The annual Audies awards for the best audiobook titles took place in the Museum of the City of New York on May 25, 2010. The Audies are sometimes called the Oscars of the audiobook genre, and are the only awards program in the United States which is entirely devoted to the transcription of the written word to the spoken word. The Audies were once called The Spoken Word Awards.The Audies are awarded annually at a gala dinner hosted by The Audio Publishers Association. There were 30 categories this year, which is one less than in 2009, and include, Audiobook of the Year, Literary Fiction, Romance, Biography, and Distinguished Achievement in Production.
AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR.One of the runners up for the Audiobook Of The Year award was the Patrick Swayze biography entitled Time Of My Life The audiobook, which is 6 hours in length, is narrated by Patrick Swayze and he recounts his life story from his early upbringing in Texas to his successful career as a Hollywood actor. Early in 2008, it was reported that Patrick had contracted cancer of the pancreas and in late 2009, he passed away at the age of 57.The winner of the Audiobook of the Year was Nelson Mandela's Favourite African Folktales. DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTIONTwo of the nominations for distinguished achievement awards are: The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, and The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis. The Maltese Falcon is performed by a full cast from the award winning Hollywood Theatre. This is a story about a private detective named Sam Spade who has been portrayed by Humphrey Bogart in the film of the same name. The production lasts for three hours and thirty minutes.Ralph Cosham narrates The Screwtape Letters which is a funny story with a spiritual theme running through it. The narration takes three and a half hours. The Audie for the best produced audiobook went to The Help by Kathleen Stockett.
Audie For Best Fiction AudiobookHollywood has produced movies from two of the nominations in the fiction category. The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe is an American satire about the fall from wealth and prestige of a Wall Street millionaire who tries to cover up a hit and run accident in a New York ghetto. The narration by Joe Barrett, lasts for twenty seven hours.A TV quiz show in India is the backdrop for The Slumdog Millionaire which transforms the life of a young man from rags to riches. This audiobook features a full cast production and lasts for two hours and twenty minutes.The winner of the Fiction category was also The Help by Kathleen Stockett.
Audie for the Thriller and Suspense Category.
One of the better known nominations in the Thriller category was The Devil's Punchbowl by Greg Iles. Greg Iles tells the story about a gambling steamboat where strange things are going on.This is quite a long story and the narration lasts for 24 hours.The winner in the Thriller/Suspense category was Darling Jim by Christian Moerk, and narrated by Stephen Hoye and Justine Eyre.
A complete list of Audie winners and nominations is on the website of the Audio Publishers Association.T
Many of the audio books nominated for Audies can be found at http://www.best-audiobooks.com
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