Audiobooks can be challenging to narrate in many ways, and that’s part of the reason why I love my job so much! Every book I voice requires something a little bit different. I’ve narrated over 500 titles, and I chose these five because they have stayed with me in a truly visceral way—or helped me level up my craft. When I’m acting, directing, or writing, I’m drawing on the lessons I’ve learned from the hundreds of authors that have entrusted me to carry their words for them. — January LaVoy, award-winning narrator
This is the book—and series—that taught me what I was capable of as a narrator. This phenomenal story takes place in 1920s New York City, and it's packed with characters of different ages, cultures, and countries of origin—not to mention a supernatural serial killer villain. I won my first solo Audie Award for the second book in this series, Lair of Dreams.
Jesmyn Ward is the only woman and African American to win the National Book Award for fiction twice. And although I revere her novels, I think her writing in this memoir stands alone. I consider it a tremendous honor whenever I am asked to narrate another person's story.
This bestselling thriller was a challenge to narrate for a unique reason: my co-narrator was my real-life husband, Will Damron. We recorded together in the same studio, our characters flirting, manipulating, navigating each other—not so different from a marriage, some might say...
A scholar and a visionary, bell hooks's words about love in this book—published in 1999—feel prophetic as we struggle to maintain real human connections in the age of social media. The hardest thing about narrating this book was staying on the microphone, as I wanted to shout every word from the rooftops!
It was one of my first Star Wars titles, so I felt a huge responsibility to get this right. Working on beloved franchises is another amazing aspect of being a narrator, and when the fans respond positively to those programs, it's wildly gratifying. (Plus, I used to dress up as Princess Leia when I was a little girl.)
January LaVoy is an actor, director, and narrator who has received nine Audie Awards, four SOVAS awards, and over 50 AudioFile Magazine Earphones Awards. She has been honored as Audiobook Narrator of the Year by Publishers Weekly, and with AudioFile’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Golden Voice. As a stage actor, she's performed on and Off-Broadway, and she received the 2023 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Performer. She's best known on television for her years spent playing Noelle Ortiz on the classic ABC soap opera, One Life to Live.
