Newly honored Golden Voice narrator Julia Whelan is known to listeners of all ages for her performances in a broad range of subjects. For listeners of young adult audiobooks, Julia is a favorite for GIRL IN PIECES by Kathleen Glasgow, I’LL GIVE YOU THE SUN by Jandy Nelson, and PLUS ONE by Elizabeth Fama. Lovers of fantasy might know her for Nora Roberts’s Chronicle of One trilogy, or Laurie Forest’s The Black Witch Chronicles. Julia also stands out for her recordings of literary fiction like FLIGHTS by Olga Tokarczuk and MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION by Ottessa Moshfegh. And let’s pile on the wonderful romance titles Julia has brought to listeners—more Nora Roberts, and BEACH READ by Emily Henry. My personal favorite in recent months is Julia’s wonderful performance of THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes.
In mystery & suspense, GONE GIRL might be Julia’s best known title, but she has many others. We just talked about the Earphones Award-winning PRETTY AS A PICTURE on the AudioFile podcast, and here’s a recent conversation with Julia and Michele Cobb about Catherine McKenzie’s YOU CAN’T CATCH ME.
There’s hardly a genre that Julia has not taken on with style and success. In 2019, Julia received the Audie Award for Best Female Narrator for EDUCATED, the riveting bestselling memoir by Tara Westover. EDUCATED is still on the bestseller lists, and Julia’s performance is a brilliant example of the power of a listening experience. Our podcast host Jo Reed spoke with Julia about many aspects of her audiobook life in this extended conversation from last year.
Looking through Julia’s extensive audiography, I was struck by how many opportunities listeners have to enjoy Julia’s work. In one of Candace Levy’s 5 Questions articles, Julia talks about THE GREAT ALONE — maybe that’s a good choice for this season of isolation for so many of us. If you’re going to be alone, make a plan to bring Julia with you!
