Audiobooks

There are so many fantastic audiobooks being produced at the moment, across so many genres, that it's hard to know where to start listening. Fortunately, every year, the judges of the Audie Awards pick out some of the very best. Here, Michele Cobb, Executive Director of the Audio Publishers Association, talks us through some of the 2021 winners, including the 'audiobook of the year.'

With most people carrying smartphones these days, entering the world of audiobooks has never been easier. Some are straightforward narrations of a book, but when an audiobook is done well, it can be an extraordinary, all-encompassing experience. Here Robin Whitten, editor of AudioFile magazine—the best resource for finding good quality audiobooks on the web, in our view—talks us through her picks for the best audiobooks of 2020, chosen from the hundreds they've reviewed over the course of the year.

When you listen to presidential memoirs as audiobooks, you can often hear an American president telling you their own story. Veteran audiobook reviewer Robin Whitten, editor of Audiofile magazine, recommends the best audiobooks about US presidents, and explains the crucial role of professional narrators in bringing big books to life.

If your idea of an audiobook is a single narrator reading a book out loud, think again. These days many audiobooks are created as dramatic performances with a cast of dozens. Veteran audiobook reviewers Robin Whitten and Mary Burkey talk us through the finalists of the 2020 Audie Awards' 'multi-voiced performance' category—and the books that have been brought to life by dedicated teams of actors, editors and producers.

Whether you're on a car journey or sitting on the sofa together at home, listening to audiobooks with kids can be an incredible experience. Some will make you laugh, some will make you weep. Many will help us develop empathy for other human beings in the world around us. Here Emily Connelly, Assistant Editor at AudioFile, talks us through the magazine's choices of the best audiobooks for kids of 2020.

Audiobooks are a great way to keep teenagers entertained and informed. Mary Burkey, an expert on kids' audiobooks, and Robin Whitten, editor and founder of AudioFile magazine, talk us through the wonderful titles that were finalists in this year's Audie Awards in the 'Young Adult' category.