We at Listen Up are happy to announce that the votes are in, the decisions made, the judgments rendered, and the hardware handed out. So, without further ado, here’s a peek at the 2011 Listen-Up Awards.
It was another great year for audiobooks. In 2011, we saw close to a 10% increase in unit sales (per the Audio Publishers Association 2011 Sales Survey) and many outstanding performances that are likely to remain with us well into the New Year. Who could forget Tina Fey’s hilarious reading of her memoir, Bossypants? Or Samuel L. Jackson’s now famous narration of Adam Mansbach’s Go the F**K to Sleep? Who could forget that in 2011 Frank Skinner—once again—took us inside the mind of Ozzy Osbourne with Trust Me, I’m Dr. Ozzy? Or that Jim Dale took us to a place called The Night Circus? Of the hundreds of audiobooks PW reviewed this year, here are the best of the best.
FICTION
★ Untouchable by Scott O’Connor, read by Bronson Pinchot (Blackstone Audio)
PW said: “Pinchot—with a soft, easy delivery—lovingly brings this melancholy story and its diverse characters to life. His narration is smooth and compelling, while the voices he lends Whitley and his father fully realize their sadness and despair. But Pinchot also manages to infuse each scene with a sense of hope. The result is heartfelt performance of a rich and deeply moving story.”
11/22/63 by Stephen King, read by Craig Wasson (Simon & Schuster Audio)
When She Woke by Hillary Jordan, read by Heather Corrigan (HighBridge Audio)
Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan, read by Ilyana Kadushin and Matthew Brown (Macmillan Audio)
This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman, read by Hillary Huber (Blackstone Audio)
Plugged by Eoin Colfer, read by John Keating (AudioGO)
40 Love by Madeleine Wickham, read by Katherine Kellgren (Macmillan Audio)
The Snowman by Jo Nesbø, read by Robin Sachs (Random House Audio)
Mayday by Nelson DeMille and Thomas Block, read by Scott Brick (Hachette Audio)
Borkmann’s Point by Håkan Nesser, read by Simon Vance (HighBridge Audio)
I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson, read by Sian Thomas (Random House Audio)
For the rest of the 2011 Listen-Up Awards, CLICK HERE.
