Each year the Audio Publishers Association honors the best titles in audio publishing with the Audie Awards. The awards were announced this week. Congratulations to the authors of the books, as well as those involved in the production of the audiobooks. Here are the 2021 Audie Award winners.

AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR

PIRANESI

by Susanna Clarke

Narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor, published by Bloomsbury PLC

Piranesi lives in the House. Perhaps he always has. In his notebooks, day after day, he makes a clear and careful record of its wonders: the labyrinth of halls, the thousands upon thousands of statues, the tides that thunder up staircases, the clouds that move in slow procession through the upper halls. On Tuesdays and Fridays Piranesi sees his friend, the Other. But mostly, he is alone.

AUDIO DRAMA

DOCTOR WHO – STRANDED 1

by Matt Fitton, David K Barnes, Lisa McMullin, John Dorney

Performed by Paul McGann, Nicola Walker, Hattie Morahan, Rebecca Root, Tom Price, Tom Baker, published by Big Finish Productions

The TARDIS is gone. Stranded in one time and place, the Doctor, Liv and Helen seek refuge in Baker Street. But the house has changed: they now have neighbours – not all of them welcoming. And someone has a dire warning for the future. The Doctor and friends face their greatest challenge yet: living one day after another, in 2020 London.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X: AS TOLD TO ALEX HALEY

by Malcolm X, Alex Haley

Narrated by Laurence Fishburne, published by Audible, Inc.

In the searing pages of this classic autobiography, originally published in 1964, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and anti-integrationist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Black Muslim movement. Laurence Fishburne breathes spirit into this definitive statement of the movement and the man.

BEST FEMALE NARRATOR

THE CITY WE BECAME

by N.K. Jemisin

Narrated by Robin Miles, published by Hachette Audio

In Manhattan, a young grad student gets off the train and realizes he doesn’t remember who he is, where he’s from, or even his own name. But he can sense the beating heart of the city, see its history, and feel its power. Every great city has a soul. Some are ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York? She’s got six.

BEST MALE NARRATOR

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X: AS TOLD TO ALEX HALEY

by Malcolm X, Alex Haley

Narrated by Laurence Fishburne, published by Audible, Inc (See above)

BUSINESS/PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

THE GIFT: 12 LESSONS TO SAVE YOUR LIFE

by Dr. Edith Eva Eger

Narrated by Tovah Feldshuh, published by Simon & Schuster Audio

Eger’s powerful first book, The Choice, told the story of her survival in the concentration camps. Here she expands on her message of healing and provides a hands-on guide that gently encourages us to change the thoughts and behaviors that may be keeping us imprisoned in the past. Eger explains that the worst prison she experienced is not the prison that Nazis put her in but the one she created for herself, the prison within her own mind.

FAITH-BASED FICTION & NON-FICTION

FIERCE, FREE, AND FULL OF FIRE

by Jen Hatmaker

Narrated by Jen Hatmaker, published by Thomas Nelson

No more hiding or people-pleasing up in here, sisters. No more being sidelined in your own life. It is time for us to be brave, to claim our gifts and quirks and emotions. You are set free and set up and set on fire. Now you can get busy doing what you were placed on this planet to do.

FANTASY

THE CITY WE BECAME

by N.K. Jemisin

Narrated by Robin Miles, published by Hachette Audio (See above)

FICTION

SUCH A FUN AGE

by Kiley Reid

Narrated by Nicole Lewis, published by Penguin Random House Audio

Alix Chamberlain is a woman who has made a living with her confidence-driven brand. She is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains’ toddler one night in their local high-end supermarket. The store’s security guard, seeing a young Black woman out late with a White child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right.

HISTORY/BIOGRAPHY

HIS TRUTH IS MARCHING ON: JOHN LEWIS AND THE POWER OF HOPE

by Jon Meacham

Narrated by JD Jackson, published by Penguin Random House Audio

An intimate and revealing portrait of civil rights icon and longtime US congressman John Lewis, linking his life to the painful quest for justice in America from the 1950s to the present. Lewis was arguably a saint in our time, risking limb and life to bear witness for the powerless in the face of the powerful.

HUMOR

A VERY PUNCHABLE FACE

by Colin Jost

Narrated by Colin Jost, published by Penguin Random House Audio

In these hilarious essays, the Saturday Night Live head writer and Weekend Update co-anchor learns how to take a beating. From growing up in a family of firefighters on Staten Island to commuting three hours a day to high school, to attending Harvard while Facebook was created, Jost shares how he has navigated the world like a slightly smarter Forrest Gump.

LITERARY FICTION & CLASSICS

THE DEATH OF VIVEK OJI

by Akwaeke Emezi

Narrated by Yetide Badaki, Chukwudi Iwuji, published by Penguin Random House Audio

What does it mean for a family to lose a child they never really knew? 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.

MIDDLE GRADE

THE GOOD HAWK

by Joseph Elliott

Narrated by Gary Furlong, Fiona Hardingham, published by Brilliance Publishing

In a mythic Scotland, two unlikely heroes must make a dangerous journey to save their people. Agatha is a Hawk, brave and fierce, who protects her people by patrolling the high walls of their island home. Jaime, thoughtful and anxious, is an Angler, but he hates the sea. Worse, he’s been chosen for a duty that the clan hasn’t required for generations: to marry.

MULTI-VOICED PERFORMANCE

CLAP WHEN YOU LAND

by Elizabeth Acevedo

Narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo, Melania-Luisa Marte, published by HarperAudio

In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times best-selling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives. Acevedo, also an award-winning narrator, narrates along with Melania-Luisa Marte.

MYSTERY

FAIR WARNING

by Michael Connelly

Narrated by Peter Giles, Zach Villa, published by Hachette Audio

Veteran reporter Jack McEvoy has taken down killers before, but when a woman he had a one-night stand with is murdered in a particularly brutal way, McEvoy realizes he might be facing a criminal mind unlike any he’s ever encountered. Uncovering the murkiest corners of the dark web, Jack races to find and protect the last source who can lead him to his quarry.

NARRATION BY THE AUTHOR OR AUTHORS

MORE MYSELF

by Alicia Keys

Narrated by Alicia Keys, published by Macmillan Audio

In More Myself, Alicia shares her quest for truth – about herself, her past, and her shift from sacrificing her spirit to celebrating her worth. This is at once a riveting account and a clarion call to listeners: To define themselves in a world that rarely encourages a true and unique identity. This program is read by Alicia Keys, with special guest appearances by family and friends, including Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z, and Michelle Obama.

NON-FICTION

FIRE IN PARADISE

by Alastair Gee, Dani Anguiano

Narrated by T. Ryder Smith, published by Recorded Books

There is no precedent in postwar American history for the destruction of the town of Paradise, California. On November 8, 2018, the community of 27,000 people was swallowed by the ferocious Camp Fire, which razed virtually every home and killed at least 85 people. Fire in Paradise is a dramatic and moving narrative of the disaster based on hundreds of in-depth interviews with residents, firefighters and police, and scientific experts.

ORIGINAL WORK

WHEN YOU FINISH SAVING THE WORLD

by Jesse Eisenberg

Narrated by Kaitlyn Dever, Jesse Eisenberg, Finn Wolfhard, published by Audible Originals

From playwright, author, and Oscar-nominated actor Jesse Eisenberg, this tells the moving story of three individuals working to understand each other and themselves: Nathan, a father learning to connect with his newborn son; Rachel, a young college student seeking to find her place; and Ziggy, their son, a teenager hoping to figure out where he came from.

ROMANCE

DIRTY LETTERS

by Vi Keeland, Penelope Ward

Narrated by Andi Arndt, Jacob Morgan, published by Brilliance Publishing

An unexpected love story that started with a boy and girl and heats up when the man and woman reconnect. Years after they were separated, they re-connect with letters that move from fun to flirty to downright dirty, revealing their wildest fantasies. So it only makes sense to move to the next level and see each other in person.

SCIENCE FICTION

THE DEEP

by Rivers Solomon, Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, Jonathan Snipes

Narrated by Daveed Diggs, published by Simon & Schuster 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.

SHORT STORIES/COLLECTIONS

THE CHEKHOV COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES

by Anton Chekhov

Narrated by Richard Armitage, published by Audible Studios

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) is perhaps best for his plays such as Uncle Vanya and The Seagull, but he was also a prolific author of short stories. This collection presents six of his most-celebrated short stories, chosen and performed by Richard Armitage.

SPANISH LANGUAGE

EL LABERINTO DEL FAUNO

by Guillermo del Toro and Cornelia Funke

Narrated by Kerygma Flores, Luis Ávila, published by Penguin Random House 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, Jay Aaseng, published by HarperCollins Publishers

Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood is changing. Condos are sprouting like weeds, FOR SALE signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors are disappearing. Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely ally. But their dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear.

YOUNG ADULT

CLAP WHEN YOU LAND

by Elizabeth Acevedo

Narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo, Melania-Luisa Marte, published by HarperAudio (See above)

YOUNG LISTENERS (UP TO AGE 8)

THE OVERGROUND RAILROAD

by Lesa Cline-Ransome

Narrated by Shayna Small and Dion Graham, published by Live Oak Media

Climbing aboard the New York bound Silver Meteor train, Ruth Ellen embarks upon a journey toward a new life up North – one she can’t begin to imagine. Stop by stop, the perceptive young narrator tells her journey in poems, leaving behind the cotton fields and distant Blue Ridge mountains.