Earlier this week the Audio Publishers Association came together (virtually) to announce the winners of the annual Audie Awards which recognize the best titles in audio books and spoken entertainment. Whether you love to listen to books while you walk or run, while doing the dishes or other chores, or during your commute (if your commute is farther than from the kitchen to your dining room table or home office these days), these award winners are a great place to discover some excellent listens.

The Audiobook of the Year winner isn't yet in our collection (Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke and narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor for Bloomsbury), but many of the other winners are and can be borrowed digitally from home. You can see the full list of winners and finalists here. You'll find many more fantastic audiobooks in our catalog and through our e-book/e-audiobook app, SimplyE.

Two Awards: Best Female Narrator | Fantasy 

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin, narrated by Robin Miles (Hachette Audio)

Every great city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She’s got six. But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs in the halls of power, threatening to destroy the city and her six newborn avatars unless they can come together and stop it once and for all.
 

Fiction

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, narrated by Nicole Lewis (PRH Audio)

A story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both.

 

 

 

 

Business/Personal Development

The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life by Dr. Edith Eva Eger, narrated by Tovah Feldshuh (S&S Audio)

This practical and inspirational guide to healing from the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of The Choice shows us how to stop destructive patterns and imprisoning thoughts to find freedom and enjoy life.

 

History/Biography

His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope by Jon Meacham, with an afterword by John Lewis, narrated by J.D. Jackson (PRH Audio)

Presents a portrait of the veteran congressman and civil rights hero John Lewis, detailing the experiences that formed his faith and shaped his practices of non-violent protest.

 

 

 

 

Humor

A Very Punchable Face written and narrated by Colin Jost (PRH Audio)

In a collection of humorous essays, the Saturday Night Live head writer and Weekend Update co-anchor tells the story of his life so far.

 

 

 

 

Literary Fiction and Classics

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi, narrated by Yetide Badaki and Chukwudi Iwuji (PRH Audio)

One afternoon, in a town in southeastern Nigeria, a mother opens her front door to discover her son's body, wrapped in colorful fabric, at her feet. What follows is the tumultuous, heart-wrenching story of one family's struggle to understand a child whose spirit is both gentle and mysterious. What does it mean for a family to lose a child they never really knew? 

 

 

 

Faith-based Fiction and Nonfiction

Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire written and narrated by Jen Hatmaker (Thomas Nelson)

With cheeky candor and fearlessness, Jen Hatmaker guides readers to a deep dive into how they are wired and provides them with the tools to walk in that identity with freedom and guts. With wry humor, earnest passion, and been-there insight, Jen calls women to the life-giving freedom of leaning into the identity, convictions, and community they've been given.

 

 

 

Two Awards: Multi-voiced Narration & Young Adult

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo and Melania-Luisa Marte (HarperAudio)

Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people. In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal's office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash. Separated by distance—and Papi's secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they've lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.

 

Mystery

Fair Warning by Michael Connelly, narrated by Peter Giles and Zach Villa (Hachette Audio)

When a woman with whom he shared a one-night stand is found brutally murdered, veteran reporter Jack McEvoy tracks down a serial killer who has been operating under the radar.

 

 

Narration by Author or Authors

More Myself written and narrated by Alicia Keys (Macmillan Audio)

More Myself is part autobiography, part narrative documentary. Alicia's journey is revealed not only through her own candid recounting, but also through vivid recollections from those who have walked alongside her. The result is a 360-degree perspective on Alicia's path, from her girlhood in Hell's Kitchen and Harlem to the process of growth and self-discovery that we all must navigate.

 

 

 

Science Fiction

The Deep by Rivers Solomon with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes, narrated by Daveed Diggs (S&S Audio)

The water-breathing descendants of African slave women tossed overboard have built their own underwater society — and must reclaim the memories of their past to shape their future in this brilliantly imaginative novella inspired by the Hugo Award-nominated song "The Deep" from Daveed Diggs' rap group, Clipping.

 

 

 

Spanish Language

El laberinto del fauno by Guillermo del Toro and Cornelia Funke, narrated by Luis Ávila (PRH Grupo Editorial México)

Tras un largo recorrido entre pantanos, Ofelia conoce al hombre que será su padrastro, un despiadado capitán del ejército español. Para él, el inquietante y oscuro bosque donde viven es como una jaula, que tan solo sirve de escondite para los combatientes de la resistencia en la interminable y sangrienta guerra civil. Pero Ofelia está embelesada con su mágico hogar.

 

 

 

Thriller/Suspense

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole, narrated by Susan Dalian and Jay Aaseng (HarperAudio)

Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she’s known all her life are disappearing. To hold onto her community’s past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the block—her neighbor Theo. But Sydney and Theo’s deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. Their neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised.

 

Young Listeners

The Overground Railroad by Lesa Cline-Ransome, narrated by Shayna Small and Dion Graham (Live Oak Media)

An original and moving perspective of the Great Migration, as seen through the eyes of the young girl Ruth Ellen, whose family journeys from North Carolina to New York City.