The sixth annual Audie Awards were presented in a black-tie gala on June 1 at the Art Institute of Chicago. This year, 622 entries were submitted in 27 categories. A panel of 140 judges selected the finalists and winners. Actor/narrators Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres were the emcees of the evening.
Time Warner AudioBooks and HarperAudio were the big winners with three awards each; the Random House Audio Publishing Group also garnered three awards, one for a Random House AudioBooks title and two for its Listening Library imprint. All in all, the awards were a democratic affair, with winners spread evenly between big publishing houses and small independent audio publishers.
This year, in addition to the Audie Awards, three Special Achievement Awards were presented to individuals or organizations who have made outstanding contributions to building consumer awareness of audiobooks and to fostering the growth of the audiobook industry. This year's recipients were Duval and Siegrid Hecht, cofounders of Books on Tape, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award; Barbara Holdridge and Marianne Mantell, co-founders of Caedmon, the pioneering spoken word label which is celebrating 50 years in the business (an award was also presented to HarperCollins, which purchased Caedmon); and Jenny Frost, president of Random House Audio Publishing Group and Random House Diversified Publishing Group, who has been a leader in the audiobook field through her tremendous service to the industry, the APA and the Audie Awards.
The complete list of Audie winners follows:
Fiction, Abridged:Raveling by Peter Moore Smith, read by Eric Stoltz (Time Warner AudioBooks).
Fiction, Unabridged:Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates by Tom Robbins, read by Keith Szarabajka (BDD Audio).
Mystery:The Naked Detective by Laurence Shames, read by Ron McLarty (Recorded Books, LLC).
Classic Fiction:The Short Stories of William Somerset Maugham, Vol. 1 by W. Somerset Maugham, read by Charlton Griffin (Audio Connoisseur).
Nonfiction, Abridged:The Times of My Life and My Life with the Times by Max Frankel, read by the author (Airplay).
Nonfiction, Unabridged:The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier, read by the author (HarperAudio).
Personal Development (Self Help):The Protein Power Lifeplan by Michael R. and Mary Don Eades, read by the authors (Time Warner AudioBooks).
Business Information:Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter, read by Stephen Hoye (Time Warner AudioBooks).
Educational and Training:Patton on Leadership by Alan Axelrod, read by Bruce Winant and featuring Robert Foxworth (Simon & Schuster Audio).
Children's Titles for Ages 0-7:Ouch! by Natalie Babbitt, illustrated by Fred Marcellino, read by Martin Jarvis (Live Oak Media).
Children's Titles for Ages 8+:The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman, read by the author and a full cast (Listening Library/Random House).
Inspirational/Spiritual:It's Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong, read by Oliver Wyman (HighBridge).
Humor: Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding, read by Tracie Bennett (Random House AudioBooks).
Poetry:Our Souls Have Grown Deep Like the Rivers: Black Poets Read Their Poetry, by various artists, read by various artists (Rhino Entertainment).
Short Stories/Essays/Collections:Ten by Maugham by W. Somerset Maugham, read by a British cast (KCRW).
Original Work:The History of Theatre by David Timson, read by Derek Jacobi and cast (Naxos AudioBooks Ltd.).
Solo Narration—Male:Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling, read by Jim Dale (Listening Library/Random House).
Solo Narration—Female:Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, read by Ruby Dee (HarperAudio).
Solo Narration—Author or Authors:The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier (HarperAudio).
Multi-Voiced Narration:Pay It Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde, read by Debra Monk, with Leland Gantt, Enid Graham, Michael McGlone, Liam Norton, Anne Pitoniak, Sharon Quinn and Gordon Weiss (Simon & Schuster Audio).
Multi-Voiced Presentation:Cakewalk by Peter Feibleman, read by Elaine Stritch and Bruce Davison (L.A. Theatre Works).
Theatrical Performance:Agnes of God by John Pielmeier, read by Barbara Bain, Emily Bergl and Harriet Harris (L.A. Theatre Works).
Audiobook Adapted from Another Medium:Lost & Found Sound, produced by the Kitchen Sisters, aka Niki Silva & Davia Nelson (HighBridge Company).
Audio, Licensed or Distributed:Typhoon by Joseph Conrad, read by Roger Allam, originally published by HNP (Audio Partners Publishing Corp.).
Package Design:The Polar Express (book and cassette), by Chris Van Allsburg, read by Liam Neeson (Houghton Mifflin).
Achievement and Innovation in Production:Too Dead To Swing by Hal Glatzer, read by cast, produced and directed by Patricia Childs, music produced by Earl V. Spielman (Audio-Playwrights).
Best New Publisher: Americana Publishing.
