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July 2025 Earphones Award Winners

The award is given by AudioFile to truly exceptional titles that excel in narrative voice and style, characterizations, suitability to audio, and enhancement of the text.



BAKING ACROSS AMERICA

BAKING ACROSS AMERICA

Earphones Award Winner

by B. Dylan Hollis | Read by B. Dylan Hollis

DK
Contemporary Culture

Social media personality B. Dylan Hollis narrates his audiobook on American desserts with charm and charisma--making his storytelling almost sweeter than the treats. Hollis takes listeners on a culinary trip around the country. Beginning with the Northeast and ending with the Pacific Northwest, he discusses nostalgic and iconic desserts from all over. The audiobook doesn't have... Read More

THE DEVILS

THE DEVILS

Earphones Award Winner

by Joe Abercrombie | Read by Steven Pacey

Macmillan Audio
Fantasy

Steven Pacey's range of voices perfectly serves this fantasy audiobook with a large cast of characters. Brother Diaz is tasked by the pope to escort the newfound princess across the continent, along with a protective force composed of murderers and monsters. As the story shifts perspectives, Pacey adjusts his tone, cadence, and pacing. Alex was a gutter thief before becoming a... Read More

THE FRENCH WINEMAKER'S DAUGHTER

THE FRENCH WINEMAKER'S DAUGHTER

Earphones Award Winner

by Loretta Ellsworth | Read by Caroline Hewitt

Harper Audio
Historical Fiction

Caroline Hewitt's superb narration takes listeners on a powerfully emotional journey in this dual-timeline audiobook. In 1942, as German officers arrive at their French countryside home, 7-year-old Martine is hidden in a cabinet by her Jewish father with a valuable bottle of wine. Alone on the streets, Martine is brought to an abbey by Sister Ada, who is hiding her own secret.... Read More

THE INCANDESCENT

THE INCANDESCENT

Earphones Award Winner

by Emily Tesh | Read by Zara Ramm

Macmillan Audio
Fantasy

In this queer dark academia fantasy, narrator Zara Ramm is so committed that it's hard to know where she ends and Chetwood Academy's Director of Magic, Dr. Walden, begins. Walden is a magician in her late 30s, a powerful demon wrangler, and an excellent teacher. She's equally responsible for managing teenage angst in the classroom and keeping the demons that infiltrate campus... Read More

THE INVISIBLE SPY

THE INVISIBLE SPY

Earphones Award Winner

by Thomas Maier | Read by Stephen Graybill

Harlequin Audio
Biography & Memoir

Anyone who believes the American entrance into WWII was easy and inevitable will be shocked to hear that the path was difficult and paved with spies, lies, and coercion. Stephen Graybill performs this audiobook with the skill of a newscaster who's recounting revelation upon revelation about the spies on both sides of the war (and the Atlantic) who were using their skills to... Read More

KNAVE OF DIAMONDS

KNAVE OF DIAMONDS

Earphones Award Winner

by Laurie R. King | Read by Amy Scanlon, Steven Crossley, Jefferson Mays

Recorded Books
Mystery & Suspense

Mary Russell's favorite uncle, Jake, turns up at her door after many years of absence. Mary finds herself caught between loyalties to her world-famous husband, Sherlock Holmes, and her ne'er-do-well uncle. Topnotch performances in alternate sections by Amy Scanlon, Steven Crossley and Jefferson Mays make King's latest Russell/Holmes outing sound like a full-cast audiobook. An... Read More

A MURDER FOR MISS HORTENSE

A MURDER FOR MISS HORTENSE

Earphones Award Winner

by Mel Pennant | Read by Debra Michaels

Random House Audio
Mystery & Suspense

Debra Michaels's performance takes full advantage of the descriptive scenes and energetic dialogue in this first novel from playwright Mel Pennant. Thirty years ago, Miss Hortense, who immigrated to the UK from Jamaica in 1960, was the backbone of her suburban Birmingham neighborhood. She even ran the Pardner, a money-raising and savings club that allowed members to accumulate... Read More

THE NAMES

THE NAMES

Earphones Award Winner

by Florence Knapp | Read by Dervia Kirwan

Penguin Audio
Fiction

Dervla Kirwan delivers a stunning performance of Knapp's powerful novel about the weight of choice, the search for identity, and the complexities of family. Her buttery voice creates a striking paradox--soothing and steady yet cut by the cruelty and sharpness of this story about Cora and the three narratives that unfold around the different names she gives her baby boy. Kirwan... Read More

PIONEER SUMMER

PIONEER SUMMER

Earphones Award Winner

by Kateryna Sylvanova, Elena Malisova, Anne O. Fisher [Trans.] | Read by Edoardo Ballerini

Recorded Books
Romantic Fiction

Edoardo Ballerini's moving narration takes listeners to a 1980s Russian patriotic children's camp to meet sweet-natured 16-year-old counselor Yury and novice 19-year-old theater director Volodya. Well-rendered discussions of the countryside, food, regimented life--especially, the morning bugle--transport listeners to the cool lake and hot cabins. As the two diligently work... Read More

RETURN TO SENDER

RETURN TO SENDER

Earphones Award Winner

by Craig Johnson | Read by George Guidall

Recorded Books
Mystery & Suspense

Golden Voice George Guidall masterfully draws listeners into Sheriff Walt Longmire's search for a missing woman in the dramatic landscape of Wyoming's Red Desert. Guidall's ability to modulate his voice to seamlessly differentiate male and female characters enhances the twists and turns of the story. Craig Johnson's vivid descriptions are matched by Guidall's pitch-perfect... Read More

SOUTH OF NOWHERE

SOUTH OF NOWHERE

Earphones Award Winner

by Jeffery Deaver | Read by Kaleo Griffith

Penguin Audio
Mystery & Suspense

In this gripping audiobook, Colter Shaw--tracker and survivalist--is hired to locate a missing family trapped after a levee collapses during a catastrophic storm. As he searches, Shaw uncovers a sinister plot that suggests the disaster may not have been entirely natural. Narrator Kaleo Griffith delivers a masterful performance, giving each character a distinct and memorable... Read More

THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS

THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS

Earphones Award Winner

by John Buchan | Read by Rupert Degas

Naxos AudioBooks
Classics

London-born actor Rupert Degas brings his enticingly warm voice and an edge-of-your-seat intensity to his performance of John Buchan's famously propulsive spy thriller. Adapted many times, including by Alfred Hitchcock, the 1915 novel centers on mining engineer Richard Hannay, who hears of an international assassination plot and then must flee London when he becomes a murder... Read More

THE TURN

THE TURN

Earphones Award Winner

by Christopher Ransom | Read by Robert Petkoff

Blackstone Audio
Fiction

Golden Voice Robert Petkoff hits the comedic highs and lows in this audiobook so well that listeners may be surprised by the emotional impact he delivers. Casey is struggling to find meaning in his boring job, his divorce, and the death of his stoic father. At least there's the game of golf. Discovering his father's coveted bag of golf clubs, Casey takes a sabbatical and hits... Read More

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