"Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales," won the prestigious "Audio Book of the Year" award at Tuesday's 15th Annual Audio Publishers Association's yearly competition for the best in spoken-word entertainment.
Mandela, the former president of South Africa, selected 32 traditional tales aimed at listeners in grades one through five. They embody what Mandela called, "the gritty essence of Africa," and are read for Hatchette Audio by such distinguished actors as Samuel L. Jackson, Helen Mirren and Don Cheadle.
This is the second year in a row that children's literature has triumphed. Last year's "Audio Book of the Year" was Neil Gaiman's "The Graveyard Book," targeted for 10-year-olds. Reading his own book, "Odd and the Frost Giants," Gaiman walked off with the prize this year for "Best Narration by an Author."
Another top award went to "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett, which in its print version has been on The New York Times' bestseller list for more than a year. "The Help" received the "Distinguished Achievement in Production" award for Penguin Audio as well as the award for "General Fiction." It featured numerous readers including Jenna Lamia, this year's "Solo Narration - Female," winner. Her performance in "The Help," was described as "flawless."
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A familiar favorite, Dashiell Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon," was cited as the best "Audiobook Adaptation." This multi-voiced production for Blackstone Audio included Edward Herrmann and Sandra Oh. "Wolf Hall," by Hilary Mantell, winner of the highly regarded British Man Booker Prize, received the award in "Literary Fiction." It was read by Simon Slater for Macmillan Audio.
Popular mystery writer Walter Mosley's "Devil in a Blue Dress," took the award in the mystery category for Audible Inc. It was read by Michael Boatman.
The winner for "Biography/Memoir" was "Anne Frank Remembered" by Miep Gies and Alison Leslie Gold. "Children's Tales for Ages up to 8" won for "Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken" by Kate DiCamillo. Both were read by Barbara Rosenblat, a favorite of audio fans and a frequent winner of "Solo Narration - Female."
The "Solo Narration - Male" went to Charlton Griffin whose winning performance came with a reading for Blackstone Audio of the Charles Dickens classic, "Great Expectations".
Altogether top efforts in spoken-word publishing were recognized in 30 categories.
All the winners will be listed online at www. audiopub.org
