Audies History
Below, on this page and the next, are all the Audie nominations and finalists I have read since 2002.
If you want to go straight to particular years you can page down or go back to the drop down menu above and click on the individual years….
2010 Audies – May 25th NYC
While there are four books listed here I suppose I should, more honestly, have put “two and two bits”! I read one of The Canterbury Tales (The Clerk) and the preamble or introduction to The Turn of the Screw. Kushiel’s Scion and The Midnight Charter are both solo narrations… keeping my fingers crossed.
The Midnight Charter by David Whitley
From the Publisher:
In a society based on trade, where everything can be bought and sold, the future rests on the secrets of a single document-and the lives of two children whose destiny it is to discover its secrets. In this spellbinding novel, newcomer David Whitley has imagined a nation at a crossroads: misshaped by materialism and facing a choice about its future. He has brought to life two children who will test the nation’s values-and crafted a spellbinding adventure story that will keep readers turning the pages until the very end.
For readers who love Philip Pullman, THE MIDNIGHT CHARTER combines great storytelling with a compelling vision – a many layered adventure with powerful and timely implications.
From AudioFile Magazine:
Young readers who enjoy tales of mystery and fantasy will find much to admire in Whitley’s story, which follows the fortunes of Lily and Mark as they struggle to survive in the isolated city-state of Agora. While the two seem to be on different paths—Lily is devoted to service while Mark strives for personal power—a dark prophecy known only by a powerful few binds them together. Simon Vance’s thoughtful, unrushed narration is the perfect foil for the book’s brooding atmosphere. Vance is a master narrator who brings characters of every type to life. M.L.K. 2010 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2010
Kushiel’s Scion by Jacqueline Carey
From AudioFile Magazine:
Imriel was once a pirates’ slave. It’s no wonder that he’s sometimes unpredictable and seemingly lost in a dark place—but he’s always loyal to the few he calls friends. During his sojourns, he studies at university and then travels to a friend’s wedding, ending up in a city under siege. There he fights for his life in an army led by a friend who has been possessed by the spirit of a dead general. In the hands of Simon Vance, this long book never lags. He’s adept at creating characters that quickly become familiar. His narrative voice is intimate and confiding. During the long preparation for the sustained siege, Vance keeps the action fresh and steady. J.E.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2009
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
From AudioFile Magazine:
Simon Vance reads the brief frame story of James’s novella; Vanessa Benjamin narrates the story itself, told by a governess who believes the evil ghosts of a former governess and servant stalk the young children in her charge. Both narrators are skilled and capable, and render James’s complex prose as clearly as it would be on the page, if not more so. Benjamin conveys the classic question of the governess’s reliability by making her voice pleasant and reasonable yet increasingly self-justifying and high-strung. However, her lower-class accent for the estate’s housekeeper is too broad, and the accent she gives the children seems oddly coarse. But through her narration the eerie, claustrophobic effect of James’s tale is heightened—just what a good audiobook should do. W.M. 2010 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2009
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
From the Publisher:
At the Tabard Inn, thirty travelers of widely varying classes and occupations are gathering to make the annual pilgrimage to Becket’s shrine at Canterbury. It is agreed that each traveler will tell four tales to help pass the time and that the host of the inn will judge the tales and reward the best storyteller with a free supper upon their return.
Thus we hear, translated into modern English, twenty-some tales, told in the voices of knight and merchant, wife and miller, squire and nun, and many more. Some are bawdy, some spiritual, some romantic, some mysterious, some chivalrous. Between the stories, the travelers converse, joke, and argue, revealing much of their individual outlooks upon life as well as what life was like in late fourteenth-century England.
Featuring:
Martin Jarvis as Chaucer
Jay Karnes as the Knight
Ray Porter as the Miller, the Summoner, and the Monk
John Lee as the Reeve, the Physician, and the Nun’s Priest
Malcolm Hillgartner as the Cook, the Merchant, the Pardoner, and the Canon’s Yeoman
Ralph Cosham as the Lawyer
Amelia White as the Wife of Bath
Mathew Wolf as the Friar, the Squire, the Sailor, and the Manciple
Simon Vance as the Clerk
Kenneth Danziger as the Merchant
W. Morgan Sheppard as the Franklin
Carolyn Seymour as the Prioress
Rosalyn Ayres as the Second Nun
Mark Bramhall as the Parson
2009 Audies – Two Books: One Category
Although I had two books in the running I was only going to win once as they were both in the Classics category… Of course, I could have come out with nothing – but Dickens came through and I won with Great Expectations.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
From AudioFile magazine:
This classic about young Pip’s aspirations to become a gentleman and wed Estella and fate’s different designs for him is familiar to many as a television drama and a movie. Simon Vance brings a whole new dimension to the story as he imbues each character with a unique voice, and with exquisite diction provides listeners with a totally new experience. Every detail, every nuance is accorded importance, and lines, even paragraphs, that might have been skipped when reading the book to oneself, or omitted entirely in film, are given their due in this performance. Vance takes the work of the great writer and delivers it to listeners with a full cast of authentic characters and terrific attention to the writing itself. S.S.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2009 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2008
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
From AudioFile Magazine:
One of the most famous of the original nineteenth-century gothic horror novels, this story follows glamorous and youthful Dorian Gray, who becomes corrupted by the fear of his own mortality. Soon, he discovers that while his portrait may age, he will not, a knowledge that leads to his ultimate downfall. Simon Vance’s portrayal of each character is spot-on. His Lord Henry is casual, dismissive, and haughty. His Basil Hallward, the artist infatuated with Dorian, comes across as timid and pitiful but always endearing. Best of all, Vance’s Dorian Gray exudes youth and impetuousness at the beginning, but quickly darkens once the character’s madness takes hold. While at times seeming the slightest bit rushed, Vance nonetheless finds the essence of each character, making Wilde’s work a delightfully creepy listen. A.H.A. 2009 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2008
2008 Audies – Can’t take all the credit
This was my second Audie win and I was more than happy to share the honors with an excellent team of narrators: Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy and Euan Morton amongst others. Had ‘The Terror’ been victorious that would not have been entirely due to my narration either as it was nominated for best abridgment (one of the few abridged novels I have recorded).
