Best Audiobook: Non-Fiction Memoir
The winner and shortlist for the Best Audiobook: Non-Fiction Memoir category at The British Audio Awards - aka the Speakies - organised by The Bookseller and The Stage
For non-fiction titles that are autobiographies, memoirs, and life-stories. The audiobook categories celebrate the process from text to listener, including the work of the narrator and audio production team.
Winner
Careless People
Sarah Wynn-Williams
Macmillan
Sarah Wynn-Williams
Strathmore & Perrin Sledge
The compelling audiobook of this memoir was not just one of the ways to hear Sarah Wynn-Williams’ voice: after former employer Meta secured a gagging order, it was the only way. Production at Strathmore Studios had to be done in top secret, and Pan Macmillan took excellent care of the author-narrator throughout.
“This feels like the audiobook of the moment,” said the judges. “The narration is just brilliant and added so much to the story… everything was really well handled.”
Shortlist
Default Step
I'll Never Call Him Dad Again
Caroline Darian
LEAP
Heather Long
Charlotte Brown
With exceptional courage, Darian recounts the earth-shattering discovery that a loved one, her own father, is capable of the worst. The publisher worked with ID Audio to find the perfect voice, Heather Long, who delivered a performance with empathy, emotion and sincerity.
I Love You, Byeee
Adam Buxton
Mudlark
Adam Buxton
Fionnuala Barrett
Follow up to the bestselling Ramble Book, and read by the author. This is the perfect medium for Buxton. Audio includes "hours of bonus waffle and original music".
Patriot
Alexei Navalny, trans. Arch Tait and Stephen Dalziel
Penguin Audio
Matthew Goode
N/a
Read by actor Matthew Goode, this book is a testament to the indomitable spirit of Alexei Navalny. Goode’s performance conveyed the difficult and heartbreaking narrative with sensitivity and depth, mimicking Navalny’s trademark lightness.
Still Beautiful
Katie Piper
DK RED
Katie Piper
Kate MacDonald
Piper reflects on what it means to age well within a world that has too often made women feel irrelevant or invisible for going through the natural ageing process. Read by the author, and recorded at Evolution Studios with award-winning producer Kate MacDonald.
The Lives of Lee Miller
Antony Penrose
WF Howes
Esther Wane, Adam Grayson
N/a
Originally published in 1985, the book had never been published in audio format. WF Howes, acquired rights from the print publisher, and cast skilled voice actors Adam Grayson and Esther Wane, for what was a complex, but rewarding, project.
Careless People
Sarah Wynn-Williams
Macmillan
Sarah Wynn-Williams
Strathmore Studios/Perrin Sledge
With the book’s very existence a closely guarded secret, the audiobook has to be recorded in complete privacy, with Strathmore Studios operating under a project code name and strict NDAs. For the author, the decision to narrate was a profound one, made more so by the gagging order placed on her post publication.
