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Hillary Huber

"The best reviewed books are ones in which I had great collaboration with the author."

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Talking with Hillary Huber

In June 2025, Hillary Huber was inducted as a Golden Voice, AudioFile's lifetime achievement honor for audiobook narrators.

How did you get started with narrating?

After 20 years of commercial VO, I saw the writing on the wall—not only would I eventually age out of the demographic but I wasn’t creating “art,” and it began to feel unsatisfying. I wasn’t using my acting skills or creating anything beautiful. So I took a stab at audiobooks—I sent Blackstone a copy of THE BELL JAR and a sample of me reading a bit of it. They replied that they would love to have me narrate that book but the audio rights weren’t available, and would I be willing to narrate A VERY EASY DEATH by Simone de Beauvoir instead? So that was my first book.

Tell us about a memorable character you’ve given voice to.

One of the most compelling, and not necessarily in a good way, was Dorothy Daniels in A CERTAIN HUNGER by Chelsea Summers. The blurb says it all: “Food critic Dorothy Daniels indulges in her homicidal urges by murdering her lovers and devouring their organs in this intense, visceral, and lushly told tale of food, sex, power, and the pursuit of a very particular taste set between New York and Italy.” She was the most fun character to play—sarcastic and quick-witted and rapacious. Loved it.

What’s the most interesting piece of research you’ve done for an audiobook?

I did a book about a black ops outfit in Afghanistan—this was pre-Forvo [an online pronunciation dictionary], and I used to call embassies when I needed to learn how to pronounce foreign words. So I was asking this guy how to pronounce words like mujahideen and khak da saret and Allah akbar, etc., and my phone battery died. When I recharged it and called back, my friend at the embassy breathed a sigh of relief—he was sure they had cut off our call because of the controversial nature of our conversation! Needless to say, I’m probably on some watch lists...

What has surprised you the most about your work in audiobooks?

The community that we have created! There does not exist in the performance world a more welcoming, supportive, and generous group of people. I have made lifelong friends—all of us with the shared pursuit of excellent storytelling. It’s really very, very special.

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��Interview with Hillary Huber

"I love my job," says narrator and commercial voice-over veteran Hillary Huber. "I can't believe I get to do this from my very own studio. I love to ingest someone else's words and put them back in the world."

With Audies and Earphones Awards, one might expect that Huber would rest on her laurels. But honing her skills is a top priority, and listening to audio is one way she does that. "I love listening for entertainment and for learning from my talented colleagues," she explains. "I'm in awe of fellow narrators and their commitment to the art form of narration. The many highly dedicated narrators make me want to continually improve." Currently, Huber has Jonathan Franzen's THE CORRECTIONS, read by Dylan Baker, cued up in her car.

A prolific reader, Huber has recorded more than 50 books just five years into her career. She added narration to her portfolio of skills in a search for meaningful, lasting, interpretative, and creative work. "It seemed that audiobooks would fit that bill, and they have."

As an only child, Huber spent many girlhood hours in the company of adults and books. From observing grown-ups, she learned to create realistic characters, while reading brought a love of the magic that only a good story can invoke. She also credits voice-over instructor Pat Fraley with launching her narration career.

Nowadays, the narrator of THIS BOOK IS OVERDUE! and several J.A. Jance mysteries works about five hours a day, taking breaks for lunch, exercise, and advertising work.

"It's interesting that the more I work, the more I can do. My vocal muscles build up, and I can work longer. My head goes before my throat goes, and I make absurd mistakes."

Her favorite character to date has been Madeline Dare from FIELD OF DARKNESS, which earned the narrator her first Earphones Award, and THE CRAZY SCHOOL, both by Cornelia Read, a woman whose background is remarkably similar to Huber's. Both women are unusual blends of the places they've lived, including East Coast locales and Hawaii. "I totally got Madeline: a snooty, slightly irreverent character."

THE MEMORY PALACE, by Mira Bartok, released this January, challenged Huber to reach new heights of emotion. The memoir of the author's life with her schizophrenic mother brought Huber to tears. "It's one of the only ones I didn't want to let go; I wanted to keep it." She adds that her collaboration with Bartok was key to portraying the highly personal story.

"The best reviewed books are the ones in which I had great collaboration with the author," she says, confirming that understanding a writer's purpose enables a narrator to bring audio magic to the written word.--Jenan Jones Benson