The Audies® are awards recognizing distinction in audiobooks and spoken word
entertainment sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association (APA).

The 2009 Audies® nominations are in. Here is a collection of some of the nominees.
The Winners will be announced in May. Enjoy.

Renowned horror and dark fiction writer Stephen King returns with his latest thriller Duma Key, his best story in nearly fifteen years. Narrator John Slattery commands his audience like a seasoned professional, his solid delivery perfectly suited for King’s tense writing style.

A Prisoner of Birth - Several themes that run through Jeffrey Archer's latest novel are reminiscent of the stories of Alexander Dumas, and there’s no better person to narrate this 21st-century adventure than Roger Allam. He takes you through a murder, the trial, prison life, escape, revenge, and redemption.

Jodi Picoult’s latest book, Change of Heart, is a story that tackles a triple-whammy of hot-button issues—the death penalty, bioethics, and religious freedom.

In The Lace Reader, Towner Whitney admits that she's crazy, coming from a long line of eccentrics in her hometown of Salem, Massachusetts. But when her great-aunt Eva dies in an apparent drowning accident, Towner is forced to confront her past and reconstruct her future with the help of a guardian ghost, a modern-day witch, a confused detective, a predator preacher, and fortune-telling lace.

For Literary Fiction there are several great audiobooks to pick from. Anthony Heald shows remarkable versatility in this production of Dostoevsky’s 1866 classic. Crime and Punishment is a story in which little actually happens. The murders that constitute the titular crime occur early, and there is no mystery about who is responsible. The novel is primarily one of psychological, philosophical, and ethical questions pondered through the dialogue of its intriguing characters.

Richard Price’s latest novel, Lush Life, is a tale of two men going in completely different directions in their respective lives who are ultimately united after a single late-night incident. The story is wonderfully realized by narrator Bobby Cannavale. The reading is the stuff that makes audiobooks so wonderful: impassioned, authentic, and true.

In The White Tiger debut author Aravind Adiga offers this revealing and truthful look at class struggle in modern-day India as seen through the eyes of chauffeur Balram Halwai. Halwai escapes a brutal existence in rural India only to end up murdering his rich employer in Delhi.

The Silver Swan - The eagerly awaited sequel to Christine Falls is brought to life by none other than James Bond himself, Timothy Dalton, in a reading so good it will make listeners giddy with delight. Of course, the material is far from delightful as legendary Irish crime novelist John Banville, writing under the name of Benjamin Black, delivers a story steeped in the darkest realms of the human psyche.

Blue Heaven - There's an almost overwhelming number of characters in this stand-alone from the author of the Joe Pickett series, and John Bedford Lloyd depicts them all proficiently. Whether he's mimicking the town gossip, the tight-lipped hero, the villains, or the two children on the run, Lloyd's rich voice and terse delivery generate almost too much excitement.

Executive Privilege - When young Oregon attorney Brad Miller constructs a routine appeal for a convicted serial killer, he comes to believe that one of the murders the killer was convicted of is actually unsolved. Meanwhile, a troubled P.I. on the East Coast asserts that the latest victim of an active killer dubbed the D.C. Ripper was a mistress of the President. The common thread: the President was once the Oregon governor.

Mike's Election Guide 2008 Ever-controversial political commentator and activist Michael Moore offers his first book in five years, which acts as a so-called "guide" to the recent U.S. elections. Read by Moore with his trademark sardonic sense of humor, the book is less a guide to the election than it is a manual that analyzes the list of mistakes the right wing has made in the last eight years.

The War Within - In his fourth, and most disturbing, analysis of the Bush presidency, Bob Woodward looks at the years 2006 to 2008, during which the nation's chief executive hunkers down with a failing strategy in Iraq. This time around things get positively King Lear-ish as a fawning national security advisor and a yes-woman secretary of state enable an unblinking, righteously guided president, who, by his own admission, is uninterested in diplomacy and obsessed with enemy body counts.

The Way of the World - Through a series of interconnected real-life stories, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind paints a portrait of the United States post-9/11. The nation, he believes, is in the midst of a mighty struggle to reestablish its moral authority. In one especially revealing scene, he describes the detention of a young Pakistani professional near the White House at the very moment President Bush is speaking about civil rights to a group of black leaders.

Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing - Are you stumped by split infinitives? Terrified of using “who” when a “whom” is called for? Do you avoid the words “lay” and “lie” altogether? Grammar Girl is here to help! Mignon Fogarty, a.k.a. Grammar Girl, is determined to wipe out bad grammar—but she’s also determined to make the process as painless as possible.

Little Red Book of Selling  Jeffrey Gitomer says that why people buy is the most important question for salespeople, and he provides some answers. While he starts out slowly, he puts on a show, injecting humor and mimicking ineffective salespeople. His blunt, occasionally profane, language won't please all listeners, but Gitomer is entertaining and likely to make listeners in the sales field think about their presentations and their preparation.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Grover Gardner slips inside the humor and drama of this classic, casting a spell that vividly creates Twain's nineteenth-century setting for listeners. Whether dramatizing the exchange between two boys about to fight or that of clever Tom outwitting goodhearted Aunt Polly, Gardner highlights all the virtues of Twain's prose: that sly sense of humor, those deep insights into the human heart, whether glimpsed at a church funeral, a schoolyard, or a picnic gone wrong.

The Count of Monte Cristo - Edmund Dantés returns from a sea voyage expecting to marry his betrothed. But a trio of jealous compatriots frames the innocent man, who goes to prison for 14 years. His subsequent acts of vengeance form the majority of Dumas’s story. As narrator, John Lee imbues this classic with exactly the right balance of solemnity and compassion.

The Picture of Dorian Gray - One of the most famous of the original nineteenth-century gothic horror novels, this story follows glamorous and youthful Dorian Gray, who becomes corrupted by the fear of his own mortality. Soon, he discovers that while his portrait may age, he will not, a knowledge that leads to his ultimate downfall.

A Whole New Mind - First published in 2005, this book is part business book, part self-improvement manual, and part "big idea" book. Pink tries to convince the listener that the left-brainer of yore (the logical thinker) is going to be replaced by the right-brainer (the creative person). Focusing on what he calls "the six essential aptitudes"—design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning—Pink gives food for thought.

You Staying Young Johnny Heller makes this down-to-earth lesson fun with his energetic delivery. He's a cheerleader for the fine research and thinking in this book, and yet he never sounds like he's lapsing into a sales mode. The writing is concise and practical, and the examples and analogies appealingly vivid—almost setting a new standard for clarity and usefulness.

The Last Lecture - A sort of reverse engineering created this recording of Pausch's book of life lessons, based on his lecture "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"—first a sensation as a viral video on YouTube. The video, the book, and the audiobook are now part of the legacy Pausch left after his death from pancreatic cancer in July 2008.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle - Richard Poe’s cadenced full-throated performance lets us savor the language in this exquisite first novel about the Sawtelles, a family that slaved for generations to create a breed of super dogs. The point of view jumps from man to dog to baby, and Poe alters his tone tellingly at each transition. Edgar, the desperately awaited only child, is born mute. We first spot his “delicate pink hand” through the eyes of Almondine, the dog that will be his protector and beloved sibling.

Nation - After a giant wave has hit his home island, Mau returns from the rituals for transitioning from a boy to a man to find that everyone has been washed away. Along comes Daphne, who was washed ashore after the ship on which she was traveling was caught in the same wave. Narrator Stephen Briggs adopts a tone of fun without resorting to outrageous hilarity and thus preserves the satire, and the overall sweetness, of the story.

The Cricket in Times Square - Chester Cricket's departure from bucolic Connecticut was never planned, but his arrival at the 42nd Street subway station brings newfound friendships and delight to both people and animals. Young Mario, whose parents own a subway newsstand, finds the cricket and, in spite of his mother's protestations, is able to house, feed, and share the musical secrets of this charming insect.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is one of the true gems in the audio industry. He’s a great writer who not only reads his own work well, but makes the listener reject any thought of having another narrator in his stead. Gaiman communicates his understanding of his own stories and characters from beginning to end.

For Humor: When You are Engulfed in Flames - In David Sedaris's excellent latest collection cringe-worthy moments follow on the heels of laugh-out-loud ones—you may never buy another pair of thrift-store pants, for example, and that's only the beginning.

For Inspirational/Faith-Based Fiction: The Shack - Mac is a grief-stricken father in mid-life about to have an extraordinary experience with God. His great sadness began four years ago on a weekend camping trip, when his 6-year-old daughter, Missy, was murdered. What he couldn't know then, but is about to learn, was God’s purpose for Missy's death.

For Inspirational/Faith-Based Non-Fiction: Life Beyond Measure Close your eyes for a moment and try to imagine esteemed actor, writer, director, and humanitarian Sidney Poitier shopping at The Gap and Old Navy! This is but one of many funny, heartwarming, and deeply inspirational adventures to be found in Poitier’s latest work, dedicated to his great-granddaughter in the hope of letting her know exactly who her great-grandfather was, what he believed, and what made him tick.

For Inspirational/Faith-Based Non-Fiction: Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light Throughout her life, Mother Teresa served to inspire many with her unshakable faith and desire to help others. Brian Kolodiejchuk helps to shed light on her internal spiritual life by interweaving biographical facts with her letters and writings. Together Sherry Brownrigg and Paul Smith give a thoughtful reading of this inspirational text.

For Mulit-Voice Performance: The Plague of Doves Louise Erdrich richly details the lives of intertwined generations, white and Native American, in the town of Pluto, North Dakota. Kathleen McInerney shines as Evelina Harp, who tells what she knows about the mystery that haunts the town’s residents, the unsolved murder of a family in 1911.

For Narration by the Author: Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped our Nation  NPR reporter Cokie Roberts pays homage to the heroic women whose patriotism and sacrifice helped create our nation. Roberts spotlights early influential women—heroines, reformers, and visionaries all—including Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, Sacagawea, Eliza Hamilton, and Martha Jefferson. Narrating with vivid insight, bemused wonder, humor, and a soft Southern accent, Roberts sheds a fresh perspective upon the lives of these strong, brave women, who were captivated by America's birth and political intrigue, even amidst personal hardships.

For Narration by the Author: The Girl Who Stopped Swimming Author and actress Joshilyn Jackson skillfully delivers the unique Alabama accents and unusual idioms of the characters in her novel. Model wife and mom Laurel copes with a neighbor's drowning in Laurel's swimming pool and with her own bizarre past, which has embarrassing links to relatives in a poverty-stricken Alabama town.

For Short Stories: Armageddon in Retrospect Kurt Vonnegut was a versatile author whose books addressed a wide range of subjects. Published posthumously, is an engaging compilation of 12 of the authors' most compelling writings, focused primarily on the topics of war and peace. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the essays is their variety, ranging from a letter Vonnegut wrote to his family when he was taken prisoner by the Germans during WWII to his final speech.

For Romance: Tribute - Cilla McGowan, former child star and granddaughter of the legendary actress Janet Hardy, moves to her late grandmother's Virginia farm to make a new start and to bring the once famous house back to life. Little does she know that someone in her grandmother's past doesn't want her there to solve old mysteries, and that person will go to any length to drive her out.