2025 Audie Award Finalists
Audie Awards recognize the best books in audiobook form, often elevating the written word by the audio performance. Check out a selection of the finalists for 2025, with the full list available at https://www.audiopub.org/2025audies! Annotations from AudioFile, unless otherwise attributed.
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The Angel of Indian Lake
JUDGES CATEGORY: HORROR In this trilogy, which uses the horror genre to explore generational trauma, Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota actor Isabella Star LaBlanc leads an ensemble cast. Listeners return to Proofrock, Idaho, "murder capital of America."
Format: Downloadable Audiobook
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Bury your Gays
JUDGES CATEGORY: HORROR Narrator André Santana skillfully performs a thrilling Hollywood horror novel. Screenwriter Misha Byrne has just received an ultimatum from the studio executives--their algorithm says to kill off his beloved queer TV characters, or else. Misha refuses, and Santana captures his initial anger, then his terror as he suddenly finds himself facing deadly characters from his horror films.
Format: Downloadable Audiobook
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A Darker Shade of Noir
JUDGES CATEGORY: HORROR Joyce Carol Oates assembles an outstanding cast of authors—including Margaret Atwood, Tananarive Due, and Megan Abbott—to explore, subvert, and reinvent one of the most vital subgenres of horror. (NoveList Plus)
Format: eBook
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I Was A Teenage Slasher
JUDGES CATEGORY: HORROR Texas-born and raised, narrator Michael Crouch draws on his roots to bring the title character of this audiobook to life. In mournful tones, Tolly Driver recounts the events of the summer of 1989, when a peanut-infused Coke nearly kills him (he's allergic) and ultimately triggers a gruesome revenge rampage against the bullies who forced it on him.
Format: Downloadable Audiobook
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Swarm
JUDGES CATEGORY: HORROR As butterfly-like creatures multiply and swarm outside, 16-year-old Shur must find the strength to keep her family and friends safe and protect their home at any cost, but before long, she realizes the creatures aren't the only thing trying to get in. (NoveList Plus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Devil Is Fine
LITERARY FICTION & CLASSICS Acclaimed narrator Dion Graham performs this dynamic, artfully crafted novel about a biracial author/academic who becomes the owner of a plantation on the Delmarva Peninsula after the death of his son.
Format: Downloadable Audiobook
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James
LITERARY FICTION & CLASSICS Dominic Hoffman narrates this reimagining of ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, but this time Jim tells his own story.
Format: Downloadable Audiobook
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Martyr!
LITEARY FICTION & CLASSICS Iranian American actor Arian Moayed gives the performance of a lifetime in poet Kaveh Akbar's extraordinary debut novel. Cyrus Shams is a queer Iranian American poet in recovery who is grieving the long-ago death of his mother (killed when the U.S. Navy shot down a civilian Iranian plane) and struggling to find meaning in life. He becomes obsessed with the idea of martyrdom and decides to write a book about it.
Format: Downloadable Audiobook
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The Mighty Red
LITERARY FICTION & CLASSICS In Argus, North Dakota, a wedding intertwines the lives of Gary, Kismet, Hugo, and Crystal. Amidst personal struggles and love triangles, they face broader themes of time, climate change, and economic turmoil. The novel explores the complexities of ordinary people in a prairie community, highlighting their dreams, struggles, and resilience. (NoveList Plus)
Format: Downloadable Audiobook
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Pachinko
LITERARY FICTION & CLASSICS When executed as beautifully as this one, multigenerational novels are all consuming in the best way. Sandra Oh's performance of this audiobook makes the experience even more immersive. When young Sunja is saved from ruin and moves from Korea to Japan, a family tale begins and proceeds through four generations in the early 20th century.
Format: Downloadable Audiobook
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