October 2025 Earphones Award Winners

In 1971 Omaha, Helene and Evelyn meet as their children marry. Mia Barron's detached voice sets the scene and then, almost magically, transforms into women full of personality. Barron takes us back to the '40s and '60s, which molded the women, and forward from the '80s to the 2015s. As the women continue their rivalries, competing for attention and love, Barron gives each her... Read More

For more than 24 stunning hours, narrator Ron Butler immerses listeners in the world of writer James Baldwin. This detailed biography structures Baldwin's life around his greatest loves, the people who filled so many of his thoughts. Baldwin travels the globe and makes a name for himself as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, but he's always drawn back to the... Read More

Lily Newmark's transcendent performance of Anna North's remarkable novel lingers long in the memory. Three narratives intersect--a young woman of Iron Age Briton begins her first year as village Druid during the start of Roman occupation; Agnes, an American forensic anthropologist, is asked to examine a 2,000-year-old body preserved in an English peat bog; and that of the peat... Read More

A full cast of Native American performers take young listeners to a Cherokee stickball game. Most of the narrators are Cherokee, like author Traci Sorell, who delivers her concluding notes, and Zebadiah Nofire, who ably leads the narration and voices the glossary. The Keetoowah, Navajo, Kiowa, and Pawnee Nations are also represented by players, coach, and onlookers. The... Read More

This wonderful novel with its inherent musicality receives a noteworthy performance from Katrina Lenk. Clara, once a world-famous pianist, was badly burned in a fire and no longer plays. When she receives an unexpected inheritance from her despised former teacher, Madame, she's bewildered. The object, a priceless metronome missing since the 1800s, might have belonged to... Read More

It's 1970s Los Angeles, and detective Easy Rawlins's life is slow and laid-back, but he feels an underlying restlessness. Narrator Michael Boatman deftly portrays this ennui but soon shifts into hero mode. A missing person case involving a woman with a troubled past falls into his hands, and a tense and twisting plot unfolds. Easy's secretary is now a novice detective, and his... Read More

Dion Graham's lilting West African accent for Boubacar, the down-on-his-luck, trouble-always-finds-him detective in this dark story of broken dreams and third-world intrigue, is nothing short of mesmerizing. Graham's noir-style tone invites the listener into the back alleys, political corruption, and heart-pounding violence of this audiobook's surreal postcolonial dystopia.... Read More

As the book world celebrates the 75th anniversary of Bradbury's classic, Dion Graham's stellar narration blasts off with a group of astronauts headed to Mars. The production opens with Graham's delivery of an editor's note intended to soften the offensive ideas in Bradbury's introductory essay, written in 1950, which explains his writing process for these interconnected... Read More

When the body of Oliver Beresford washes ashore with two bullet holes in it, the three indomitable belles of Marlowe are on the case. Narrator Nicolette McKenzie's sparkling performance amplifies the charm of this cozy mystery. Her distinctive portrayals capture the warmth and wit of the trio: Judith, the eloquent and plucky 79-year-old leader; Suzie, the incorrigible, spirited... Read More

Brian Nishii reprises his narration of HIROSHIMA, the first of a two-volume series that recounts the atomic bombings of Japan in August 1945. Author Sheftall draws on extensive interviews with those who survived, providing detail on the day-to-day lives of the Japanese and a history of Japanese relations with the West. He also provides details on the Americans involved--giving... Read More

Michael Connelly proves that the criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller, aka the Lincoln Lawyer, has successfully jumped to the civil side with this riveting courtroom drama. Narrator Peter Giles, the voice for the series, smoothly shifts among male and female characters, embodying figures as varied as a troubled teenager and a seductive digital AI companion. Connelly's plot... Read More

This audiobook chronicles the dreary world of Ray "Spike" Thorns, a retired caretaker at a posh English boarding school whose life is dramatically changed when a visiting neighbor is rushed to the hospital and dies. Ray is confused with the dead neighbor and is, thus, officially declared dead. Narrator Peter Noble expertly portrays the hapless Ray; listeners can hear his... Read More

Narrator Ella Lynch demonstrates her expansive gifts throughout this novel, giving unique and distinct voices to all its characters. Her scintillating delivery reflects Celia and her magical world. Of particular note are Lynch's smooth transitions from female to male voices, each completely natural and believable. After Celia curses her beloved brother, Argent, Lynch uses tone,... Read More

Listeners will enjoy an enemies-to-lovers romance as grumpy Parker Harris repeatedly meets Amy Gibson at singles events. Amy remains determined to find herself a boyfriend despite a series of awkward encounters and first dates from which the cynical Parker ends up rescuing her. Vanessa Moyen and Lee Samuels shine at portraying the pair as they maintain their distance while... Read More

As Mona Awad returns to the dark academia of her cult classic, BUNNY, Sophie Amoss artfully handles the challenging narration. The plot unfolds mostly through monologue and dialogue. Amoss gives specific tones and styles to "the Bunnies," the quartet of entitled MFA students who are holding fellow former grad student Samantha captive because of the way she portrayed them in her... Read More

The U.S. Constitution is under threat, but it has a self-contained aspect that can right the ship of state if only we will let it: the amendment process. Harvard historian Jill Lepore contends the country's guiding document was not born fully developed and shouldn't be treated as a static entity. Rather, it was designed to allow for adaptation to changing times. Lepore is also... Read More

Narrators David Rintoul and Rachel Bavidge perform with distinct British styles as this speculative novel jumps around in time. Rintoul portrays Tom, who lives in the 22nd century, when the diminished world has experienced climate catastrophes and been ravaged by AI-controlled wars. Rintoul's professorial tone and diction strongly suggest an indoor life of the mind. Bavidge... Read More