The 2023 Audie Award winners are here

Winner: Audiobook of the Year

Winner: Narration by the Author

Written and narrated by Viola Davis

In this book, you will meet a little girl named Viola who ran from her past until she made a life-changing decision to stop running forever. This is her story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond.

Winner: Audio Drama

Written by Dominique Morisseau

Narrated by Sophina Brown, Eugene Byrd, Demetrius Grosse, Sharon Lawrence, X Mayo, Uyoata Udi, Karen Malina White

Nya, a dedicated teacher at an inner-city school, is desperate to give her only son opportunities that her own public high school students will never have. When a controversial incident at his private school threatens to get Omari expelled, Nya must confront her own deepest fears to give her son a future.

Winner: Autobiography/Memoir

Written and narrated by Billy Porter

From the incomparable Emmy, Grammy, and Tony award winner, Unprotected is the story of a singular artist in his own words—a powerful and revealing autobiography about race, sexuality, and art.

Winner: Female Narrator

Written by Robert Jordan

Narrated by Rosamund Pike

Moiraine Damodred arrives in Emond’s Field on a quest to find the one prophesized to stand against The Dark One, a malicious entity sowing the seeds of chaos and destruction—marking the start of an epic fantasy series.

Winner: Male Narrator

Written by Stephen King

Narrated by Seth Numrich

Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes into the deepest well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a 17-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher.

Winner: Business/Personal Development

Written and narrated by Terry Crews

From Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Terry Crews, the deeply personal story of his lifelong obsession with strength—and how, after looking for it in all the wrong places, he finally found it.

Winner: Erotica

Written by Adriana Herrera

Narrated by Lola James, Sean Crisden

Alba Duarte is the queen of the side hustle. As the eldest daughter in her crisis-prone family, she’s always stepped up to help. Her favorite gig is doing Instagram-worthy, bookish-themed bedroom makeovers for friends. Her most hated? Working as the assistant to the most gorgeous—and most infuriating—man on earth.

Winner: Español/Spanish Language

Written by Diego Mejía Eguiluz

Narrated by Noé Velázquez

Desde su debut, el Conde de Terciopelo se ha empeñado en demostrar que no hay luchador más rudo que él. El ring no es un lugar para débiles, el chiste es apabullar a todos para llegar al estrellato.

Winner: Faith-Based Fiction or Nonfiction

Written by Brian Andrews, Jeffrey Wilson

Narrated by MacLeod Andrews

Former Navy SEAL Jedidiah Johnson returns to Nashville to begin his training with the elite warriors known as the Shepherds. Arriving at the state-of-the-art facility, he quickly realizes he’ll have to find his place as the rookie leader of a new team. Then he starts hearing whispers of a threat that raises fear among the Shepherds.

Winner: Fantasy

Written by Leslye Penelope

Narrated by Shayna Small

Weaving together African American folk magic, history, and romance, this dazzling historical fantasy, set in DC during the Jazz Age, centers on Clara, a woman able to communicate with spirits, who must assemble a ragtag crew to pull off a daring heist to save her community.

Winner: Fiction

Written by Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan

Narrated by Carrie Coon, Key Taw, Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan

Olivia McAfee's picture-perfect life—living in Boston, married to a brilliant surgeon, raising their beautiful son—was upended when her husband revealed a darker side. But she never dreamed starting over would mean moving back to her childhood home in New Hampshire and taking over her father's beekeeping business.

Winner: History/Biography

Written by Chris Morrow, Kevin Hart, Charlamagne Tha God, SBH Productions

Narrated by Kevin Hart

Kevin Hart, a Philadelphia native, narrates Summer of '85, the first attempt to connect two historic events and detail the incredible irony (and tragedy) of Philadelphia hosting a benefit for Africa the same summer it bombed a thriving African American neighborhood.

Winner: Humor

Written and narrated by David Sedaris

Back when restaurant menus were still printed on paper, and wearing a mask—or not—was a decision made mostly on Halloween, David Sedaris spent his time doing normal things. As Happy-Go-Lucky opens, he is learning to shoot guns with his sister, visiting muddy flea markets in Serbia, buying gummy worms to feed to ants, and telling his nonagenarian father wheelchair jokes. Then, the world changes, and so does he.

Winner: Literary Fiction and Classics

Written by Leo Tolstoy

Narrated by Thandiwe Newton

Some call it the greatest novel ever written. Whether it’s your first time, or you’re ready to dive back in, what better way to experience this epic novel than in this exquisite unabridged reading by Thandiwe Newton?

Winner: Middle Grade

Written by Jason Reynolds

Narrated by Guy Lockard, Nile Bullock, Angel Pean, James Fouhey, Soneela Nankani, Leon Nixon, Chanté McCormick, Lamarr Gulley, DePre Owens

Portico Reeves’s superpower is making sure all the other superheroes—like his parents and two best friends—stay super. And safe. Super safe. And he does this all in secret. No one in his civilian life knows he’s actually … Stuntboy! But his regular Portico identity is pretty cool too.

Winner: Multi-Voiced Performance

Written by John Grisham

Narrated by Jeff Daniels, Ethan Hawke, January LaVoy, John Grisham

John Grisham is the acknowledged master of the legal thriller. In his first collection of novellas, law is a common thread, but America’s favorite storyteller has several surprises in store—all performed by an all-star cast.

Winner: Mystery

Written by Don Winslow

Narrated by Ed Harris

“The Heron” is the nickname a big-city accountant has attached to himself in his new home near San Diego, where he’s using the alias to avoid a hit man who may be after him. It seems a former client believes that The Heron has skipped town with several million dollars not his own ... Twists, dark and comical, ensue.

Winner: Nonfiction

Written by Renee Dudley, Daniel Golden

Narrated by BD Wong

Scattered across the world, an elite team of code crackers is working tirelessly to thwart the defining cyber scourge of our time. You’ve probably never heard of them. But if you work for a school, a business, a hospital, or a municipal government, or simply cherish your digital data, you may be painfully familiar with the team’s sworn enemy: ransomware.

Winner: Original Work

Written by Sarah Page

Narrated by Jessie Buckley, Johnny Flynn and a full cast

Imagine if you made one little mistake when you were young and were punished for it for the rest of your life. Well, that’s what happened to Lydia (yes, that Lydia, the youngest Bennet sister from Pride and Prejudice), and she’s here to set the record straight.

Winner: Romance

Written by Ashley Herring Blake

Narrated by Kristen DiMercurio

Delilah Green swore she would never go back to Bright Falls—nothing is there for her but memories of a lonely childhood feeling like a burden to her stepfamily. Her life is in New York, with her photography career finally gaining steam and her bed never empty. Sure, it’s a different woman every night, but that’s fine with her—until she goes back to Bright Falls and falls for a local single mom.

Winner: Science Fiction

Written by Ash Bishop

Narrated by Scott Brick, Suzanne Elise Freeman

When Russ Wesley finds an unusual artifact in his grandfather’s collection of rare antiquities, the last thing he expects is for it to draw the attention of a ferocious alien from a distant planet. Equally surprising is the adventurous team of intergalactic exterminators dispatched to deal with the alien threat.

Winner: Short Stories/Collections

Written by Sally Hepworth, Zakiya Dalila Harris, Catherine Steadman, Luanne Rice, Jess Lourey, Rumaan Alam

Narrated by Candice Moll, Shayna Small, Samara Naeymi, Jennifer Jill Araya, Carly Robins, Fajer Al-Kaisi

Perfect vacations or last resorts? In this collection of short psychological thrillers, bestselling authors bring trouble to paradise. Today’s itinerary: surfing, sailing, hiking, and facing your worst fears. Most dream vacations never live up to expectations—but few cause this many nightmares.

Winner: Thriller/Suspense

Written by Katherine Faulkner

Narrated by Laura Kirman

Helen’s idyllic life—handsome architect husband, gorgeous Victorian house, and cherished baby on the way (after years of trying)—begins to change the day she attends her first prenatal class and meets Rachel, an unpredictable single mother-to-be whose behavior becomes more and more unsettling.

Winner: Young Adult

Written by Leigh Bardugo

Narrated by Ben Barnes, Benjamin Valic, Cassandra Morris, Eason Rytter, James Fouhey, Mary McCartney, Matt Leisy, Salli Saffioti, Sean Gormley, Tom Bromhead

Discover the origin story of the Darkling in this first-ever Grishaverse graphic novel for the ears. Before he led Ravka’s Second Army, before he created the Fold, and long before he became the Darkling, he was just a lonely boy burdened by an extraordinary power.

Winner: Young Listeners

Written and narrated by Tyler Merritt

Based on the author's childhood, this emotional and honest book explores a racist encounter from the perspective of a young Black boy, while offering a message of unconditional love and acceptance to soothe the pain of blind prejudice.