Tran11 primetime, tonight 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan. Lets more people expense great stories. For people who cant read yet. You are off the reason that 50 of americans listen to an audiobook in 2019, so heres to all of you, heres two amazing audiobooks and heres to 25 years of the audio world. Ladies and document, we are thrilled to introduce this evening im a master of ceremonies, the witty and wonderful mr. Rocca. A correspondent for cbs sunday morning. Frequent catalyst on npr show, dont tell me. Is the author and narrator of the recent New York Times bestseller, obituary. I audio. Hes also the host of the podcast. We are excited to have him as our host this evening. Without further ado, mo rocca. [cheering] [applause] thank you, thank you. This is kind of a dream for me, i have to say. [cheering] here i am in this fabulous venue in front of this crowd and stephen king is here. [cheering] [applause] i feel like carrie when she was asked to prom. [laughter] anyway, i think given the royal treatment, they sent a car for me. How nice is that . Christine, ill be out and about two hours. Christine answered back, nice. The 25th anniversary of the audio awards and things have never been better for this publishing industry. Its growing by weeps and pounds. Seven years of double digit growth, 45000 titles last year along with revenues of over 1 billion. [cheering] in the High School Cafeteria that is the publishing world, the audiobook people are sitting at the cool kids table. [cheering] and evil people are begging for lunch money. [laughter] the book people dont need your pity, they just need something to eat. [laughter] in a sign of how hot audiobooks have become, termites nominees include some serious star power, meryl streep is nominated for that tonight. Exciting. She is nominated for reading charlottes web. I hear spider is amazing. [laughter] thank you. That category audiobook of the year is super starstudded, tom hanks is in that category, pleading and duct house. I dont know what that is about but im sure tom hanks made it supremely likable. I mean, he could read the unit bombers manifesto and you would think, i kind of like this guy. Nominated for the testament, the sequel to the handmaids tale. [applause] that sounds really fun. [laughter] who else in different categories . Who else is in that category . Michelle obama, thats great. She has a book out . [laughter] i hope you can find it, while. Anyway, meryl streep was so good reading charlottes web that shes already been hired to narrate the sequel. Pet cemetery. [laughter] thats pretty good, right . It makes perfect sense we are honoring stephen king tonight, not only for his early and said last audience but also commitment we are currently the me through something out of stephen king horror. [laughter] [applause] i know youre asking which nightmare i am referring to. [laughter] the one that has us all shaking hands with our elbows. Just curious, i havent read stan, how did things turn out . [laughter] maybe ill skip that. Okay. Demi moore is nominated tonight, which is fitting because when i think of the audiobook publishing, i think of demi moore rolling around her bed coaches all over a pile of cash. [laughter] ebooks people are just watching. [laughter] they dont get to touch. Then there are the real audiobook stars, not the johnnycomelately trying to train. Im talking real audiobook voices. [cheering] back it up, hollywood. [applause] the master of hydration, thats what hes known as. I met him earlier and let me tell you, his voice is so handsome. [laughter] last years male and female narrators are here. [cheering and applauding] bonnie and simon are here. [cheering] they are both in the narrator hall of fame. Although, i wonder why theres an star next to simons name, i think he was tested positive, thats what i heard. [laughter] it was a really long book he had to read, give her a break. Joe is here. [cheering and applauding] as is the voice january the boy. [cheering and applauding] january lavoie, my only disappointment is that these awards didnt happen two months ago because then i would have been able to say, i really think this is her month. [laughter] you okay, bad joke i guess. Hillary uber is nominated. [cheering] for best female narrator. Hillary is also running the voice of god introductions tonight, so for everyones sake, i really hope she wins. You dont want an angry voice of god. No, you dont, mo. You dont want to make me angry, mo. [laughter] you wouldnt like her when shes angry. [laughter] please reveal your self so we can worship you. [cheering] [cheering and applauding] where she going . She sitting down. All right. Now for a little history. While the awards began 25 years ago, the audiobook itself goes back much further. The very first work of western literature was an audiobook. Im talking about the iliad is read by homer. [laughter] they wanted jones but he was unavailable. As anyone who took High School Latin can tell you, his work was intended to be heard, not read. They received raves as the odyssey, homer had a twopronged deal. Go with her. Its whimsical. [laughter] there was a problem, though. This being 800 d. C. , there is no such thing as recorded sound. Listeners had to find him and get him to recite his work, lives. He was blind, he was just wandering around so we never knew where to find him. West just say, he could be very cranky, especially when you poked him to get him back or asked him to read at iix. [laughter] needless to say, this was not a solid business plan. You could say it was an epic fail. [laughter] are there any librarians here . You guys love it. Librarians have my back. Fastforward 2785 years to the dawn of the modern audiobook, over schuster audio, their very first title in 1985 was a total brother, youll remember, how to get your. Across in 30 seconds or less by franco milo. They want to do jones but he was busy doing voiceovers for cnn. A decade later, the first audio awards among the winners was the original post cbs sunday morning, charles. Im very proud to be on that show and that brings the subject to me. I recorded my own audiobook this year, thank you. [cheering and applauding] great lives worth reliving. I have requested jim dale, not because of harry potter book because i saw him in the original cast of barnum when i was 12 and he was superb. But he was busy doing something with harry potter, i think. I ended up recording my own audiobook start to finish. It was a revelatory experience. One thing i discovered how many words id been mispronouncing my whole life. [laughter] i thought the word was rococo its actually rococo. I thought it was a myopic, its a biopic. I thought the word was posthumous which i know sounds like daffy duck but its actually posthumous. To be clear, i wrote a book of obituaries and i didnt know how to pronounce that. [laughter] fortunately, i had a terrific producer, scott. [cheering] and scott took me by the tongue and helped guide me through a creative process, which is much more nuanced than i realized, a form of communication all on its own. Part retelling, part acting, holy engaging with an audience thats unseen with your voice, your heart and your soul. All while doing your best not to pop your peas. Okay. So i am proud to be here to celebrate all of tonight nominees. [cheering and applauding] alex find out who actually want. Most of the awards will be acknowledged by the winners standing at the tables for applause. Lets practice how we are going to acknowledge winners. Will all of the judges with us tonight please stand and be recognized for their hard work. [cheering and applauding] we couldnt do any of this without you. All right. Right job. Just one more practice session, all of tonight on a list in the audience, please stand and be recognized. [cheering and applauding] i get to get off tonight with a special acknowledgment, this year we heard from audiobook lovers all over the world as they voted on social media for their favor audiobook. The peoples choice recognition goes to Penguin Random house audio for becoming. [cheering and applauding] people have spoken. Now is my pleasure to introduce the first presenters of the evening. Jared j is the nominated author of hey kiddo, a National BookAward Finalist in one the odyssey award. Jareds grandfather used to say they would name him oscar, his name would have been oscar for sasha, a great way to learn to pronounce his last name, assuming you have an accent. [laughter] mo willems awardwinning books, he currently serves the Kennedy CenterFirst Education artist in residence, thanks to nprs one mo, no. Show, you get to be a contestant on wait, wait dont tell me. That needs to change because hes fantastic. These welcome jared and the other mo. [cheering and applauding] thank you. Nonfiction has been described as trying to write the truth and make it read like fiction. These finalists have certainly created a world for us to learn from. The finalists were nonfiction are nonfiction, jennifer bailey, by karen and jennifer. What they tell us about ourselves. Narrative by gantner. The perfect predator and thomas and lisa booker. Band one. [cheering and applauding] talking with strangers, written and narrated by gladwell. We are the weather, written and narrated by jonathan. And nonfiction goes to mcmillion audio. [cheering and applauding] [cheering and applauding] those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. If so, how do they know they are repeating it . [laughter] also history written by the winter which seems little unkind to the finalist. [laughter] however, the finalists are. History, American Revolution narrated by stephen. [cheering] by brad and josh, narrated. Narrated by hilary. [cheering] [cheering and applauding] dan and david fisher, narrated by roger. [cheering and applauding] the history biography envelope, i opened up and assess harbor audio for american movies. [cheering and applauding] [applause] finalist for autobiography memoir are autobiography memoir. Be kind, rain and narrated by shel obama. [cheering and applauding] narrated by elton john. [cheering and applauding] ring and narrated. [cheering and applauding] one goes to Penguin Random house for becoming by michelle obama. [cheering and applauding] shy. Our next presenter, marcus samuel, acclaimed chef at restaurants worldwide, marcus montreal marcus bmp and work new jersey and opened a new one and miami, creator of the audible original from our harlem, samuelson was also the youngest person to ever receive a three star review from the New York Times and one multiple Foundation Want putting best chef new york city. Season two of his pbs show, no passport required is out now to watch online at pbs. Org. Please welcome to the stage, marcus. [cheering and applauding] thank you. This is the first time im doing this, to give me a chance here. Im very excited, the finalists, personal department are Business Personal Development by Michael Houlahan and rick krishna. By alameda. Comp the f down. A leader side to the real world, written and narrated by buckingham. So you want to start a fight . Ring and narrated by kristin. [applause] the audio goes to harbor audio, you want to start a podcast. [cheering and applauding] we would all go insane. The finalists for humor is humor, written and narrated. [cheering and applauding] by clary. [cheering and applauding] more bedtime stories. Written by patrick and ellen page, john waters. Matt walsh, nicole and gary antione anthony williams. Rain and narrated. [applause] rain and narrated by meyer. Audio goes to more bedtime stories cynic. [cheering and applauding] the finalist fiction and nonfiction, video, fiction and nonfiction are. Breathe again, written and narrated by. How will i fix it . Narrated [cheering and applauding] narrated by edward. [cheering and applauding] the audio goes to how the lights get there. [cheering and applauding] [applause] all right, next to present his celebrity judge, adam, the New York Times bestselling author of they both die at the end, more happy than not and history is all you left me. His most recent excellent book and audiobook from infinity published this past january, please welcome to the stage, adam. [cheering and applauding] good evening, thank you all for being here today. Id like to cite i came to the game a little late. I came out like 20 years old and its because i didnt start reading gate books until i was like 19 but i can only imagine if i had known audiobooks existed when i was like ten, i would have been gay so much sooner. [laughter] like really gay. [applause] thankfully, thanks to all the teachers and educators and librarians we have audiobooks for all ages including listeners. In the finalist [laughter] written and narrated [applause] [cheering and applauding] belonging written and narrate narrated [cheering and applauding] [cheering and applauding] the young listener goes to question what. [cheering and applauding] moving on up, the finalist for middle grade are sean. [cheering and applauding] [applause] [cheering and applauding] [cheering and applauding] for middle grade goes to penguin audio for charlottes web. [cheering and applauding]. And the body for young adult, goes to scholastic audio. [applause] [cheering] smack our next presenters are well written pair number one New York Times a number one audible author Lauren Blakely can often reopen found listening to an audiobook stacey and chin is a jamaican mother, writer, traveling artisan activist author of the other side of paradise, and the original other struck she is a dined new yorker who refuses to leave. Please welcome to the stage Lauren Blakely and stacey and. Symmetric short story collections delight us with their insight and intelligence the finalist for the short story collection are. [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] no. [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] [applause] [cheering] the body goes to harper audio. [applause] [cheering] fiction reveals truth and earth meeting transports us and grounds us as one apparently the president does not read fiction. [laughter] fiction is what dazzles us just like the final in catalyst agenda finalists have dazzled us. [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] [applause] [cheering] and the audie goes to the audio for the water dance. [cheering] [applause] she is a Los Angelesbased actress and founder of the food coop she has a multiple audie award winter, twotime odyssey award winner, a golden voice and has been an ducted into the audible hull of fame. Jacqueline woodson is the bestselling author of more than two dozen awardwinning books, she is fourtime National BookAward Finalist fourtime newberry award winner, twotime dem engine naacp image award winner and that scott king award winner. Please welcome them both to the stage. [applause] we practice, not. [laughter] ive listened to the water dance four times i love it so much. Thats not what im announcing now. The finalists for romance are. [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] [applause] and add. [applause] [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] [applause] and the winner is harper audios devils daughter. [applause] subic please stand and be recognized, do i say that part . [laughter] if you dont know this we are reading. [laughter] [applause] thank yous meco my goodness i didnt even win and i have so much work appear. [laughter] the finalists of fantasy are. Fantasy beast of the frozen son by joe criswell. [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] [applause] and the audie goes to. [inaudible] to please and be recognized. [applause] [cheering] [applause] all right my turn. The finalists for Science Fiction are. Sciencefiction emergency. [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] [applause] [cheering] [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] [applause] and, the audie goes to brilliance publishing for emergency skin. [applause] s mick give a warm welcome to apa president subic hello i am the president of the apa board of directors. It is my pleasure to turn our attention to mr. Steven king. Who, for years, long before audiobooks were fashionable has championed the work that all of you do and all of the magic that you make. Through his support, he has expanded the audience for an inspired improvements to audiobooks. And it is with wholehearted enthusiasm and gratitude that we celebrate steven king by sharing with him a Lifetime Achievement award. [applause] [cheering] [cheering] so first i want to say thank you for all of the thrilling adventures you have taken us on. Those are for children they could be slightly creepy when spirit is a joy to read aloud. Cement at the whole. [inaudible] your main certain imagination and artistry i think about them all the time but very amazing and difficult book. Subic author tied mr. Characters i think about all the time, leisure being a narrator of your book i loved the. [inaudible] sisters. [laughter] so i was honored and lucky for this very amazing, difficult and treacherous book. Subic i was lucky enough to get to their rate your short stories were one for all writers is the teller is it worth eight anything when youre not prepared to listen. I think it applies to narrators as well. Its fun to scare people. But also learn about human nature. Because at the end of the day thats what its about. So i now understand how someone could go three years of that knowing your husband is a serial killer. [laughter] cemex even king in the world is a much better place for. So steven king will still be read 100 years from now. So i am honored to read your story and cant wait. [inaudible] congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations mr. King. Subic congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations on the Lifetime Achievement award, nobody deserves it better. So you achieved enough or 45 lifetimes. [cheering] [applause] [cheering] so and handed off in a Second Period presenting this award. [laughter] [applause] [applause] so its actually are very special treat to have joe hill present the actual award. You all know joe come in case you need reminding he is the bestselling author and hes just a few seconds ago one a audie for full throttle. He is the author of lucky tea which is a long running comic book and hit series. Im very happy to welcome mr. Joe hill. [applause] so ana maria, thank you. I am honored to be here tonight to celebrate audiobooks, alongside the people who work so hard and so brilliantly to bring them to readers everywhere. I am especially pleased because i have the doing the Lifetime Achievement were for steven king which we all know he is the best ambassador for audiobooks that anyone could wish or hope for. His love and enthusiasm goes back decades, i know, i was there. My parents went to put three classes after they married they filled their house with books. Books can be found in every room crammed on shelves and stacked in piles. We sat to dinner, our conversation revolves almost entirely around makebelieve people, imaginary worlds, fictional conflicts. Over plates of my dead culinary specialty, chef boyardee with generous helpings of hamburger threading, we would blab about writers, bookstores, publishing and though well known moral failings of literary critics. [laughter] the best part of those days came after dinner we flopped on the couch and passed a book around. We took turns reading aloud together so we work through the lion, the witch and the wardrobe and the burglar who like to quote kipling and others that were so pretentious and overwritten they put us in hysterics. Stories were always in the air and in the ear. Im not telling you anything you dont know when i say my dad is a glutton for stories, he can barely stand to go a waking hour without picking out on won this dinner must be killing him. Think of all the pages he is not reading right now. When i was a kid i never saw him go anywhere without a paperback in his hand at fenway park he read between innings and use the endpapers to score the game. Hed read three pages, waiting in line to buy movie tickets and three more waiting in line for the popcorn. But what was a compulsive bookworm to do with all that frustrating time at his hands were not available for turning the pages such as when making a three hour drive from one end of maine to the other. The answer of course was to listen to an audiobook if the kids complaints, turn up the volume until you couldnt hear them. [laughter] in the 1980s, the audiobooks or commercially available are far from satisfactory for a guy like my dad. To keep prices low, it was necessary to reduce every novel to just two cassettes which required abridgment of the most heinous sort. In my dads do it was getting a whole meal, hammacher side of fright and cokes and getting a greasy wax paper the hamburger came wrapped in. Not real appealing. He discovered relief your recorded book service and Mail Order Company that had unabridged readings they did not have a huge selection but they had enough, and an effigy of herd is as good as a feast. My dad was able to order books by favorite writers, steinbeck, mcdonald, soon enough however he began to order books based on who wrote them but on who is reading them. He fell in love with certain voices and was sent for books simply for the sheer pleasure of listening to another story read by Frank Mueller or wolf. [inaudible] when he couldnt get a novel he couldnt hear he had another resource, his children. Like all children we had mercantile souls our father exploited our greed to build up his library of audiobooks, paying us to read novels onto cassettes. I think our starting salary was about 12 for 60 minutes although his best reader, my sister, naomi, was a ruthless negotiator eventually worked him up to 20. Tape. He got the audio he wanted in an unforeseen side effect is kids learned had to have confidence in their own power to give a story voice. The pleasure my father took in the case we made for him in the cassettes he ordered for recorded books made him want better for other by audiobook readers. He began to refuse abridgment of his own model looking for complete adaptation sprayed by releasing his book sinful he released expectations of what an idea buck showed and could be. It turned out a whole lot of other readers wanted the whole meal too. Of course my dad sweeten his argument by working with some of the best. For years, Frank Mueller lent his rise and the peeling voice to steven kings words. My dad when marc when he wrote a new story he would also hear Frank Mueller reading it back to him and his head. Other tales are brought to life by some of the most brilliant readers ever stepped to the mike, george, cassie, will patented others. And for those of you who wonder what it would have been like to hang out at the king household after dinner will be passed to book around, it was easy enough to satisfy your interests. My dad has read several of his own stories on audio and my mother read the house on maple street for what it is audio collections. His love for the form extended to his decision to release several stories and audio first believing that was the best possible way to enjoy them. Sensing they were meant to be told and heard even more than red. His love for the gifted readers who bring audiobooks tilt life is why, after Frank Mueller suffered a critical brain injury in 2001 and was left live without insurance my father created a foundation for artists who suffered calamities. It became the Haven Foundation went on to serve many others because the quote my job as her dad the need to sever been greater. Up to close to five decades of enthusiastically evangelizing for the audiobook form. An inspiring hundreds of thousands of people to discover the joy of a good story well told, going to write this evening he should receive the Lifetime Achievement audio award. Please give it up for him once again. [applause] [cheering] [applause] [cheering] thank you thank you beka h of a murder weapon, wouldnt it . Im not going to take a lot of your time you could be listening to an audiobook. Joe, i will get might your check to you i promise. [laughter] i was just going to say that skill, to this day george would call himself old gravel cords and i can still hear him saying if the cassette fails to play smack it smartly against the palm of your hands if you cannot otherwise free the reels, return it to us and we will send you a another cassette. [laughter] those were the old days and since then we have come a long ways, audio is come along way. I just want to say one more thing, people will sometimes ask me do you read your own books . Which is a ridiculous thing to say because i know how theyll come out. [laughter] i listen to them all. The reason why, is because you hear everything you did rights, and you did everything you did wrong. This is the most honorable form of storytelling there is that it goes back to the very beginning. I have some readers that i just love, Santino Fontana did the institute, a fantastic job. [applause] [inaudible] did christine. [applause] and i gave him his first acting job. Crawled through a tunnel together and got all muddy, we did. That was for the maximum overdrive movie and he was the best part of it. [laughter] hey guys, thank you very much, i appreciate it. [applause] [cheering] [applause] [cheering] i am really happy to introduce my very good friend and colleague, president and publisher of mcmillan audio mary beth and i are thrilled to present a little bit sad but no sleep thrilled the special Achievement Award. [applause] im hoping we will get through this. I am delighted to be a part of presenting the special Achievement Award to beth tonight because beth was one of the very first people i met when i joined the audiobook business. It was clear from the start that she is someone very special. Now, the risk of making a sound incredibly ancient, i will admit that was before the first ipod was invented. In fact audible employee number 11 was really superb at explaining downloading and streaming heard this is a time he could watch peoples eyes roll back in their head when you said they were downloading. She could explain it beautifully, even to the occasional publishing text firm perch is legendary for being thorough and hardworking and utterly reliable. Beth served on the apa board for more than 20 years. You could always count on her to raise her hand to help with whatever needed done. Over the years she has devoted countless hours delving into the thorniest of issues. Graciously taking on often thankless tasks. Such as ensuring that consistency in our Research Data and bringing our audience judging process into the digital age. Beth sees things through. Whether she is fighting the perfect speaker for one of the many aipacs she her helping to lot the price at center for fiction and the member beloved beloved colleague she has managed to walk with grace the very complicated line that all of us must manage between looking out for the interest or employer while also safeguarding our industry. Beth is not just about details and data, beth knows how to bring in the fun. Wendy went to kayak after the audio lobster bakery looking for great restaurant recommendations or you just want to make an event a little more special, many of us remember beth donning a gold sequined dress and the stunning Jacob Javits Center to bring a little more glamour to the first daytime audie awards. And even when beth takes an occasional break audio evangelist she does it with the bomb. No one drinks on a beach with beth, know shes out hiking. We have of this tonight an Impressive Group of actors to mazes with the many roles they play. Now beth is not an actress, but i would argue that with her extraordinary loyalty intelligence determination and uncommon sense of fairness beth is a bright light in the many roles of her life devoted daughter, sister, mom, friend, audio enthusiast and colleague. Our industry is a better place because you have been in it beth and we look forward to hearing about the future adventures in your 2020 vision and beyond. Now people learned about the special achievement we received accolades from many of beths authors and colleagues and working to share one of those with you now. The system audibles founder and hes had this to say about beth. I can only begin to note the profound impact of beth has had and will always have on audible and on me as a friend and advisor. As an audible pioneer, she helped to define the headwaters as the early gave is a color suffered we had to battle just about every industry status quo and like so many in the past we drew together because audible was like a movements, a cause, we went on as comrades to mark the lives of listeners tens of millions in a single year. Few people of well composed and art lee performed the words are owed a more lasting sense of gratitude. So please join us and showing Beth Anderson just how grateful we are for all she has done for the audiobook community. [applause] [applause] this thing matches my dress. [laughter] so friday was my last day of the officer today is officially my first day of my retirement. I have to say, this is great. [applause] thank you very much. I know there have been some wonderful pioneers in our business who have received this award before. Tim ditlow, judy mcquinn, don kass, Grady Hesters linda olson, craig black, george guido bob and deborah dion, i am honored to follow in their footsteps. Ive been doing a lot of reflection over the past few months letting my mind wander down memory lane and in the process ive come to realize how far the apa in the audiobook world has come. As both joe hill and steve king mention, yes, we were originally abridged. Thereve been many other advances, for instance the very first audie i remembered was conducted in very dim hotel basement. I believe in chicago and it was directly after the last session of a pac. He think there is a cash bar but not much else. Believe me, this is a thousand times more glamorous than that one was. But that was a start. When i started and audibles audiobooks were abridged three to six hours on cassette. Narrators work from paper manuscripts and were recorded in studios on tape. People listened on their walkman or shuffling tapes and cds into the car player. Back in the early days a rare celebrity performance might have been Burt Reynolds doing in abridged or western for dove audio. They had to explain audiobooks were not only for the blind or lazy we could only dream of prime time ads or a New York Times bestseller list for spoken word audio. We have indeed come a long way. [applause] i have loved my work at audible in my work with this group and with this industry. Ive always treasure the fact that while he may compete with each other for particular projects or over dollars or deal terms, when it comes to driving the audio industry forward, we have locked arms and work together. So while you honor me tonight, i salute all of you for what we have accomplished together. I am sure there are many more exciting advancements to come ill be watching and listening, thank you. [applause] [cheering] [applause] [applause] let me welcome to the stage celebrity judge emma straub, New York Times bestselling author of the vacationers and modern lovers. Her next novel and audiobook, all adults here will be published in may 2020 welcome to the stage emma. So hi so when they told us we, celebrity judges were going to have a few moments to ad lib. , i thought the cutest story that i know about audiobooks is joe hill and his family recording books for steven king because i grew up with their family. I knew he was going to tell that already. Just play that one again in your head. Thats my cue audiobook story. What is better than one narrator . Multiple narrators. Working together to create an intimate performance that transports the listener. The finalists for multi voice performance are multi voice performance. 200 women by jeff blackwell. [applause] narrated by a full cast. [applause] [inaudible] [inaudible] [applause] [cheering] [cheering] [applause] the only plane in the sky an oral history of 911 bike garrett narrated by full cast with Holter Graham. [applause] so on the audie goes to Simon Schuster audio for the only plane in the sky. [applause] [applause] so okay. Next up i cant say anything until the teleprompter tells me what im going to say. [laughter] or i could just make it up. Okay the finalist for audio drama are so audio drama the absolute brightness of leonard. [inaudible] [applause] angels in america by tony kushner performed by. [applause] [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] birthday suit by lauren. [inaudible] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] have a nice day by Billy Crystal performed by justin, and nets, Billy Crystal rachel, daryl haner, kevin klein and a full cast. [applause] [inaudible] [inaudible] [applause] so in the audie goes to random house audio for angels in america. [applause] [cheering] you guys have fun here and audiobook land. The finalist for original work are so original work evil eyes by marjorie. [inaudible] narrated by nick. [inaudible] bernard weitz, and rita wolf. [applause] i. E. To men like air by alice. [inaudible] loftily ever after the audiobook musical by Stephanie Bentley and miranda. [inaudible] narrated base Stephanie Bentley. [inaudible] and aron wilson. [applause] nevertheless we persist. [cheering] [inaudible] [applause] jakey rosen, francesca amann, samantha greene, rachel wine, emily lauren, marie. [inaudible] [inaudible] [cheering] [applause] performed by crystal lewis. [inaudible] [cheering] [applause] [inaudible] [cheering] [applause] [inaudible] [cheering] [applause] [inaudible] [cheering] [applause] [inaudible] and the audie goes to the ebola. [applause] [cheering] [applause] [cheering] so presenting next is a another of our celebrity judges erik thomas. Senior staff writer at l. His first audiobook how to save your soul in america was just published last month. Miranda called him one of the funniest writers on this internet welcome to the stage are erik thomas. [applause] [cheering] oh my god. I am so genuinely honored to be in the room with all of you. I come from a family of audiobook listeners. I am a lifelong audiobook listener. I am deeply deeply honored by you and the work that you do. We used to borrow them from the library and would borrow that novelization the star trek novels i really enjoyed. The first audiobook i remember us buying was the bible. My father was insistent. It came on cassette and i believe it was unabridged so is like literally 60 cassettes. I was telling my fathers doing this and he was like you know a blessing to all of it and mike i hope you did. Member pulling out a cassette listening to it and like deuteronomy listening get all those nays exactly right i am living my best life, right now. The lyft driver had nationally said hes also a voice factor he was asking about it he was up for a new recording of the bible like they have something . No they just doing it again. Theyre going to pull a. Truck up to your house as like nine years of recording less any of you are up for that ill be rooting for you instead. I gotta go. Our first category the nominee infection are. Fiction the age of light. [applause] [inaudible] narrated by rusty young and brian. [inaudible] [applause] [cheering] so and the audie goes to penguin audio for the city of girls. [applause] [cheering] [applause] [cheering] so the finalist for mystery are mystery along came a spider h anniversary digit by james patterson, narrated by kate dish. [inaudible] an odd. [applause] narrated by steven shanahan. Narrated by will patent. [applause] [inaudible] and the audie goes to harper audio for the chestnut man. [applause] [applause] [cheering] the finalist for thrillers of suspense are so thriller suspense and blood in the water by jack flynn narrated by leon graham. [inaudible] by jessica baron, narrated by hilary uber. [applause] [cheering] [inaudible] steven king narrated by. [inaudible] lady in the. [inaudible] narrated by susan. [inaudible] winter dawn by alex. [inaudible] odd. [applause] and the audio goes to audie goes to the institute. [applause] [cheering] okay, from this point forward we invite those who win an odd audie to say a few words here to present key awards for narration of the 2019 winners for best female narrator invested nail jet mail narrator invoices of this evenings finalist videos seen other voices well for many reason, julia and eduardo. [applause] so hi guys so hello. Hello. Okay we have copy. According to a wait i got a lien like this. According to a 2018 study listening to audiobooks increases the emotional impact of stories over watching them on a screen measures things like heart rate and body temperature are we sure the source was sent. People are listening to audiobooks compared to listen to movies they pick scenes with intensity and it leaves a narrative. So your book one, no way spoiler alert. Smack that weve known that all along yes . Yes because we have been listening to all the finalist and now for the finalist for narration by authors are. Narration by author authors becoming written and narrated by Michele Obama inside out written and narrated. [inaudible] [inaudible] [applause] written and narrated by sophie dall shortest way home one Mayors Challenge a model for americas future written and narrated by pete buttigieg. [cheering] [inaudible] [inaudible] written and narrated by elizabeth. [inaudible] [cheering] [applause] okay and the audie goes to harper audio for with the fire on high. [applause] [cheering] art lizza sorry she could not make it but she did send a few words so i didnt break anything. [laughter] always a bonus. R8 i am completely honored by this award. It means so much for me to it know that the way i render the story resonates with listeners i come from a traditional tradition of oral storytelling my grandfather could recite long intricate riddles for memory my mother raised me with elaborate stories of her youth growing up in the rural countryside of the dominican republic. In fact, when i am writing, im always reading out loud im editing with my ear it is critical to me that the sounds, music of the story all ring true. The opportunity to lend my own voice to the text, lifting it off the page has been such a fulfilling one. Oh heres where it gets awkward. Special thanks to. [inaudible] , must be awkward to read this. [laughter] [cheering] must be awkward to really thank you to yourself but i want folks to know she is oddly writes. [laughter] not every authors give the chance to voice their own work or to have such an amazing director making sure every note is spot on. I am incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful producer. Thank you all on behalf of lynne. Thank you. [applause] [cheering] snickers on to say this very helpful note saying please adjust mike to your mouth level and speak directly into it. Thank you. [laughter] okay. Okay here is the category i know a Little Something about. [laughter] finalist for best female narrator are. Best female narrator all the wrong thing by michele sachs narrated by cassandra. [inaudible] [applause] [cheering] by tammy ho narrated by hilary hsu. [inaudible] [applause] [cheering] nothing to see by kevin. [inaudible] narrated by. [inaudible] narrated by rachel atkins. The 10000 doors of. [inaudible] by alex d. [inaudible] narrated by january. [inaudible] scott middle choked up okay we are in ireland but nothing to see here. [applause] [cheering] kim kind of blown away. I am supremely honored by this. I love books so much. I feel really at my most useful getting to read these books out loud to other people. This book in particular meant so much to me it kind of sweat me off my feet i fell in love with it completely and the fact that it resonates with people, means the world to me. I am kind of overwhelmed by that. I want to thank Suzanne Mitchell it harper audio, harpercollins she thought of me. It was a huge gift, thank you so much, thank you to everybody who listen to the book and listens to audiobooks, it is a real honor, thank you so much. [applause] [cheering] [applause] and now my old dog, best mail that narrator nominees are. Best mail narrator the dutch house by an patch it, narrated by tom hanks. Everything is illuminated by jonathan, narrated by robert. [inaudible] [cheering] [applause] narrated by robert. [inaudible] narrated by jb jackson. [applause] [cheering] [inaudible] narrated by peter. [inaudible] [applause] and the audie goes to robert for the kingdom. [inaudible] [inaudible] [applause] [cheering] my name is robert and i like to accept this award. No assembly can come up . Anyone . Come on up gay. [cheering] robert can be here tonight but i know he has really enjoyed the tremendous challenge ive had to step into the shoes. He was so grateful to be able to continue that tradition so thank you all very much. So and now lets take a look at the finalist for audio book of the year. They are. Audiobook of the year angels in america by tony kirschner, narrated by andrew garden nathan lane susan brown denise. [inaudible] beth malone James Mccartney lee Nathan StewartBobby Carnevale and phoebe sommer. Becoming written and narrated by Michele Obama. [applause] charlottes web by eb whites. Narrated by meryl streep. January. [inaudible] cloud. [inaudible] emily rankin, Kimberly Lincoln harper in a full cast. Derrida by tom hanks only plane in the sky the oral history of 911 by garrett m. [inaudible] narrated by a full cast. [inaudible] [inaudible] derek jacobi and margaret atwood. And the audie goes to simon and schuster audio for the only slate in the sky, an oral history of 911. [applause] [cheering] thank you so much of the judges for this is incredibly humbling with that company. The project that is meant so much to me for so many years now as ive been trying to pull together the voices of the 480 americans weve followed through 911 morning and night, coasttocoast. I want to thank Simon Schuster for believing in this project in my editor and elise and tom from Simon Schuster who i think i could actually hear toms head explode when i told them what i wanted them to do with the audiobook. And then the Holter Graham who made this actually come to life. And brought together the hundreds of voices that they did for this. And thank you all for helping me share this story with so Many Americans who were not live or 911. I hear almost every day from people who are learning about 911 through this audiobook. And learning what it meant to our country, through the voices of this story. Im very grateful to the judges and the m pa for recognizing the story of helping ensure that we never forget what our country live through that day. , so thank you. [applause] [cheering] [applause] so congratulations. Well, i would like to thank you all for having me as your host this evening. [applause] until next year, keep your feet on the ground, and keep high trading. [applause] [cheering] [applause] so thank you for joining us for the 25th audie ceremony. Congratulations to all the finalists and winners. We invite you to go downstairs where winners can receive their awards. Weeknights this month we are featuring book tv programs showcasing what is available every weekend on cspan2. Tonight, socialism, Kentucky Republican ran paul discusses his book, the case against socialism on the history and rise of socialist ideology in america. Then, its currents affair editorinchief Nathan Robinson author of why you should be a socialist. After that, economist Robert Lawson and Benjamin Powell and socialism sucks about their travels to socialist countries. Tv this week and every weekend on cspan2. Television has changed in cspan began 41 years ago. But our mission continues. To provide an unfiltered view of government. Already this year we brought your primary election coverage, the president ial impeachment process, and now the federal response to the coronavirus. You can watch all of cspans Public Affair programming on television, online, or listen on our free radio app. Be part of the National Conversation through cspans daily washington journal program. Or through our social media, cspan, created by private industry, americas Cable Television company as a Public Service and brought to you today by your television provider. coming up tonight on cspan2, the communicators features a look at the internet archive which documents the digital era. Then, booktv features books on socialism. First, after words with kentucky senator rand paul on his book, the case against socialism. After that Nathan Robinson on his book, why you should be a socialist. Also tonight Robert Lawson and Benjamin Powell on their book, socialism sucks. And the communicators is at the state of the net conference in washington dc. We will show you some of the interviews we conducted with members of congress, government officials and technology leaders. Brewster kahle, what you do for living . I run the archives. Internet library on the internet that catalogs books, trying to build the internet into the library of alexandria for the digital age. That sounds like the internet. Doesnt it . Guest the internet is getting there but the published works is not fast enough. The average life of a webpage is only 100 days. Before it is changed or deleted. One hundred days. We built our culture on this ever shifting hand soap with the internet archive it takes snapshots of the webpages on websites every two months. It takes a snapshot and its been doing this since 1996 and offers it as a free service on archives. Org and used by hundred of thousands of people a day to find all the things that been disappeared either maliciously or sometimes just