, Peter Nikolas, Rosalía Castro, Mercedes Castro, Manuel de Andrés, David García Palencia, Oscar Goikoetxea, Sabela Mascuñana, Daniel Méndez
Published by Audible Originals
FAITH-BASED FICTION OR NON-FICTION
Silent Horizons by Chad Robichaux and Jack Stewart
Narrated by Ray Porter
Published by Tyndale Fiction
FANTASY
Anima Rising by Christopher Moore
Narrated by Mary Jane Wells
Published by HarperAudio
FICTION
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Narrated by Kristen DiMercurio, Julia Whelan, and Taylor Jenkins Reid
Published by Penguin Random House Audio
HISTORY/BIOGRAPHY
Baldwin: A Love Story by Nicholas Boggs
Narrated by Ron Butler
Published by Macmillan Audio
HORROR
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
Narrated by Shane Ghostkeeper, Marin Ireland, and Owen Teale
Published by Simon & Schuster Audio
NEW VOICE AWARD: JUDGES CATEGORY
Gem Carmella
for The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
Published by Macmillan Audio
LITERARY FICTION & CLASSICS
The Director by Daniel Kehlmann
Narrated by Nicholas Boulton
Published by Simon & Schuster Audio
MIDDLE GRADE
All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson
Narrated by Bahni Turpin
Published by Bloomsbury PLC
MYSTERY
Gone Before Goodbye by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben
Narrated by Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Kiff VandenHeuvel, Suehyla El-Attar Young, Peter Ganim, Saskia Maarleveld, and James Fouhey
Published by Hachette Audio
NARRATION BY THE AUTHOR
Everything Is Tuberculosis, written and narrated by John Green
Published by Penguin Random House Audio
NON-FICTION
Separation of Church and Hate written and narrated by John Fugelsang
Published by Simon & Schuster Audio
ROMANCE
King of Envy by Ana Huang
Narrated by Jason Clark and Nia Serge
Published by One Night Stand Studios x Ana Huang
SCIENCE FICTION
Simultaneous by Eric Heisserer
Narrated by Ray Porter, Marin Ireland, and Stephanie Sheh
Published by Macmillan Audio
SHORT STORIES/COLLECTIONS
Food for Thought, written and narrated by Alton Brown
Published by Simon & Schuster Audio
THRILLER/SUSPENSE
Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell
Narrated by Richard Armitage, Joanne Froggatt, Tamaryn Payne, Gemma Whelan, Louise Brealey, and Patience Tomlinson
Published by Simon & Schuster Audio
YOUNG ADULT
Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray
Narrated by Jeremy Carlisle Parker, January LaVoy, and Major Curda
Published by Macmillan Audio
YOUNG LISTENERS
Secrets of the Purple Pearl by Kate McKinnon
Narrated by Kate McKinnon and Emily Lynne
Published by Hachette Audio
For more on the awards and he ceremony, visit Audiopub.org.
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