With its awards ceremony set for November 24, the new British Audio Awards ‘Speakies’ program releases a 16-category shortlist.

By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

‘Amplifying All the Talents’

Our Publishing Perspectives readers are very familiar with the venerable 35-year-old British Book Awards program from The Bookseller, which bought the franchise in 2017.

Now, in a joint venture with The Stage, The Bookseller—led by the “Nibbies”-faithful editor Philip Jones—is in play with its new “Speakies” audio awards, something we previewed, of course, in June.

If anything, it’s surprising that an awards regime for audio hadn’t appeared in the United Kingdom earlier—easily the most awards-avid market we cover. After all, the 28-category Audie Awards, produced by the Audio Publishers Association (APA) and ably led until recently by former APA executive director Michele Cobb, reached their own three-decade mark  in March.

However, the Speakies are wasting no time on proliferating categories.

While the Stateside Audies have 28 categories, the UK’s Speakies are arriving with 16 categories, and the example of the British Book Awards would suggest that more categories will be added in coming seasons. (This program is accustomed to handling many categories: Its British Book Awards Trade categories had 18 categories in May, and that of course didn’t include the book-of-the-year content categories.)

Some markets’ readers will notice that two categories of the Speakies’ shortlists are given to audio drama—one category in new and/or original work, and the other in adaptation. Audio drama probably more familiar to British readers than to readers in some other markets, based of course in England’s long and proud tradition of radio plays.

In a comment on the announcement of the Speakies’ first shortlist, Jones is quoted, saying, “Audio is making a noise and it deserves to.

“The combination of great writing, with great acting, with great production is written all over these shortlists, and it is an absolute delight to be recognizing and, yes, amplifying all the talents at these inaugural awards.

“The quality of this shortlist surely puts to rest the argument that listening is not on a par with reading.” 

And Alistair Smith, editor of The Stage, says, “The first year of the British Audio Awards show how deeply performance drives the success of audio storytelling.

“The shortlists across both audiobook and audio drama categories underline why acting talent—from household names to new voices—is at the heart of this vibrant medium.”

It’s pointed out that in the shortlists below, you’ll see that multiple nominations for various adaptations do occur, as is frequently seen in the American Audies, too.

These, organizers say, include three nominations for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Gatsby in Harlem, two for Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, and two for Charles Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend.

As is seen in the United States’ market, the audiobook format in the United Kingdom enjoys double-digit growth, as is the case in the States. (In the new June StatShot report from the Association of American Publishers, digital audio commanded 13.1 percent of the format share in trade sales.)

According to the Publishers Association in London, audiobook sales in the UK rose by 31 percent in 2024, reaching a record £268 million (US$361).

The UK division of Audible reportedly rising sales, while Spotify‘s people say they saw listening hours increase by more than 35 percent year-on-year across key markets including the UK, the USA, and Australia.

Winners of the inaugural year of the British Audio Awards are to be announced on November 24 at the Royal Opera House on Bow Street in Covent Garden.

British Audio Awards 2025 Shortlists

Audiobook: Fiction

Supported by the Weirdos Book Club with Sara Pascoe and Cariad Lloyd

• All My Precious Madness by Mark Bowles, narrated by Paul Hilton (Galley Beggar Press and Spiracle Audiobooks)
• His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, narrated by Ruth Wilson (Penguin Random House Audio)
• Intermezzo by Sally Rooney, narrated by Éanna Hardwicke (Faber)
• Precipice by Robert Harris, narrated by Samuel West (Penguin Random House Audio)
• The Benefactors, written and narrated by Wendy Erskine & others (Hodder & Stoughton)
• The Wood at Midwinter, written and narrated by Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury)

Audiobook: Crime and Thriller

Supported by Book Off with Joe Haddow

• Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent, narrated by Louise Brealey (Bonnier Books UK)
• Him by JD Kirk, narrated by David Tennant and Louise Brealey (Audible Originals)
• Lovers of Franz K by Burhan Sönmez, narrated by Lucy Scott, Will Close, Simon Brett, Mark Meadows, Seán Barrett, Maz Dowler and Willow Nash (Oakhill Publishing)
• Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz, narrated by Lesley Manville and Tim McMullan (Penguin Random House Audio)
• Panic by LJ Ross, narrated by Richard Armitage (WF Howes)
• The Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer, narrated by Mortimer, Sally Phillips, Paul Whitehouse and Julie Maisey (Simon & Schuster Audio UK)

Audiobook: Science Fiction and Fantasy

Supported by the British Fantasy Society

• Bee Speaker by Adrian Tchaikovsky, narrated by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Rod Hallett & Gabrielle Nellis-Pain (Head of Zeus)
• Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by VE Schwab, narrated by Marisa Calin, Katie Leung & Julia Whelan (Pan Macmillan)
• Count Zero by William Gibson, narrated by Alix Wilton Regan, Kyle Soller & Sebastián Capitán Viveros (WF Howes)
• Doctor Who: Agent of the Daleks by Steve Lyons, narrated by Maureen O’Brien, Nicholas Briggs (BBC Studios)
• Queen B by Juno Dawson, narrated by Nicola Coughlan (HarperCollins)
• The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan, narrated by Rosamund Pike (Macmillan Audio)

Audiobook: Romance

• Bad Publicity by Bianca Gillam, narrated by Lucy Boynton (Bloomsbury)
• Love by Elizabeth von Arnim, narrated by Lucy Scott (Naxos AudioBooks)
• Love, Rebooted by Katy Summers, narrated by Emily Attack and Stuart Martin (Audible Originals)
• Rivals by Jilly Cooper, narrated by Georgia Tennant (WF Howes)
• Swept Away by Beth O’Leary, narrated by Connor Swindells and Rebekah Hinds (Quercus)
• The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore, narrated by Regina Regan (HarperCollins Publishers)

Audiobook: Nonfiction

Supported by the Countryfile Plodcast

• A Voyage Around the Queen by Craig Brown, narrated by Craig Brown and Harriet Walker (HarperCollins)
• Henry V written and narrated by Dan Jones (Head of Zeus)
• Persian Pictures by Gertrude Bell, narrated by Juliet Stevenson (Naxos AudioBooks)
• Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton, narrated by Louise Brealey (Canongate Books)
• The History Gossip written and narrated by Katie Kennedy (WF Howes)
• Why Are You Here, Mrs Hamilton? by Jo Hamilton, narrated by Monica Dolan (Bonnier Books UK)

Audiobook: Nonfiction Memoir

• Careless People written and narrated by Sarah Wynn-Williams (Pan Macmillan)
• I’ll Never Call Him Dad Again by Caroline Darian, narrated by Heather Long (Bonnier Books UK)
• I Love You, Byeee written and narrated by Adam Buxton (HarperCollins)
• Patriot by Alexei Navalny, trans. Arch Tait and Stephen Dalziel, narrated by Matthew Goode (Penguin Random House Audio)
• Still Beautiful written and narrated by Katie Piper (DK)
• The Lives of Lee Miller by Antony Penrose, narrated by Esther Wane and Adam Grayson (WF Howes)

Audiobook: Business and/or Self-Help

• Am I Having Fun Now? written and narrated by Suzi Ruffell (Pan Macmillan)
• Buy Yourself the Damn Flowers, written and narrated by Tam Kaur (Bonnier Books UK)
• Make Change That Lasts, written and narrated by Rangan Chatterjee (Penguin Random House Audio)
• The Cat Who Taught Zen by James Norbury, narrated by Richard Coyle (Bolinda)
• The DOSE Effect written and narrated by TJ Power (HarperCollins)
• What’s Your Dream? written and narrated by Simon Squibb (Penguin Random House Audio)

Audiobook: Children’s Books

• Bunny vs Monkey by Jamie Smart, narrated by Ciaran Saward(Bolinda)
• Choose Your Own Evolution by Jules Howard, narrated by Glen McCready (Nosy Crow)
• Hamza’s Wild World written and narrated by Hamza Yassin (Pan Macmillan)
• Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Making Enemies by Louie Stowell, narrated by Ben Willbond (WF Howes)
• Miffy Story Time Collection by Dick Bruna, narrated by Hannah Melbourn (Yoto)
• Skandar and the Skeleton Curse by AF Steadman, narrated by David Dawson (Simon & Schuster Audio UK)

Audiobook: Young Adult Books

• Different for Boys by Patrick Ness, narrated by Alex Wingfield (Bolinda)
• Fearless by Lauren Roberts, narrated by Lauren Roberts, Chase Brown, Cecily Bednar and Jared Zeus (Simon & Schuster Audio UK)
• Normal Women written by Philippa Gregory, narrated by Philippa Gregory and Hannah Berchtold (HarperCollins)
• The Shape of Monsters by CL Hellisen , narrated by Omari Douglas (Audible Originals)
• What Happens Online by Nathanael Lessore, narrated by Michael Ajo (Bonnier Books UK)

Audio Drama: New and/or Original Work

• Up in Smoke written by Guy Larsen & Cambria Bailey-Jones, produced by Gabriela Jones, Guy Larsen & Cambria Bailey-Jones (Penny 4)
• Restless Dreams written by Dan Rebellato, produced by Polly Thomas (Naked Productions)
• The English are Coming by Hattie Naylor, produced by Nicolas Jackson (Afonica)
• The Margate Murders written by Tom Hofland, Pascal van Hulst & James Dobbyn, (Audible)
• Gershwin and Miss Swift, written by Andrew McCaldon, produced by Tracey Neale & Neil Varley (BBC)
• Doctor Who: The Stuff of Legend, The Live Show by Robert Valentine, produced by Robert Valentine (Big Finish)

Audio Drama: Adaptation

• Gatsby in Harlem by F Scott Fitzgerald, script by Roy Williams, (Granny Eats Wolf)
• The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, script by Anna Lea (Audible)
• It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis, script by Mike Walker, produced by John Norton (BBC)
• Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens, script by Dan Rebellato produced by Polly Thomas (Thomas Carter Projects)
• Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson, script by Katie Hims (BBC)
• Casino Royale by Ian Fleming, script by Archie Scotney, (Jarvis and Ayres Productions)

Performance

• Sheridan Smith, The Margate Murders (Audible)
• Bettrys Jones, Our Mutual Friend, produced by Polly Thomas (Thomas Carter Projects)
• Brian Cox, McLevy in the New World, produced by Bruce Young (BBC Audio)
• Alyth Ross, Four Gammons and a Unicorn, produced by David Tyler (Pozzitive)
• Henry Goodman, Restless Dreams, produced by Polly Thomas (Naked Productions)
• Ncuti Gatwa, Gatsby in Harlem (Granny Eats Wolf)

Narrator

• Mark Gatiss, From Russia with Love, produced by Corinne Turner (Ian Fleming Publications)
• Louise Brealey, Raising Hare, produced by 2020 Recordings/Liam Procter (Canongate)n
• Emilia Clarke, The Instrumentalist, (Bloomsbury)
• Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, The Great When (Bloomsbury)
• Kevin Shen, The Grace of Kings, (Bloomsbury)
• Stephen Fry, 356A To Marrakech, produced by Katie Sayer (Pozzitive)

Performance Ensemble

• Gatsby in Harlem (Granny Eats Wolf)
• Our Mutual Friend, produced by Polly Thomas (Thomas Carter Projects)
• Up in Smoke, produced by Gabriela Jones, Guy Larsen, Cambria Bailey-Jones (Penny 4)
• The Talented Mr Shakespeare, produced by David Morley (Perfectly Normal)
• Restless Dreams, Polly Thomas (Naked Productions)
• Casino Royale, produced by Jarvis and Ayres Productions (Javis and Ayres Productions)

New Voice

• Daniel Mick Ryan, The Green & The Black, produced by Michael Shannon (BBC)
• Mei Mac, Up in Smoke, produced by Gabriela Jones, Guy Larsen, Cambria Bailey-Jones (Penny 4)
• Mae Munuo, Tribe of Two, produced by Jesse Fox (Afonica)
• Ezra Saifie, The Serial Killer Support Group; The Ha-Ha; Pinch Perkins and the Nightmare Tree (Various)
• Bella Maclean, You, Again (Audible)
• Paul Hilton, All My Precious Madness, produced by Spiracle/Kate Bland, David Griffiths, Sophie Haxworth, Jeremy Mortimer (Spiracle Audiobooks)

Audio Business

• Boldwood Books
• Hachette UK (Group Audio and Bookouture)
• Small Wardour
• Spiracle Audiobooks
• Big Finish Productions
• WF Howes
• Penguin Random House Audio
• Xigxag
• Yoto

The awards ceremony on November 24 is to be hosted by Sally Phillips.

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More from Publishing Perspectives on book and publishing awards is here, more on the United Kingdom market is here, and more on audio and audiobooks in the industry is here. 

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