May 25th 2010, the venue was the Museum of the City of New York where the Audies for the best audio books were awarded. Each year, the Audio Publishers Association presents awards, sometimes called the Oscars to the best transcriptions of the written word to the spoken word. At one time, the Audies were known as 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. In February 2008, Patrick announced that he had been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer and sadly, he passed away in September 2009 at the age of 57.

The Audie for the best Audiobook Of The Year was awarded to Favourite African Folktales by Nelson Mandela.

Audie Award for best produced audiobook.

In the mix for best produced audiobooks were: The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis, and The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett.

The interesting thing about The Maltese Falcon is that the narration is performed by a full cast from the 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 narration takes three and a half hours.

The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis is narrated by Ralph Cosham and is a satire on theology with a portrayal of human life filled with wit but quite serious at the same time. The narration takes three and a half hours.

The Audie for the best produced audiobook went to The Help by Kathleen Stockett.

FICTION

Two of the most interesting nominations in the fiction category have both been made into feature films..

The story of a wealthy millionaire and his downfall is told by Tom Woilfe in The Bonfire of the Vanities.

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. The narration is performed by a full cast.

The Audie in the Fiction category was awarded to The Help by Kathleen Stockett.

THRILLER/SUSPENSE

Greg Iles is a prolific author of crime and thriller novels and one of his works, The Devil’s Punchbowl was nominated in the Thriller/Suspense category. The story is about a small town in Mississippi where gambling on a steamboat casino is not what it seems.

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.