Top Audie Honors Go to Tina Fey’s
Bestselling Bossypants
and Multi-Voiced Masterpiece, The Watch
That Ends the Night
Spoken Word Entertainment
Celebrated at New York City Gala on June 5

The Audio Publishers Association (APA) announced the winners of
the 2012 Audie Awards® at its 17th Annual Audies Gala on June 5th at The
New-York Historical Society in New York City. Often referred to as the “Oscars
of spoken word entertainment,” the Audies is the most prestigious awards program
in the United States honoring audiobooks.

The award for Audiobook of the Year went to Bossypants
by Tina Fey, published by Hachette Audio. Judges commented that
Bossypants “delivers on all fronts and listening to Fey tell the story
of her life is like going out for a coffee with an old and funny friend.” It was
recognized for Fey’s stellar performance and also for a smart marketing campaign
that ranged from traditional print media to social media. Bossypants
also took top honors in the Biography/Memoir category.

The Distinguished Achievement in Production award was presented
to the powerful historical audiobook, The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices
from the Titanic, authored by Allan Wolf and narrated by Michael Page, Phil
Gigante, Christopher Lane, Laural Merlington and Angela Dawe. It is published by
Candlewick on Brilliance Audio. Telling the story of the Titanic in the voices
of those who lived it, The Watch That Ends the Night captivated judges,
who said it was a “powerful example of a great book made even better by audio
interpretation.” Its production included sound effects of the ship going down,
making the moments of raw emotion exceptionally real.

“The audiobook industry is thriving, with a growing pool of
talent and an ever-expanding range of material available,” said Michele Cobb,
APA President. “The Audies are a celebration of quality listening and our moment
to recognize all who work hard to raise the bar each year.”

Comedian, actor, writer and director Michael Showalter hosted
the event. Showalter, author and narrator of his comedic memoir, Mr. Funny
Pants, is known for his sketch comedy as a member of the trio Stella and as
a cast member on MTV’s The State, as well as movies such as Wet Hot
American Summer (2001) and The Baxter (2005). Other presenters
included award-winning author Neil Gaiman and narrator, TV and movie actor
Edoardo Ballerini.

Reviews and sound clips are available at www.TheAudies.com,
courtesy of AudioFile magazine.

Click
here to see the full press release, listing all winners in this year’s
competition. Then check out the 2012 Audie Awards coverage by the New
York Times and the Associated
Press.