Actors, authors, producers, and other audiobook industry insiders gathered at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan on May 31 for the Audio Publishers Association’s 23rd Annual Audie Award gala, hosted by Simon Vance, the most decorated audiobook narrator in the history of the APA and last year’s winner for Best Male Narrator award.

Random House Audio took home the top honor of the night, winning Best Audiobook of the Year for George Saunders’s Booker Prize winning novel Lincoln in the Bardo. The audio edition, which was named Best Audiobook of 2017 by PW, consists of a cast of 166 people including big name authors and actors and even employees of Penguin Random House Audio. PW praised the book as “emblematic of the exciting and innovative world of audiobook publishing as a whole, with its mix of celebrities, veteran narrators, writers, and others.”

Amanda D'Acierno, the publisher of Penguin Random House Audio, accepted the award and invited anyone involved in the production on stage. As numerous audience made their way, she turned the mic over to producer Kelly Gildea who praised Saunders for his work both on the book and audio production. “George Saunders being in the world and writing about the world makes it such a better place,” she said.

The award for Best Male Narrator went to comedian Trevor Noah, who was unable to attend the event, for the audio edition of his memoir, Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (Audible Studios).

Bahni Turpin won the award for Best Female Narrator for The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (HarperAudio), which also won for best audiobook in the Young Adult category. The book follows a 16 year-old protagonist who becomes active in the Black Lives Matter movement after witnessing a police shooting. PW’s starred review of the audiobook praised Turpin for conveying the complexity of the novel’s main character, noting “Turpin’s remarkable sensitivity carries this performance to the ranks of greatness.” In her acceptance speech, Turpin described the YA novel as “an important book for our time.”

The rest of the night’s winners are as follows:

NARRATION BY AUTHOR

Norse Mythology, written and read by Neil Gaiman.

HarperAudio

LITERARY FICTION & CLASSICS

House of Names by Colm Toibin, read by Juliet Stevenson, et al.

Simon & Schuster Audio

NON-FICTION

American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West by Nate Blakeslee, read by Mark Bramhall.

Random House Audio

FICTION

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, read by Cathleen McCarron.

Penguin Audio

HISTORY/BIOGRAPHY

Loving Vs. Virginia by Patricia Hruby Powell, read by Adenrele Ojo and MacLeod Andrews.

Dreamscape Media

MIDDLE GRADE

See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng, read by Kivlighan de Montebello, Brittany Pressley, Michael Crouch, and a full cast.

Listening Library

AUDIO DRAMA

Brother Francis: The Barefoot Saint of Assisi, by Paul McCusker, read by a full cast.

Augustine Institute

AUTOBIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR

Born to Run, written and read by Bruce Springsteen.

Simon & Schuster Audio

BUSINESS/PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Peak Performance by Brad Stullberg and Steve Magness, read by Christopher Lane.

Brilliance Publishing

EROTICA

Claim & Protect by Rhenna Morgan, read by John Lane.

Harlequin Audio

EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN

In Death: Limited Collector's Edition by J.D. Robb

Design by Carissa Dreese

Brilliance Publishing

EXCELLENCE IN MARKETING

Transform Your Commute Campaign

Penguin Random House Audio

EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION

Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle and Stephen Fry, read by Stephen Fry.

Audible Studios

FANTASY

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss, read by Kate Reading

Simon & Schuster Audio

HUMOR

Carpet Diem: Or...How to Save the World by Accident by Justin Lee Anderson, read by Matthew Lloyd Davies.

Tantor Audio, a division of Recorded Books

INSPIRATIONAL FAITH-BASED FICTION

Catching the Wind by Melanie Dobson, read by Nancy Peterson.

Two Words Publishing

INSPIRATIONAL FAITH-BASED NON-FICTION

Fire Road: The Napalm Girl’s Journey through the Horrors of War to Faith, Forgiveness, and Peace by Kim Phuc Phan Thi, read by Emily Woo Zeller.

HighBridge Audio, a division of Recorded Books

MULTI-VOICED PERFORMANCE

Restart by Gordon Korman, read by Jonathan Todd Ross, Laura Knight Keating, Ramon de Ocampo, Andy Paris, Suzy Jackson, Graham Halstead, and John Kroft.

Recorded Books

MYSTERY

The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz, read by Simon Vance.

Random House Audio

ORIGINAL WORK

Romeo and Juliet: A Novel by David Hewson, read by Richard Armitage.

Audible Studios

PARANORMAL

Curse on the Land: Soulwood, Book 2 by Faith Hunter, read by Khristine Hvam.

Audible Studios

ROMANCE

The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare, read by Mary Jane Wells.

HarperAudio

SCIENCE FICTION

Provenance by Ann Leckie, read by Adjoa Andoh.

Hachette Audio

SHORT STORIES/COLLECTIONS

The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo, read by Lauren Fortgang.

Audible Studios

THRILLER/SUSPENSE

The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker, read by Edoardo Ballerini and Graham Winton.

Recorded Books

YOUNG LISTENERS

Trombone Shorty by Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews and Charles R. Smith, Jr., read by Dion Graham.

Live Oak Media