Audiobook of the Year and Other 2018 Audie Award Winners

Did you know that the Audiobook industry has its own version of the Academy Awards? Yep! It’s called The Audie Awards and the awards (known as Audies) are given out every year by the Audio Publishers Association. As a HUGE audiobook fan, I look forward to learning about the nominees and winners each year. The 2018 Audie Award ceremony just took place on May, 31 and officially kicked off Audiobook Month aka June. So, we’ve decided to fill you in on all the winners (including Audiobook of the Year!) and then on Friday we’ll be revealing our own favorite audiobooks for your listening pleasure. Hopefully, you will find one to enjoy this month.

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Audiobook of the Year

I’m giving away the headlining book first because I happen to have read and reviewed it last year. I actually predicted it being an award winner way back in April of 2017 because with over 100 different voices and a storyline unlike any other it was fascinating, even if it wasn’t my usual speed. Here’s the thing about audiobooks, if the right narrators are chosen, they have the ability to elevate any story and make it even more interesting. Which means, that a book I might not enjoy reading on paper can become one I have can’t stop listening to in audio format. That was this year’s winner for me.

What book am I referring to? Well, Lincoln in the Bardo of course! The story of President Lincoln’s nighttime visit to his son’s grave is narrated by 166 people including David Sedaris, Kat Dennings, Don Cheadle, Ben Stiller, Lena Dunham, Juliane Moore, Susan Sarandon and more. The many voices totally enhance the story in a way I’ve only heard once before (Hello, Jim Dale narrating Harry Potter.) This audiobook stayed with me for days after and while the story wasn’t for me, it will remain in my mind one of the best audiobook experiences I’ve had.

The 2018 Audie Award Winners

For your ease, I’ve listed all of this year’s Audie Award winners below by category. Check your local library to see if they have any of these digital audiobooks available or sign up for a 30 day Audible trial and listen to 2 books for free!

Audio Drama – Brother Francis by Paul McCusker

If you think you know Francis of Assisi, you’re in for a surprise. Discover the astonishing life of Brother Francis, the fun-loving son of wealth and privilege who gave up everything for the sake of Christ. As a young soldier, he encountered suffering. As a victim of war, he began a search for inner-meaning that would redirect his life. As a holy beggar, he embraced lepers, shook hands with the Pope, debated a sultan, and touched the lives of millions. MORE

Autobiography/Memoir – Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen

“Writing about yourself is a funny business…. But in a project like this, the writer has made one promise: to show the reader his mind. In these pages, I’ve tried to do this.” (Bruce Springsteen, from the audio of Born to Run) In 2009, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed at the Super Bowl’s halftime show. The experience was so exhilarating that Bruce decided to write about it. That’s how this extraordinary autobiography began.

Best Female Narrator – The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline.

Best Male Narrator – Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Trevor Noah, one of the comedy world’s fastest-rising stars and host of The Daily Show, tells his wild coming-of-age story during the twilight of apartheid in South Africa and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed. In this Audible Studios production, Noah provides something deeper than traditional memoirists: powerfully funny observations about how farcical political and social systems play out in our lives.

Business/Personal Development – Peak by Brad Stullberg and Steve Magness

A few common principles drive performance, regardless of the field or the task at hand. Whether someone is trying to qualify for the Olympics, break ground in mathematical theory or craft an artistic masterpiece, many of the practices that lead to great success are the same. In Peak Performance, Brad Stulberg, a former McKinsey and Company consultant and journalist who covers health and the science of human performance, and Steve Magness, a performance scientist and coach of Olympic athletes, team up to demystify these practices and demonstrate how everyone can achieve their best.

Erotica – Claim and Protect by Rhenna Morgan

Live hard, f–k harder, and follow only their own rules. Those are the cornerstones the six men of the Haven Brotherhood live and bleed by, refusing to conform to society’s expectations, taking what they want and always watching each other’s backs.

Excellence in Design – In Death by J.D. Robb

Eve Dallas is a New York police lieutenant hunting for a ruthless killer. In over ten years on the force, she’s seen it all—and knows that her survival depends on her instincts. And she’s going against every warning telling her not to get involved with Roarke, an Irish billionaire—and suspect in Eve’s murder investigation. But passion and seduction have rules of their own, and it’s up to Eve to take a chance in the arms of a man she knows nothing about—except the addictive hunger of needing his touch.

Excellence in Production – Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Ever since he made his first appearance in A Study In Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes has enthralled and delighted millions of fans throughout the world. Now Audible is proud to present Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection, read by Stephen Fry. A lifelong fan of Doyle’s detective fiction, Fry has narrated the complete works of Sherlock Holmes – four novels and five collections of short stories. And, exclusively for Audible, Stephen has written and narrated nine insightful, intimate and deeply personal introductions to each title.

Fantasy – The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Gross

Based on some of literature’s horror and science fiction classics, this is the story of a remarkable group of women who come together to solve the mystery of a series of gruesome murders – and the bigger mystery of their own origins. Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless following her parents’ deaths, is curious about the secrets of her father’s mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father’s former friend, and a murderer, may be nearby, and there is a reward for information leading to his capture…a reward that would solve all of her immediate financial woes.

Fiction – Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

“Beautifully written and incredibly funny, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is about the importance of friendship and human connection. I fell in love with Eleanor, an eccentric and regimented loner whose life beautifully unfolds after a chance encounter with a stranger; I think you will fall in love, too!” (Reese Witherspoon)

For more books like these, check out our list of Charming Books Like Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

History/Biography – Loving vs. Virginia by Patricia Hruby Powell

From acclaimed author Patricia Hruby Powell comes the story of a landmark civil rights case, told in spare and gorgeous verse. In 1955, in Caroline County, Virginia, amidst segregation and prejudice, injustice and cruelty, two teenagers fell in love. Their life together broke the law, but their determination would change it. Richard and Mildred Loving were at the heart of a Supreme Court case that legalized marriage between races, and a story of the devoted couple who faced discrimination, fought it, and won.

Humor – Carpet Diem: Or…How to Save the World by Accident by Justin Lee Anderson

Fifteen years after losing most of his family to a devastating, pudding-related tragedy, Simon Debovar has settled into a life of self-imposed exile from the stinking, selfish morass of humanity. Content that his daily highlights will include hazelnut coffee, a long bath, and the occasional jar of olives, his life is completely upturned by the discovery that his ornate living room carpet is the deciding factor in a bet between God and Satan.

Inspirational/Faith-Based Fiction – Catching the Wind by Melanie Dobson

What happened to Brigitte Berthold? That question has haunted Daniel Knight since he was 13, when he and 10-year-old Brigitte escaped the Gestapo agents who arrested both their parents. They survived a harrowing journey from Germany to England, only to be separated upon their arrival. Daniel vowed to find Brigitte after the war, a promise he has fought to fulfill for more than 70 years.

Inspirational/Faith-Based Non-Fiction – Fire Road by Kim Phuc Phan Thi

Get out! Run! We must leave this place! They are going to destroy this whole place! Go, children, run first! Go now! These were the final shouts nine-year-old Kim Phuc heard before her world dissolved into flames – before napalm bombs fell from the sky, burning away her clothing and searing deep into her skin. It’s a moment forever captured, an iconic image that has come to define the horror and violence of the Vietnam War. Kim was left for dead in a morgue; no one expected her to survive the attack. Napalm meant fire, and fire meant death.

Literary Fiction & Classics – House of Names by Colm Toibin

From the thrilling imagination of best-selling, award-winning Colm Tóibín comes a retelling of the story of Clytemnestra – spectacularly audacious, violent, vengeful, lustful, and instantly compelling – and her children.

Middle Grade – See You In The Cosmos by Jack Cheng

Eleven-year-old Alex Petroski loves space and rockets, his mom, his brother, and his dog, Carl Sagan – named for his hero, the real-life astronomer. All he wants is to launch his golden iPod into space the way Carl Sagan (the man, not the dog) launched his Golden Record on the Voyager spacecraft in 1977. From Colorado to New Mexico, Las Vegas to LA, Alex records a journey on his iPod to show other lifeforms what life on Earth, his Earth, is like. But his destination keeps changing. And the funny, lost, remarkable people he meets along the way can only partially prepare him for the secrets he’ll uncover – from the truth about his long-dead dad to the fact that, for a kid with a troubled mom and a mostly not-around brother, he has way more family than he ever knew.

Multi-Voiced Performance – Restart by Gordon Korman

New York Times best-selling author Gordon Korman harkens back to his No More Dead Dogs days in this stand-alone that takes a tone more serious than you’ve ever heard from him before. A boy who’s been a bully and hanging out with the wrong friends gets a new start after a memory-loss-inducing accident. But can someone really change who he is, or will the old him merely come back over time?

Mystery – The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz

Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo, the brilliant hacker, the obstinate outsider, the volatile seeker of justice for herself and others – even she has never been able to uncover the most telling facts of her traumatic childhood, the secrets that might finally fully explain her to herself. Now, when she sees a chance to uncover them once and for all, she enlists the help of Mikael Blomkvist, the editor of the muckraking investigative journal Millennium. And she will let nothing stop her – not the Islamists she enrages by rescuing a young woman from their brutality; not the prison gang leader who passes a death sentence on her; not the deadly reach of her long-lost twin sister, Camilla; and not the people who will do anything to keep buried knowledge of a sinister pseudoscientific experiment known only as The Registry. Once again, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, together, are the fierce heart of a thrilling full-tilt novel that takes on some of the most insidious problems facing the world at this very moment.

Narration by the Author or Authors – Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Now he turns his attention back to the source, presenting a bravura rendition of the great northern tales. In Norse Mythology, Gaiman fashions primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds; delves into the exploits of the deities, dwarves, and giants; and culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and the rebirth of a new time and people. Gaiman stays true to the myths while vividly reincarnating Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin’s son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki, the son of a giant, a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator. From Gaiman’s deft and witty prose emerge the gods with their fiercely competitive natures, their susceptibility to being duped and to duping others, and their tendency to let passion ignite their actions, making these long-ago myths breathe pungent life again.

Non-Fiction – American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee

The enthralling story of the rise and reign of O-Six, the celebrated Yellowstone wolf, and the people who loved or feared her. Before men ruled the earth, there were wolves. Once abundant in North America, these majestic creatures were hunted to near extinction in the lower 48 states by the 1920s. But in recent decades, conservationists have brought wolves back to the Rockies, igniting a battle over the very soul of the West.

Original Work – Romeo and Juliet by David Hewson

“I think Romeo and Juliet is the greatest, most tragic love story ever told. What David Hewson did with this script is so exciting to me. I really love the fact that he followed avenues that Shakespeare suggested but didn’t necessarily detail in depth. If you want to immerse yourself in a warm bath of Garganega and the heat of Verona and hear a brilliant story about a young woman who is challenging the restraints of her time, listen to this audiobook, which has romance, poetry, politics, and humor to spare.” (Narrator Richard Armitage)

Paranormal – Curse of the Land by Faith Hunter

Set in the same world as Faith Hunter’s New York Times best-selling Jane Yellowrock novels, the second Soulwood novel tells the story of a woman whose power comes from deep within the earth. Before Nell Ingram met skinwalker Jane Yellowrock, she had no one to rely on, finding strength only in her arcane connection to the dark woods around her. But now she has friends in the newly formed PsyLED team to keep her grounded – even if being part of the agency responsible for policing paranormals comes with dangers of its own.

Romance – The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare

Since his return from war, the Duke of Ashbury’s to-do list has been short and anything but sweet: brooding, glowering, menacing London ne’er-do-wells by night. Now there’s a new item on the list. He needs an heir – which means he needs a wife. When Emma Gladstone, a vicar’s daughter turned seamstress, appears in his library wearing a wedding gown, he decides on the spot that she’ll do.

Science Fiction – Provenance by Ann Leckie

A power-driven young woman has just one chance to secure the status she craves and regain priceless lost artifacts prized by her people. She must free their thief from a prison planet from which no one has ever returned.

Short Stories/Collections – The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

Inspired by myth, fairy tale, and folklore, number one New York Times best-selling author Leigh Bardugo has crafted a deliciously atmospheric collection of short stories filled with betrayals, revenge, sacrifice, and love. Enter the Grishaverse…. Love speaks in flowers. Truth requires thorns.

Thriller/Suspense – The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker

For over five years, the Four Monkey Killer has terrorized the residents of Chicago. When his body is found, the police quickly realize he was on his way to deliver one final message, one that proves he has taken another victim, who may still be alive. As the lead investigator on the 4MK task force, Detective Sam Porter knows even in death, the killer is far from finished. When he discovers a personal diary in the jacket pocket of the body, Porter finds himself caught up in the mind of a psychopath, unraveling a twisted history in hopes of finding one last girl, all while struggling with personal demons of his own. With only a handful of clues, the elusive killer’s identity remains a mystery. Time is running out, and the Four Monkey Killer taunts from beyond the grave in this masterfully written, fast-paced thriller.

Young Adult – The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas

Young Listeners – Trombone Shorty by Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews

The stunning story and exquisite illustrations in this Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award-winning book can now be savored along with Troy Trombone Shorty Andrews reading the words and playing his trumpet in this readalong that will transport readers to New Orleans and beyond!