The Audio Publishers Association has announced the 2019 Audie Awards finalists, recognizing excellence in audiobooks and spoken word entertainment. If you are looking to listen to a really good audiobook, the finalists represent the best of the best in various genres.
Science Fiction
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Hexagonal Phase, Eoin Colfer & Douglas Adams, read by John Lloyd, Simon Jones, Geoff McGivern, and a full cast (Penguin Random House UK Audio)
Planetside, Michael Mammay, read by R.C. Bray (HarperAudio)
Black Star Renegades, Michael Moreci, read by Dan Bittner (Macmillan Audio)
Head On, John Scalzi, read by Wil Wheaton (Audible)
Artemis, Andy Weir, read by Rosario Dawson (Audible)
Fantasy
European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman, Theodora Goss, read by Kate Reading (Simon & Schuster Audio)
Second Hand Curses, Drew Hayes, read by Scott Aiello, Marc Vietor & Tavia Gilbert (Audible)
Kill the Farm Boy, Kevin Hearne & Delilah S. Dawson, read by Luke Daniels (Penguin Random House Audio)
Jade City, Fonda Lee, read by Andrew Kishino (Hachette Audio)
Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik, read by Lisa Flanagan (Penguin Random House Audio)
Audiobook of the Year
Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi, read by Bahni Turpin (Macmillan Audio)
Audio Drama
Alien: Sea of Sorrows, James A. Moore & Dirk Maggs, read by John Chancer, Stockard Channing, Tony Gardner, Lorelei King, Laurel Lefkow & a full cast (Audible)
Steal the Stars, Mac Rogers, read by a full cast (Macmillan Audio)
The Martian Invasion of Earth, H.G. Wells & Nicholas Briggs, read by Richard Armitage & Lucy Briggs-Owen (Big Finish)
Best Female Narrator
The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock, Imogen Hermes Gowar, read by Juliet Stevenson (HarperAudio)
Best Male Narrator
Pet Sematary, Stephen King, read by Michael C. Hall (Simon & Schuster Audio)
Watchers, Dean Koontz, read by Edoardo Ballerini (Brilliance)
Faith-Based Fiction & Non-Fiction
The Rogue, Lee W. Brainard, read by Therese Plummer (Podium)
Fiction
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, Hank Green, read by Kristen Sieh & Hank Green (Penguin Random House Audio)
Life of Pi, Yann Martel, read by Vikas Adam (Audible)
Humor
Noir, Christopher Moore, read by Johnny Heller (HarperAudio)
Literary Fiction & Classics
Split Tooth, Tanya Tagaq, read by the author (Penguin Random House Canada)
Middle Grade
Louisiana’s Way Home, Kate DiCamillo, read by Cassandra Morris (Penguin Random House Audio)
The Secret of Nightingale Wood, Lucy Strange, read by the author (Scholastic Audio)
Multi-Voiced Performance
Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales, Hans Christian Andersen, read by F. Murray Abraham and an ensemble cast (Listening Library)
Narration by the Author or Authors
The Poet X, Elizabeth Acevedo, read by the author (HarperAudio)
The Secret of Nightingale Wood, Lucy Strange, read by the author (Scholastic Audio)
Original Work
Loki Ragnarok, Mark Binder, read by the author (Light)
Spin, Harvey Edelman, Neil Fishman & David B. Coe, read by Jim Dale, Barrett Leddy, Lisa Livesay, Nicola Barber, Khristine Hvam, Nick Sullivan, John Brady & Johnny Heller (HarperAudio)
Magus Elgar, Kennedy Phillips, read by Ricardo Cabral, William Violenus, Christopher Moore, and a full cast (Kennedy Phillips, MelodyGun)
Romance
Shadow and Ice, Gena Showalter, read by Melissa Moran & Leo Barnabas (HarperAudio)
Thrillers/Suspense
The Outsider, Stephen King, read by Will Patton (Simon & Schuster Audio)
Young Adult
The Poet X, Elizabeth Acevedo, read by the author (HarperAudio)
Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi, read by Bahni Turpin (Macmillan Audio)
The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, Mackenzi Lee, read by Moira Quirk (HarperAudio)
Young Listeners
Esquivel!: Space-Age Sound Artist, Susan Wood, read by Brian Amador (Live Oak)
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
