From The Audio Publishers Association (APA):
2009 AUDIES® COMPETITION BRINGS IN MOST ENTRIES TO DATE!
Nominations Are Announced in 29 Categories
Princeton Junction, NJ – The Audio Publishers Association (APA) has announced nominations for the 2009 Audies competition. Winners will be announced at The Audies gala on May 29, 2009 at the New-York Historical Society in New York City.
The only awards program in the United States devoted entirely to honoring spoken word entertainment drew in a record 1,000 entries from audio publishers this year, reflecting the health of the audio industry. New this year, the category Distinguished Achievement in Production joins Audiobook of the Year as one of the most prestigious audiobook honors. Nominations for these two juried categories will be announced this spring. The Distinguished Achievement in Production Award goes to an audiobook that demonstrates excellence in all areas of production, while the Audiobook of the Year recognizes the audiobook that, through quality, innovation, marketing and sales, has had the most significant impact on the industry.
“Not only did we receive a record number of submissions this year, our judges commented that the quality of the entries was better than it’s ever been,” said APA President Anthony Goff. “Our industry has worked hard to raise the bar and we look forward to recognizing everyone for their accomplishments.”
The Audies gala brings together narrators, authors, producers, publishers and media to celebrate the best audiobooks published in 2008. Categories for judges’ consideration included Fiction, Non-Fiction, Inspirational/Faith-Based Fiction, Multi-Voiced Performance, Romance, Science Fiction, Spanish Language, a special Judges Award in the Politics category and many more.
Winners in all 31 categories including Distinguished Achievement in Production and Audiobook of the Year will be announced at the New-York Historical Society, located in the heart of Manhattan, overlooking Central Park. All gala attendees will have the unique opportunity to tour the Society’s docent-staffed archives.
Finalists in this year’s competition include the following titles [for the complete list, go to the APA site]:
CHILDREN’S TITLES FOR AGES 8-12
The Cricket in Times Square, by George Selden, Narrated by Tony Shalhoub, Macmillan Audio
Fairest, by Gail Carson Levine, Narrated by Sarah Naughton and a full cast, Full Cast Audio
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman, Narrated by Neil Gaiman, HarperAudio
One-Handed Catch, by M.J. Auch, Narrated by Ryan Sparkes and a full cast, Full Cast Audio
Nation, by Terry Pratchett, Narrated by Stephen Briggs, HarperAudio
CLASSIC
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain, Narrated by Grover Gardner, Blackstone Audio,Inc.
The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, Narrated by John Lee, Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Galapagos, by Kurt Vonnegut, Narrated by Jonathan Davis, Audible, Inc.
Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, Narrated by Simon Vance, Tantor Media
The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, Narrated by Simon Vance, Blackstone Audio, Inc.
HISTORY
The Bloody Shirt, by Stephen Budiansky, Narrated by Phil Gigante, Brilliance Audio
Gandhi and Churchill, by Arthur Herman, Narrated by John Curless, Recorded Books
The Ghost Mountain Boys: Their Epic March and the Terrifying Battle for New Guinea – The Forgotten War of the South Pacific, by James Campbell, Narrated by Stephen Hoye, Tantor Media
The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, by Annette Gordon-Reed, Narrated by Karen White, Tantor Media
Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood, by Mark Harris, Narrated by Lloyd James, Tantor Media
MULTI–VOICED PERFORMANCE
Family Audio Bible, Narrated by Dick Cavett, Marsha Mason, Andrew McCarthy, Martha Plimpton and Tom Wopat, HarperAudio
Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan, Narrated by Joey Collins, Peter Jay Fernandez, Kate Forbes, Ezra Knight, Brenday Pressley and Tom Stechschulte, Recorded Books
The Plague of Doves, by Louise Erdrich, Narrated by Peter Francis James and Kathleen McInerney, HarperAudio
The Word of Promise®: Next Generation-New Testament, by Various Authors, Narrated by Sean Astin and a full cast including Codey Linley, AnnaSophia Robb and Jordin Sparks, Thomas Nelson, Inc
MYSTERY
A Killing Frost, by R. D. Wingfield, Narrated by Stephen Thorne, Ulverscroft Group Ltd
Cross, by Ken Bruen, Narrated by Gerry O'Brien, Ulverscroft Group Ltd
The Silver Swan, by Benjamin Black, Narrated by Timothy Dalton, Macmillan Audio
Swan Peak, by James Lee Burke, Narrated by Will Patton, Simon & Schuster Audio
Voice of the Violin, by Andrea Camilleri, Narrated by Grover Gardner, Blackstone Audio, Inc.
NARRATION BY THE AUTHOR or AUTHORS
Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter, Random House Audio
Joshilyn Jackson, The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, Hachette Audio
Cokie Roberts, Ladies of Liberty, HarperAudio
David Sedaris, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Hachette Audio
Maria Shriver, Just Who Will You Be? HyperionAudio
POLITICS — JUDGES AWARD
Descent into Chaos, by Ahmed Rashid, Narrated by Arthur Morey, Brilliance Audio
Hot, Flat, and Crowded, by Thomas Friedman, Narrated by Oliver Wyman, Macmillan Audio
Mike's Election Guide, by Michael Moore, Narrated by Michael Moore, Hachette Audio
The War Within, by Bob Woodward, Narrated by Boyd Gaines, Simon & Schuster Audio
The Way of the World, by Ron Suskind, Narrated by Alan Sklar, HarperAudio
ROMANCE
The Dark Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning, Narrated by Phil Gigante, Brilliance Audio
Fire Me Up, by Katie MacAlister, Narrated by Barbara Rosenblat, Recorded Books
Forbidden, by Suzanne Brockmann, Narrated by Traci Svensgaard, Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Mismatch, by Tami Hoag, Narrated by Jen Taylor, BBC Audiobooks America
Tribute, by Nora Roberts, Narrated by Jennifer Van Dyck, Brilliance Audio
SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY
Calculating God, by Robert J. Sawyer, Narrated by Jonathan Davis, Audible, Inc.
Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke, Narrated by Eric Michael Summerer, Audible, Inc.
Ghost Radio, by Leopoldo Gout, Narrated by Pedro Pascal, HarperAudio
Skybreaker, by Kenneth Oppel, Narrated by David Kelly, Full Cast Audio
Sunrise Alley, by Catherine Asaro, Narrated by Hillary Huber, Blackstone Audio, Inc.
TEENS
Burn Journals, by Brent Runyon, Narrated by Christopher Evan Welch, Recorded Books
The Compound, by S. A. Bodeen, Narrated by Christopher Lane, Brilliance Audio
Curse of the Blue Tattoo, by L.A. Meyer, Narrated by Katherine Kellgren, Listen & Live Audio
Fairest, by Gail Carson Levine, Narrated by Sarah Naughton, Full Cast Audio
Paper Towns, by John Green, Narrated by Dan John Miller, Brilliance Audio
The Uprising, by Margaret P. Haddix, Narrated by Suzanne Toren, Recorded Books
THRILLER/SUSPENSE
Blue Heaven, by C.J. Box, Narrated by John Bedford Lloyd, Macmillan Audio
Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith, Narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris, Hachette Audio
Executive Privilege, by Phillip Margolin, Narrated by Jonathan Davis, HarperAudio
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman, Narrated by Neil Gaiman, HarperAudio
Sweetheart, by Chelsea Cain, Narrated by Carolyn McCormick, Macmillan Audio
About Audio Publishers Association (APA)
The Audio Publishers Association (APA) is a not-for-profit trade organization whose primary goals are to promote awareness of the audiobook industry, gather and disseminate industry statistics, encourage high production standards and represent the interests of audiobook publishers. Since 1986, the APA has worked to bring audio publishers together to increase interest in audiobooks. Please visit www.audiopub.org for more information.
Note that Phil Gigante received two nominations again this year. WOOT! However, I personally think they should create a whole new award category just for his brilliant narration of Karen Marie Moning's Highlander series. In addition to our Phil, I'd like to see Johanna Parker nominated for her narration of Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series.
Really, why not have a Series Narration category? Maybe it's because series are more common to genre fiction instead of the [finger quote]serious[/finger quote] oh-so-intellectual books?
5 comments:
Tribute? Really?? I thought the narrator on that one was awful!
Interesting. I normally ADORE Barbara Rosenblat but I think she is a complete mismatch for the Katie MacAlister series because her voice just doesn't fit Aisling Grey, yet there SHE is too.
Really, wouldn't everyone's lives be SOOO much better if they'd just listen to US?! ;-D
Did you listen to the Chesapeake Bay books? OMG...HORRIBLE narrators. How does La Nora get such a mixed bag when it comes to narrators?
The Queen Betsy narrator was fabulous. Equal parts annoying and charming, which was PERFECT for the book.
I'm really enjoying the Fever narrator. I don't care much for her voice (too mature for Mac), but her performance is outstanding.
Sophie Kinsella books have wonderful narrators too.
Weird that none of the ones I like made it. I still need to try the Highlander books.
That's Nancy Wu that does MJD's Queen Betsy. SHE is the reason I like those books so well. I don't particularly care for her Sinclair voice, but I absolutely LOVE her Tina because she's added a layer of ambiguity to Tina's character-- is she being sincere or sarcastic? And I read the books as too fluffy and lightweight, but Wu let's me hear the intended sarcasm and irreverence that comes out of Betsy's mouth.
I agree that Joyce Bean's voice is a little too old for Mac 1.0, but I suspect that Mac kind of grows into the voice by the end of the series, if that makes sense. And I STILL find it jarring to hear that Southern accent. Which is stupid because Mac IS a Southern girl!
BTW, knowing how you hate British Isle historicals, I recommend you start with Kiss of the Highlander because most of it is set in contemporary Scotland with an American heroine, then Dark Highlander, Immortal Highlander and Spell of the Highlander are mostly set in contemporary America. Although keep in mind that there is some travel to contemporary Scotland and time travel to old Scotland (1500's?? I can't remember) and that KMM is not known for historical accuracy. Also, be prepared for some over the top love scenes.
But having said that, Phil G. makes sure that they are an experience not to be missed.
Oh, and to answer your other question, no I've never listened to nor read a Nora book. I HAVE listened to the first two J.D. Robb In Death books however. I like the story DESPITE the narrator-- her narration and Eve Dallas' voice are the same which can get confusing.
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