Narrator Vikas Adam joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to discuss Abdi Nazemian’s Only This Beautiful Moment, which he co-narrated along with Fajer Al-Kaisi and Iman Nazemzadeh. It’s one of AudioFile’s 2023 Best Young Adult Audiobooks, and each narrator gives a transcendent performance. It explores three generations of an Iranian family and is full of joy and anguish alike. Adam tells listeners about the preparation that went into recording this moving audiobook, working with his co-narrators, and what has stayed with him about narrating this work.

Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook, published by Harper Audio.

AudioFile’s 2023 Best Young Adult Audiobooks:

Ander & Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa, read by Avi Roque

For Lamb by Lesa Cline-Ransome, read by Tyla Collier, Kevin R. Free, Rebecca Lee, Jaime Lincoln Smith, Dion Graham, Angel Pean

Free Radicals by Lila Riesen, read by Gilli Messer

The Grimoire of Grave Fates by Hanna Alkaf, Margaret Owen [Eds.], read by January LaVoy, Nicky Endres

Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian, read by Vikas Adam, Fajer Al-Kaisi, Iman Nazemzadeh

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley, read by Isabella Star LaBlanc

Find the full list of 2023 Best Audiobooks on our website.

Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperAudio. Get up-close to artists you admire with Willie Nelson’s Energy Follows Thought, Melissa Etheridge’s Talking to My Angels, and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Worthy. Listen to samples at www.hc.com. https://www.harpercollins.com/

To listen to the whole archive of Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine, subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts.

Vikas Adam photo by Ilya S Savenok for Getty Images

Narrator Guy Lockard joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to discuss Stuntboy: In-Between Time, Jason Reynolds’s second audiobook about the adventures of an unforgettable young superhero. It’s one of AudioFile’s 2023 Best Children & Family Listening titles and is packed full of sound effects, music, a full cast—and Lockard’s lively narration. Listen to hear Lockard’s thoughts on what makes Stuntboy so special and his longtime friendship and collaboration with author Reynolds.

Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook , published by Simon & Schuster Audio.

AudioFile’s 2023 Best Children & Family Listening Audiobooks:

ELF DOG AND OWL HEAD by M.T. Anderson, read by Pete Cross

NIC BLAKE AND THE REMARKABLES: THE MANIFESTOR PROPHECY by Angie Thomas, read by Joniece Abbott-Pratt

REMEMBER US by Jacqueline Woodson, read by Jacqueline Woodson

SANDOR KATZ AND THE TINY WILD by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, June Jo Lee, read by Lori Prince, Sandor Katz

THE SKULL by Jon Klassen, read by Fairuza Balk, Jon Klassen [Afterword]

STUNTBOY, IN-BETWEEN TIME by Jason Reynolds, read by Guy Lockard, Nile Bullock, Angel Pean, James Fouhey, and a Full Cast

Find the full list of 2023 Best Audiobooks on our website: https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/best-audiobooks-2023/

Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperAudio. Get up-close to artists you admire with Willie Nelson’s Energy Follows Thought, Melissa Etheridge’s Talking to My Angels, and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Worthy. Listen to samples at www.hc.com. https://www.harpercollins.com/

To listen to the whole archive of Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine, subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts.

Guy Lockard photo by Miguel Herrera

Narrator Thérèse Plummer joins AudioFile’s Robin Whitten to discuss her narration of LOVE, THEORETICALLY by Ali Hazelwood. It’s one of AudioFile’s 2023 Best Romance Audiobooks, and a fun and flirty story set in MIT’s theoretical physics lab. Dr. Elsie Hannaway is miserable in her role as adjunct professor, dreaming of tenure. She poses as a fake girlfriend to make ends meet and meets an infamous experimentalist, Jack Smith. Plummer fully embodies Elsie, making listeners feel every bit of this enemies-to-lovers romance. Plummer tells listeners what she enjoyed most about narrating this audiobook, and how her own science background informed her narration.

Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook, published by Penguin Audio.

AudioFile’s 2023 Best Romance Audiobooks:

10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall, read by Will Watt

Even If The Sky Is Falling by Taj McCoy [Ed.], read by Adenrele Ojo, Soneela Nankani, Karen Murray, Marissa Hampton, Donnabella Mortel, Joy Beharie, Teddy Hamilton

Full Moon Over Freedom by Angelina M. Lopez, read by Stacy Gonzalez

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood, read by Thérèse Plummer

A Rake of His Own by A.J. Lancaster, read by Nicholas Boulton

Role Playing by Cathy Yardley, read by Chris Brinkley, Elyse Dinh

Find the full list of 2023 Best Audiobooks on our website: https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/best-audiobooks-2023/

Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperAudio. Get up-close to artists you admire with Willie Nelson’s Energy Follows Thought, Melissa Etheridge’s Talking to My Angels, and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Worthy. Listen to samples at www.hc.com. https://www.harpercollins.com/

To listen to the whole archive of Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine, subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts.

Thérèse Plummer photo courtesy of the narrator

Narrator Daniel Henning joins AudioFile’s Robin Whitten to discuss his narration of T.J. Klune’s In the Lives of Puppets, one of AudioFile’s 2023 Best Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Audiobooks. In the audiobook, Henning demonstrates perfect comedic timing and impressive vocal versatility in a sci-fi retelling of “Pinocchio.” It’s a laugh-out-loud and emotional audiobook that asks listeners to question what it means to be human. In this interview, Henning tells listeners about preparing to voice the characters, human and non-human, and the fun of bringing this queer Pinocchio retelling to life.

Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook, published by Macmillan Audio.

AudioFile’s 2023 Best Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Audiobooks:

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner, read by Kit Griffiths

Holly by Stephen King, read by Justine Lupe, Stephen King

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune, read by Daniel Henning

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang, read by Emily Woo Zeller

Silver Nitrate by  Silvia Morena-Garcia, read by Gisela Chipe

Translation State by Ann Leckie, read by Adjoa Andoh

Find the full list of 2023 Best Audiobooks on our website: https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/best-audiobooks-2023/

Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperAudio. Get up-close to artists you admire with Willie Nelson’s Energy Follows Thought, Melissa Etheridge’s Talking to My Angels, and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Worthy. Listen to samples at www.hc.com. https://www.harpercollins.com/

To listen to the whole archive of Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine, subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts.

Daniel Henning photo by Stephen Mosher.

Narrator Adenrele Ojo joins AudioFile’s Robin Whitten to discuss narrating Stacey Abrams’s Rogue Justice. It’s one of AudioFile’s 2023 Best Mystery & Suspense Audiobooks and an intense listening experience. Ojo returns to portray the smart, feisty Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene. Abrams has written a complex plot that sweeps Avery into a dangerous situation, this time involving a threat to the power grid. Ojo discusses the fun and challenges of narrating mystery series, and what she loves best about narrating suspense audiobooks.

Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook, published by Random House Audio.

AudioFile’s 2023 Best Mystery & Suspense Audiobooks: 

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby, read by Adam Lazarre-White

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton, read by Saskia Maarleveld

Dead Man’s Pose by Susan Rogers & John Roosen, read by Rupert Degas

Rogue Justice by Stacey Abrams, read by Adenrele Ojo

The Secret Hours by Mick Herron, read by Gerard Doyle

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto, read by Eunice Wong

Find the full list of 2023 Best Audiobooks on our website: https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/best-audiobooks-2023/

Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperAudio. Get up-close to artists you admire with Willie Nelson’s Energy Follows Thought, Melissa Etheridge’s Talking to My Angels, and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Worthy. Listen to samples at www.hc.com. https://www.harpercollins.com/

To listen to the whole archive of Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine, subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts.

Adenrele Ojo photo by Michael Roud Photography

Narrator Grover Gardner joins AudioFile’s Robin Whitten to discuss his narration of John McPhee’s Tabula Rasa, one of the 2023 Best Nonfiction & History Audiobooks. It’s an audio collection of essays and sketches that brings two storytellers together for a memorable listen. Gardner discusses the challenges of recording an audiobook that ranges over so many topics, and how McPhee’s storytelling style is so well suited to audio.

Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook, published by Recorded Books.

AudioFile’s 2023 Best Nonfiction & History Audiobooks:

Differ We Must by Steve Inskeep, read by Steve Inskeep

Misbelief by Dan Ariely, read by Simon Jones

Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond, read by Dion Graham

Tabula Rasa by John McPhee, read by Grover Gardner

The Wager by David Grann, read by Dion Graham

Wasteland by Oliver Franklin-Wallis, read by Chris Harper

Find the full list of 2023 Best Audiobooks on our website: https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/best-audiobooks-2023/

Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperAudio. Get up-close to artists you admire with Willie Nelson’s Energy Follows Thought, Melissa Etheridge’s Talking to My Angels, and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Worthy. Listen to samples at www.hc.com. https://www.harpercollins.com/

To listen to the whole archive of Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine, subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts.

Photo of Grover Gardner courtesy of the narrator

Narrator Dion Graham joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to discuss his narration of King: A Life, written by Jonathan Eig, and one of AudioFile’s 2023 Best Biography & Memoir Audiobooks. Listen to hear Graham discussing the research and preparations that went into this narration, and the challenges he faced bringing it to life. It’s a riveting audiobook, and Graham emulates the majestic cadence of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches. It’s a monumental biography performed exquisitely by a Golden Voice narrator.

Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook, published by Macmillan Audio.

AudioFile’s 2023 Best Biography & Memoir Audiobooks:

The Art Thief by Michael Finkel, read by Edoardo Ballerini, Michael Finkel

How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair, read by Safiya Sinclair

King: A Life by Jonathan Eig, read by Dion Graham

Making It So by Patrick Stewart, read by Patrick Stewart

While You Were Out by Meg Kissinger, read by Meg Kissinger

Why Fathers Cry at Night by Kwame Alexander, read by Kwame Alexander

Find the full list of 2023 Best Audiobooks on our website: https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/best-audiobooks-2023/

Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperAudio. Get up-close to artists you admire with Willie Nelson’s Energy Follows Thought, Melissa Etheridge’s Talking to My Angels, and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Worthy. Listen to samples at www.hc.com. https://www.harpercollins.com/

To listen to the whole archive of Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine, subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts.

Photo of Dion Graham by Max Flatow

Narrator Helen Laser joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to discuss her narration of Yellowface, R.F. Kuang’s novel with a sharp look at the publishing world and one of AudioFile’s 2023 Best Fiction Audiobooks. Laser gives a mesmerizing performance as June Hayward, a struggling author who steals her dead friend’s manuscript, passing it off as her own, and publishing it while pretending she is Asian. It’s a riveting production of a thrilling and thought-provoking story. Laser shares the challenges of narrating Yellowface, and what has stayed with her about this audiobook.

Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook, published by Harper Audio.

AudioFile’s 2023 Best Fiction Audiobooks:

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, read by Shayna Small, Aaron Goodson, Michael Crouch, Lee Osorio

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, read by Dominic Hoffman

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai, read by Julia Whelan, JD Jackson

The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor, read by Kevin R. Free

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, read by Meryl Streep

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, read by Helen Laser

Find the full list of 2023 Best Audiobooks on our website: https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/best-audiobooks-2023/

Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperAudio. Get up-close to artists you admire with Willie Nelson’s Energy Follows Thought, Melissa Etheridge’s Talking to My Angels, and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Worthy. Listen to samples at www.hc.com. https://www.harpercollins.com/

To listen to the whole archive of Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine, subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts.

Photo of Helen Laser by John DeAmara.

Author, illustrator, and narrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to tell listeners about transforming his graphic memoir Sunshine into a moving full-cast audiobook. Sunshine is Krosoczka’s second graphic memoir, sharing his experience working at a camp for terminally ill children and the joy of the friendships he made there. It’s a powerful listen, and in this interview, Krosoczka tells listeners about the challenges of transforming a visual memoir into an audio experience.

Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook.

AudioFile’s 2023 Best Audio Originals 2023 are:

Alison Bechdel’s Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel, Madeleine George, read by Jane Lynch, Carrie Brownstein, Roberta Colindrez, Roxane Gay, and a Full Cast

Exodus: The Shanghai Jews by Kate McAll, read by Edita Brychta, Michael Canavan, Shannon Cochran, Arye Gross, Anna Mathias, Alan Shearman, André Sogliuzzo, Joanne Whalley

The Scavenger Door by Suzanne Palmer, read by Karen Novack, John Kielty, Rayner Gabriel, Gail Shalan, and a Full Cast

Sunshine by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, read by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Jaiden Meltzer, Xavier Krosoczka, Noah Rico, and a Full Cast

Third Eye by Felicia Day, read by Sean Astin, Felicia Day, Neil Gaiman, LilyPichu, London Hughes, Wil Wheaton, and a Full Cast

Find the full list of 2023 Best Audiobooks on our website: https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/best-audiobooks-2023/

Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus, https://www.harpercollinsfocus.com/  and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, https://www.harpercollinschristian.com/ publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Zachary Levi, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Willie Nelson, and so many more!

To listen to the whole archive of Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine, subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts.

Photo of Jarrett J. Krosoczka courtesy of StudioJJK.

AudioFile’s Robin Whitten joins host Jo Reed to discuss AudioFile’s 2023 Best Audiobooks. Tune in to learn how the winning audiobooks were chosen out of the thousands reviewed this year, and to catch Robin and Jo sharing their favorites from the list and discussing upcoming interviews with the narrators of some of this year’s honored titles.

Find the full list of the Best Audiobooks of 2023 at AudioFile.

Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus, https://www.harpercollinsfocus.com/  and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, https://www.harpercollinschristian.com/ publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Zachary Levi, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Willie Nelson, and so many more!

To listen to the whole archive of Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine, subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts.