On March 4, the Audio Publishers Association (APA) feted the winners of the 2022 Audie Awards, which recognize distinction in audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment. The top titles in 25 categories were revealed during the 27th Audie Awards Gala, which was held virtually for a second consecutive year and capped off the week’s virtual Audio Publishers Association Conference (APAC) taking place March 1-3. The Audies were hosted by actor, author, and former associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, Kal Penn, who stepped into the recording booth himself for nine days last fall to narrate the audiobook adaptation of his memoir You Can’t Be Serious (Simon & Schuster).
The night’s biggest honor, Audiobook of the Year, went to sci-fi title Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, narrated by Ray Porter and published by Audible Studios. Noted authors Kristen Arnett and Gayle Forman, and senior books editor at Entertainment Weekly Seija Rankin served as guest judges for this category. “The audio of Project Hail Mary did exactly what I want an audiobook to do, which is to use the medium to expand the story,” commented Forman.
A panel of guest judges—author, podcast co-host and LGBTQ+ activist Gigi Gorgeous; writer and NPR book reviewer Caitlyn Paxson; and executive producer of the GLAAD Media Awards Anthony Allen Ramos—also decided the winner in the Young Adult category: Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala, narrated by Pete Cross and published by Dreamscape Media.
Among the Audie winners delivering acceptance speeches were actors Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish (History/Biography; Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other, Hodder & Stoughton) and Lin-Manuel Miranda (Best Male Narrator; Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World, S&S Audio).
