The Audies - Audiobook Awards
An Annual Celebration of all Aspects of the Audiobook Industry
May 10, 2008
The Audies are an annual celebration of audiobooks of all descriptions. Since 1996 the awards have been given to mark excellence throughout the industry, with performers, authors, producers and publishers recognized for their achievements over the past year.
What are the Audies?
The Audies are hosted by the APA (Audio Publishers Association) and are the only awards in the US that are dedicated to audiobook and spoken word entertainment. There are 30 different categories and the panel of judges pick a winner from a shortlist of audiobooks that are recognized as having made a significant impact on the audiobook industry. The 30 categories cover all aspects of audiobooks and spoken word entertainment and provide an interesting perspective of the different aspects of audiobooks.
The categories include:
- Achievement in Abridgment
- Achievement in Production
- Audio Drama
- Audiobook Adapted from Another Medium
- Biography/Memoir
- Business Information/Educational
- Children’s Titles (Ages 12 and Over)
- Children’s Titles (Ages 8-11)
- Children’s Titles (Ages up to 8)
- Classic Literature
- Fiction
- Humor
- Inspirational and Faith-Based Fiction
- Inspirational and Spiritual
- Literary Fiction
- Multi-Voiced Performance
- Mystery
- Narration by the Author or Authors
- Non-Fiction
- Original Work
- Package Design
- Personal Development and Motivational
- Romance
- Science Fiction
- Short Stories and Collections
- Solo Narration (Female)
- Solo Narration (Male)
- Spanish Language
- Thriller/Suspense
What Audiobooks are Eligible for an Audie Award?
The awards are made annually and for an audiobook to be eligible it must have been released in the year in question. This means that previously released works gathered into new collections can qualify.
Why Are the Audies Signficant to Audiobook Listeners?
While it is easy to see why the Audies are so important to the audiobook industry, the importance to the ever growing numbers of listeners shouldn't be overlooked. The awards will raise awareness of audiobooks and the expanding spoken word entertainment category. Many people still think of audiobooks as being the 'poor cousin' in the literary world, perhaps being expensive, of poor quality and difficult to use. The publicity that surrounds the Audies will help to address some of these fears and hopefully will encourage new listeners to try this exciting book format, perhaps for the first time.
The Audies also provide listeners with a ready made listening list! The books that have been shortlisted in the 30 categories have all been recognized as being potential worthy winners and as such will be of the highest quality and will represent the very best in the audiobook industry. If a listener is unsure as to which audiobook should be their next listen then they could do a lot worse than give one of these audiobooks a try!
Further Reading
- More information about this year's nominations can be found at the Audies website.
- A list of Audie nominations from previous years can be found at the Book Reporter website.
