December 2025 Earphones Award Winners

Multiple AudioFile Earphones Award winner Barrie Kreinik offers a remarkable performance of Eva Le Gallienne's (1899-1991) first autobiography. Writing nearly 90 years ago, Le G tells the story of her rise as an actress, director, writer, producer, and founder of the Civic Repertory Theatre. Kreinik is so good that listeners will swear they're hearing the cultured, intelligent... Read More

Inspired by her family history in China and the U.S., Gish Jen's novel is narrated with nuance, emotional depth, and clarity of purpose by Jen Zhao. Her pitch-perfect performance enhances this multigenerational story, which revolves around a challenging mother-daughter relationship. Retaining her traditional Chinese values, Agnes, the author's mother, immigrates to the U.S. in... Read More

Poet, novelist, activist, mother, mentor, embodiment of Canadian literature--the list of Atwood's achievements is remarkable. The two-time Booker Prize winner and doyenne of speculative fiction (the international phenomenon THE HANDMAID'S TALE) has many incarnations. She is also that rarity among writers: an excellent narrator. Now in her 80s, she has a tone with a hint of... Read More

First, Simon Winchester, OBE, introduces listeners to the ubiquity of wind and its effects on the world. His careful pronunciation and British accent create an enjoyable backdrop for the conversational style in which stories are integrated with information that demonstrates where and how wind has had a direct influence on all the subjects in the Dewey Decimal System, including... Read More

Golden Voice Hillary Huber delivers a compelling performance of the latest addition to the Angelhart Investigation series. Fierce, independent PI Margo Angelhart--now working for her family's agency--takes on a pro bono case involving a teenager believed to have died of an overdose. The sprawling Angelhart clan appear throughout, highlighting Margo's ongoing struggles with... Read More

Nancy Linari impeccably narrates this exquisite story featuring many characters from Stewart O'Nan's Pittsburgh novels. A group of elderly female choir members form the Humpty Dumpty Club to ensure that those struggling with life's challenges will never go unaided. Linari optimistically depicts the characters' delightfully different perspectives. When Joan, their vital longtime... Read More

Researcher and psychiatric clinical nurse Ann Wolbert Burgess has written a fascinating overview of her work as an expert witness. Gabra Zackman's narration is instructive, professional, and easy to follow. She adds no flourishes as Dr. Burgess describes working with victims, perpetrators, and law enforcement. Her writing is straightforward and interesting for a layperson.... Read More

Bacon's book is significantly longer than Gordon Lightfoot's renowned song, so listeners will learn a lot more about the tragic sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975. Johnny Heller presents fascinating details that include the physics of Great Lakes waves, the growth of their shipping industry, other notable wrecks, the commissioning and building of the Edmund Fitzgerald,... Read More

Louise Brealey's marvelous performance of Susie Dent's enthralling debut mystery is so enticing that one wishes it would last forever. The story does end, but not before Brealey beguiles us with revealing characterizations and beautifully paced conversations. When lexicographer Martha Thornhill returns to Oxford after years abroad, she begins work at the Clarendon English... Read More

Louise Brealey's remarkable performance of the new novel by award-winning author Sarah Hall makes for thoroughly addictive listening. Like the mistral of France and the sirocco of North Africa, helm is a named wind that blows through England's Pennine Hills. Fierce, playful, and unpredictable, it's long been the stuff of folklore. Now it is the central figure in this... Read More

Writer, actor, and comedian Mike Albo provides a unique listening experience that is both hilarious and moving. Here he reflects on his life in New York City at the turn of the millennium, when print magazines still ruled and dating hadn't yet become driven by phone apps. Albo is unflinching about his sexuality, his desire to seek meaning in life, and the need for human... Read More

Moira Quirk's narration of this fantasy is outstanding. To avenge her brother's death 13 years ago, Lyssa has been hunting and killing as many fairies as she can find. But the beast that actually killed her brother has been elusive. Then she meets Alderic, who might have what she needs to track it down. Quirk captures Lyssa's persona--all rough edges and traces of... Read More

Audie Award-winning narrator Will Patton animates this 40-year-old Pulitzer Prize winner, which has become the archetypal Western novel. A contingent of former Texas Rangers, cowboys, and others are driving stolen Mexican cattle north to Montana. The trip is long and arduous. Along the way, they endure ornery cattle; wild rivers; sudden storms; and attacks by bandits, renegade... Read More

Narrator Victoria Villarreal lends her impressive vocal talents to the conclusion of the Los Monstruos trilogy. In the magical South Texas town of Tres Leches, Ava, daughter of La Lechuza, wishes her mother would spend more time with her instead of sleeping all day and flying around at night, righting the wrongs of the world. When her mother is arrested for allegedly kidnapping... Read More

Lipica Shah's stirring narration of this YA biography showcases Emma Goldman's unshakable commitment to improving the lives of the oppressed. In 1885, Goldman immigrated to the U.S. from czarist Russia and became an ardent anarchist. A prolific writer and inspirational speaker, she gave hundreds of well-attended speeches each year. When quoting Goldman, Shah exudes the... Read More

Narrator Malcolm Hillgartner excels at portraying Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein as they race to thwart a Nazi terrorist plot. Set in 1930s Los Angeles, this historical thriller provides a chilling window onto America on the brink of WWII. Listeners also get to hear Hillgartner bring to life Douglas Fairbanks, Paulette Goddard, and a full complement of American and German... Read More

Chef and author Gabrielle Hamilton expertly narrates her memoir about her family of origin. The youngest of five children, she grew up with an aloof mother and a charming but absent father. Now middle-aged, Hamilton has been estranged from her mother for roughly 30 years. The suicide of her oldest brother, Jeffrey, prompted her to reconnect with her mother in hopes of... Read More

Listeners are drawn into a complex story with two time frames. Part of it takes place in Leonardo da Vinci's world, and part of it in the world of today. The narrators capture the characters' essences. Scarlett, a scientist, and Artie, an art historian, are hired by a nefarious millionaire to authenticate a secret collection of paintings and papers, including the notebooks of... Read More

Frankie Corzo's performance is perfect for this beautifully written novel. Inés, the youngest of four sisters, wants more for her life than what seems inevitable. Deeply in love with Alessandro, a well-known ne'er-do-well, she is warned against marrying him, but she persists. Corzo makes their honeymoon in Italy sound magical, but it's not long before reality intervenes. "While... Read More

Narrators Dion Graham and Fred Berman once again demonstrate their mastery of their craft in this James Patterson thriller. Graham returns as Alex Cross, fully embodying his multiple facets: loving family man, psychology scholar, and determined detective. Berman portrays serial murderer Gary Soneji to scarily calm perfection. Berman's performance allows listeners to inhabit... Read More

Narrator Michael Sheen's return to the Book of Dust series gives it the spectacular ending it deserves. His versatile skills bring to life daemons, griffins, witches, and humans alike. Twenty-year-old Lyra is searching for her daemon, Pan, who is the physical manifestation of her soul. In chapters that shift viewpoint, Sheen's emotional range and mastery of accents keep... Read More

Chris Andrew Ciulla's balanced performance is hilarious yet fully grounded. Operating as ex-military guns for hire, Skwerl and Big Cheese take a job to retrieve a luxury jet. When the job goes sideways, they wind up traveling the globe to set things right. While current news items such as the war in Ukraine punctuate the story, the main events effectively mix humor and action.... Read More

Narrator Dominique Salvacion's emotionally vulnerable performance suits this young adult horror audiobook. Kyra, the adopted child of a drug addict, is haunted by disturbing nightmares connected to her childhood. Now a viral video challenge revolving around a new recreational drug is circulating at her high school, changing the students around her. Salvacion depicts Kyra's... Read More