2010 Audie Nominees Announced

From The Audio Publishers Association (APA):

February 15, 2010

15th ANNUAL AUDIES® COMPETITION SHOWS STRENGTH OF AUDIO INDUSTRY
Winners to be Announced May 25 at The Museum of the City of New York

Princeton Junction, NJ – The Audio Publishers Association (APA) has announced nominations for its 2010 Audies competition, the only awards program in the United States devoted entirely to honoring spoken word entertainment. Winners will be announced at the Audies Gala on May 25, 2010, at The Museum of the City of New York in New York City.

Another record-breaking year with 1,056 titles entered, 2010 was a year of innovation for the competition. APA took the Audies into the 21st century and partnered with APA member, Audible, Inc., to distribute almost all titles for consideration digitally to judges. In years past, judges primarily received shipments of audiobooks on CDs and cassettes.

Finalists for the most prestigious awards, Distinguished Achievement in Production and Audiobook of the Year, will be announced in the spring. The Distinguished Achievement in Production award honors an audiobook that demonstrates excellence in all areas of production. The Audiobook of the Year award recognizes an audiobook that, through quality, innovation, marketing and sales, has had a significant impact on the industry. Other categories for the judges' consideration included Audio Drama, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Humor, Multi-Voiced Performance, Mystery, Romance, Spanish Language, Thriller/Suspense and many more.

“Each year the entries continue to grow in number and improve in quality and production,” said Janet Benson, APA President. “This is an encouraging indicator of the health of the audiobook industry. Also, such strong participation in the competition has allowed the association to plan for more widespread initiatives to ultimately help our member companies increase sales despite the challenging economic climate.”

Here's a few noteworthy (sez I) categories. Read the complete Nominee List PDF here.

AUDIO DRAMA
Focus on the Family Radio Theatre: The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis, adapted by PaulMcCusker, Narrated by Andy Serkis and a full cast, Tyndale House
Little Dorrit, by Charles Dickens, Narrated by Sir Ian McKellan and a full cast, BBC Audiobooks America
The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett, Narrated by Michael Madsen, Sandra Oh, Edward Herrmann and a full cast, Blackstone Audio
The Rivalry, by Norman Corwin, Narrated by Paul Giamatti, James Gleason, Lily Rabe, David Strathairn and Shannon Cochran, L.A. Theatre Works
The Word of Promise® Audio Bible, Narrated by a full cast including Michael York, Richard Dreyfuss, Gary Sinise and others, Thomas Nelson Inc.
Holy celebrities, Batgirls! The list of narrators in that category reads like a Who's Who of Hollywood.

MYSTERY
Black Money, by Ross Macdonald, Narrated by Grover Gardner, Blackstone Audio
Devil in a Blue Dress, by Walter Mosley, Narrated by Michael Boatman, Audible, Inc.
The Dying Breed, by Declan Hughes, Narrated by Stanley Townsend, Isis Publishing
Revelation, by C.J. Sansom, Narrated by Steven Crossley, Recorded Books
The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1, by Arthur Conan Doyle, Narrated by Charlton Griffin, Audio Connoisseur
Hmmm. That Sherlock Holmes anthology sounds pretty good. Adding to wish list.

NARRATION BY THE AUTHOR or AUTHORS
Michael Chabon, Manhood for Amateurs, HarperAudio
Kristin Chenoweth, A Little Bit Wicked, Oasis Audio
Neil Gaiman, Odd and the Frost Giants, HarperChildrensAudio
Tim Green, Baseball Great, HarperChildrensAudio
Jeannette Walls, Half Broke Horses, Simon & Schuster Audio

ROMANCE
Dark Slayer, by Christine Feehan, Narrated by Phil Gigante and Jane Brown, Brilliance Audio
The House on Tradd Street, by Karen White, Narrated by Aimée Bruneau, Listen & Live Audio
A Rogue of My Own, by Johanna Lindsey, Narrated by Rosalyn Landor, Brilliance Audio
The Untamed Bride, by Stephanie Laurens, Narrated by Simon Prebble, HarperAudio
What I Did for Love, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Narrated by Julia Gibson, HarperAudio
Yep, Phil G. was nominated again. BOO-YAH! The dual-reader format that he's been doing with Jane Brown for the Carpathian series has become my favorite narration style. He does all the men, she does all the women and they switch off on narration.
I've got The Untamed Bride here waiting until I finish my current Dresden. I'm looking forward to it. Simon Prebble's narration was excellent in Lauren's Devil's Bride.
A SEP audio book won a couple of years ago. I think she's a bit more "mainstream" and therefore garners more votes. Though I've never read/listened to one of hers, so I can't fairly judge.

SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY
Bellwether, by Connie Willis, narrated by Kate Reading, Blackstone Audio
The Gathering Storm, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, Narrated by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer, Macmillan Audio
Kushiel's Dart, by Jacqueline Carey, Narrated by Anne Flosnik, Tantor Audio
Kushiel's Scion, by Jacqueline Carey, Narrated by Simon Vance, Tantor Audio
Podkayne of Mars, by Robert A. Heinlein, Narrated by Emily Janice Card, Blackstone Audio
Note to LissaNY: That's the Kushiel series I rec'd to you. Since they are so complex, I wasn't sure how easy they'd be to follow in audio, but the fact that they are nominated tells me they must work well.

SHORT STORIES/COLLECTIONS
Black Mask Audio Magazine Vol 1, by various authors, Narrated by a full cast, Blackstone Audio
The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1, by Arthur Conan Doyle, Narrated by Charlton Griffin, Audio Connoisseur
Just After Sunset, by Stephen King, Narrated by Stephen King, Jill Eikenberry, Holter Graham, George Guidall, Ron McLarty, Denis O’Hare and a full cast, Simon & Schuster Audio
Love Letters of Great Men, by Ursula Doyle, Narrated by Anton Lesser, Macmillan Audio
Nothing with Strings: NPR's Beloved Holiday Stories, by Bailey White, Narrated by Lorna Raver, Tantor Audio
Wow, the Holmes anthology is nominated in two categories; must buy/borrow.

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.