Authors Share Their Favorite Audiobook Narrators

Authors Share Their Favorite Audiobook Narrators in Celebration of Audiobook Appreciation Month

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Click on the images to learn more about each author.

Liz Alterman

Gail Shalan is an incredibly talented and versatile storyteller and voice actor. I was lucky enough to have Gail bring one of the characters in my novel, The Perfect Neighborhood, to life. Not only did she do a phenomenal job, but also she reached out to introduce herself and ask if I wanted to share anything about the character with her before she began recording. On the release date, Gail was my audiobook's biggest champion, posting across social media channels, and celebrating with me. She really puts her heart and soul into her projects and you can truly hear the difference. As soon as she shares a title she's worked on, I add it to my list, knowing it's going to be a pitch perfect performance. I just listened to The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz and Gail did an amazing job giving the characters unique and captivating voices. I was hooked immediately!

Paulette Stout

For the audiobook of my novel What We Never Say, I was so pleased to work with narrator Anastasia Lynne. She brought such depth to the three POV characters, bringing each to life and making them shine despite their differences in age, gender and background. She tackled accents, mood and pacing in way that heightened the narrative impact of the story.

An eager collaborator, Anastasia took direction like a champ, turning around the revised files within hours in a way that made my head spin! It's beyond cool to hear characters speak the works I've written and have them sound just as I imaged them in my head. Can not speak of her more highly!

For another narrator that impressed, look to the narrator of The Ballerinas, Ell Potter. In this novel, Ell handled American English, British English, French and Russian accents in a seamless way that made listening thoroughly enjoyable!

Gabriella Saab

As an avid audiobook listener, I have so many favorites, but I've been fortunate enough to work with three incredible narrators on my own novels. I'm also an author who listens to her own audiobooks - I can't resist! It's a unique, emotional experience to hear such skilled, talented narrators interpret my words. It's been a privilege to work with some of the best, kindest, most talented voices in the industry; I was a fan of all three before we worked together, and now I'm a superfan!

Saskia Maarleveld was my first choice for my debut, The Last Checkmate, even before I knew she would be one of my options to choose from! It's like it was meant to be. She's been a long-standing favorite, and her performance on the book far exceeded my already high expectations; the depth, skill, and emotion infused into everything she does takes my breath away every single time.

For my sophomore novel, Daughters of Victory, the POVs are a grandmother and granddaughter, so I got to pick TWO narrators! I wanted the voices to be distinct from one another yet mesh well together, and the pairing I got was perfect. The first, Yelena Shmulenson, could not have been a better choice for my first POV, a Russian revolutionary fighting against the Bolsheviks; I wanted a culturally authentic voice with some edge and grit yet also a deep honesty and passion, and she absolutely delivered. The second POV, a young Soviet resistance member eager to poison Nazis during WWII, is voiced by Jennifer Jill Araya, who captured the character's spunk, passion, and vulnerability as only an Audie Award-winning narrator can, leaving me hanging on every word. Once again, both exceeded my already high expectations!

Audiobook narration is such a special art, and I'm in awe of those like these three who make it look - or, rather, sound! - so easy. When I think about the talents who have lent their exceptional skills to my work, it's one of the most moving and humbling parts of this job. Grateful is an understatement.

Adele Holmes

Dawn Harvey, http://dawnofvoice.ca, is a talented Canadian narrator who nailed every voice in my southern literary novel, "Winter's Reckoning." Precisely.

I knew from the first moment I heard her generic clip on the audiobook production company website that she was the one. Of course, due diligence ensued--I listened to many readers, narrowed the field down to six from whom I would request a sample narration from my book, and later narrowed the six down to three for extended try-out samples. In the end, Dawn was still the clear winner.

The slow southern drawl she offered in the narration sample read directly from my book was not cloying or contrived but rather genteel and elegant. Southern. How does a Canadian person do such a thing?

Let me tell you about the process. Not only did I choose Dawn as the narrator, but she also had to read the book and decide if she was interested. When we'd both agreed and contracts were signed, I provided extensive information about each and every character who spoke for any significant period of time. What did they look like, how did they sound (smooth, warm, twangy, prickly, confident . . . the choices seemed endless), and what was their worldview (education, dress, social status, etc.)?

Not only was it necessary to delineate what each character looked and sounded like, but I also needed to specify what I didn't want. For instance, my book contains characters of different races. Many pieces set in 1917 in the American South use a stereotypical--and likely unrealistic--speech pattern for Black characters. I asked Dawn not to attempt any ethnic speech pattern, and she complied beautifully.

That's not to say each character sounded alike. Quite the opposite! Dawn produced rich variation amongst the characters, so much so that over a dozen individuals each had their own voice--and that voice was steadfastly unchanging throughout the reading. She did men's voices, women's voices, and children's voices--moving from one to the next without a hiccup.

Aside from character speech, any oddity about pronunciation was needed. I provided phonetics for city names, colloquialisms, etc. And lastly, I was asked to provide information that I thought would help the narrator gain insight into my vision for the audiobook. I chose to provide an example of an actor I envisioned for each character: a short Tom Hanks, a young Halle Berry with long hair, Spencer Tracy, etc. I'm not sure if that helped, but I certainly got a stellar finished product.

Dawn contacted me a few times with questions, clarifying this or that. Before I knew it I had an audiobook to proof. I think listening to a professional narrate my novel was as exciting as holding the hardcover for the first time. At each point that I wanted a change or found the rare mistake, I noted the chapter and time mark. It took me three twelve-hour days to get the work done. Within two weeks of returning my proofread, Dawn had re-recorded the problem areas and the corrections were seamlessly integrated so that even I couldn't tell where there was a fix.

Not only did Dawn Harvey do incredible, realistic voices, she was exceedingly professional and easy to work with. Two things stand out to me, both of which I doubt she was required to do, but both of which helped me immensely.

First, with the recording she sent along the chapter and time-spot location that her editors had already notated to need a change--that way I didn't spend my time replicating the correction information.

Secondly, she sent me a separate list of errors/typos she found in the novel. There are always mistakes that are overlooked in a first run print. Some of these I had already discovered, but many I had not. That is such valuable information, and much harder to glean than I'd imagined. Her corrections are now headed to my publisher for print changes before the next run. When I thanked her profusely, she waved me off saying, "It's so easy to see these mistakes when reading the book aloud for the first time; no reason not to pass it along to the author."

With a quick search on Audible or Libro.fm, anyone can peruse the impressive list of books Dawn has narrated. She was a bit more expensive than some of the others that I considered, but the top-notch quality of her work is worth every penny.

I now count Dawn as a friend, and there's a shiny new audio-book of "Winter's Reckoning" out there in the world.

Carol Dunbar

As a trained actor who spent 12 years on her first novel, I had put in my book contract that I wanted to audition for my audiobook. I’m a huge audiobook fan because my husband has dyslexia, and during the years we ran our furniture business together, we listened to books while building and doing the finish work. Some voices just rub you the wrong way, or they get annoying after hours and hours; other voices transport you. I sent in my audition tape and waited. When the other auditions came in, I lay down on my studio floor, closed my eyes, and listened. Punctuation works! was my first thought. Then, I started to hear how the pros work—how they set up the arrival of a new character, the deliberations of pacing, the different resonators for each character’s voice. I was offered the job, but Cassandra Campbell had expressed interest in my book, she had a personal connection to the rural setting and characters, and I knew that she was the right choice. Not only is Campbell a professional at the height of her craft, but she is also a kind and gracious person. When we spoke on the phone, I had the feeling that I was meeting a kindred spirit, and I knew my book was in capable hands. I am so proud of the audio version of The Net Beneath Us and I recommend it to anyone who has lost someone and in need of a soothing voice.

Melina Morry

My current favorite is Alexa Elmy. She recently narrated the audiobook version of my novel The Manhattan Mishap. Out of all the voice actors I heard, she was by far the best. She brought a fun, sassy tone of voice to the story and on top of it, she was great at the various accents sprinkled throughout! I loved listening to her read my book. She really brought the characters to life!

Eliza Knight

Julia Whelan is one of my favorite audiobook narrators. Her vocal range and ability to make every character sound different is incredible. She draws you in from the first line. She also happens to be an author, and I recently listened to her book Thank You For Listening (a fun rom-com) which she narrated herself, and I can't recommend it enough!

Danielle M. Orsino

Kimbery Alexis - narrates the Anita Blake series by Laurel K. Hamilton she can do so many voices male or female she is consistent with pronunciation love her.
As for my series Birth of the Fae , my first book Locked out of Heaven was done by SkyBoat Media - Stefan and Gabriela did mine and it was so much fun to have two narrators, I loved them. they were so professional and worked hand in hand with me to capture the tone of the story as well as Jarvok and Aurora's personalities. I adored how the final piece. They allowed me to read the dedication and acknowledgments. They added personal touches such as the "Chaos be with you" Gregorian chant sung by Jacob Rivera an up and coming opera signer and friend of mine. I cannot say enough about Skyboat.

Bethany Turner

I was fortunate enough to get to work with Talon David as the narrator on my 2021 romantic comedy novel, Plot Twist. As it turned out, Plot Twist was Talon's first audiobook narration (though she has worked on TONS of books since!) and she just knocked it out of the park. In addition to her VoiceOver work, Talon is a talented singer/songwriter, and there is a lyrical, compelling warmth in her performances. On top of all of that, she knows how to deliver a witty line and has flawless comedic timing, which is an incredible asset in rom-com! I was so glad my publisher (Thomas Nelson/HarperCollins) agreed with me that we shouldn't fix something that wasn't broken, so Talon also narrated my 2022 release, The Do-Over, and is the perfect voice to capture my characters' personalities. I'm sort of obsessed with her!

Georgie Blalock

My favorite audiobook narrator is Anne Marie Gideon. She has narrated all of my historical fiction novels, including The Other Windsor Girl, and she is a pleasure to work with. I love the way she brings my characters to life and it's a treat to have her special talents for my books.

Penny Haw

Lucy Rayner is an award-winning British actress and narrator who lives in Los Angeles. She narrated my historical fiction, The Invincible Miss Cust, which is based on the true story of Britain and Ireland's first female veterinary surgeon, Aleen Cust. Lucy won an Earphone Award for her work on the book. The judges commended her narration as follows:

"Narrator Lucy Rayner settles quickly and assuredly into the character of aristocratic Miss Aleen Isabel Cust who, from the age of six, is determined to ride and work with horses and other animals. From the late 1870s onward, Cust works tirelessly to overcome the hidebound male establishment and become the first woman veterinary surgeon in Britain and Ireland. Rayner adopts a melodic yet aristocratic air while voicing Cust, shifting accents for Edinburgh professors of veterinary medicine, obstinate London animal doctors, and accepting Irish husbandmen. Rayner becomes Cust as she narrates this engaging fictionalized biography set in northern England and Ireland, filled with vignettes about doctoring animals and aiding their owners throughout her thirty-year career."

Produced by Blackstone Publishing, the audio version of The Invincible Miss Cust exceeded my expectations. I cannot imagine anyone better suited to the role of Aleen—the book is written in the first person, so it’s told by Aleen Cust. Lucy’s tone captured and expressed Aleen’s aristocratic origins and irrepressible desire to become a veterinary surgeon. She captured the accents of other characters to perfection, moving between various English, Scottish and Irish pronunciations with ease and accuracy. Lucy became Aleen. In fact, I received a message from a Canadian listener who wrote, “I don’t know whether I am more in love with Aleen Cust or Lucy Rayner. Either way, it’s a lovely feeling and I'm not letting it go.”

The Invincible Miss Cust is the first of my books to have been adapted for audio. With Lucy Rayner at the mic, I couldn’t have wished for a better experience.

Kevin Howard

My favorite audiobook narrator is Carolyn Jania (http://www.carolynjania.com/), a wonderful actress and comedian based in Los Angeles. I met Carolyn when I was accepting auditions for the previous edition audiobook of Onward, At Last back in July 2020. More than 100 voice actors auditioned via the ACX platform (pipeline for Audible & iTunes). Carolyn’s audition of my commentary “And then she awakes” made the finalist cut of two inspired voice actors. At that time, I selected the other actor who had a voice like Morgan Freeman, which presented the voice of wisdom I sought. And yet I never forgot how Carolyn had internalized the content so intimately she became the voice of the trusted friend. In 2022, when I completed the current edition of Onward, At Last, professionally published by Atmosphere Press, I instantly knew Carolyn would be the voice for the new edition audiobook.

Picking a narrator for an audiobook project is as critical as the quality of the writing. How your narrator relates to the content is easily recognizable by the listeners. As a ravenous consumer of audiobooks, listening to a narrator who attributes authenticity to the content makes the difference between a memorable listening experience and a forgettable one. Since my book is a series of social commentaries asking the reader to reconsider their core American virtues of freedom, independence, self-interest, and competition, authenticity is the only currency I have to earn the consideration of the listener. Carolyn perfected the voice of a trusted friend conveying a series of often difficult messages to each listener personally. As the author, I could not be happier than to have Carolyn Jania as the narrator of Onward, At Last.