The best audiobooks, decided by the awards
"Best audiobook" lists are usually opinion. This one is computed: across 22 Audie Award genre categories and the overall Audiobook of the Year prize, these are the titles and authors with the strongest awards record — every entry sourced, nothing invented.
Most-decorated audiobooks (won 2+ Audie awards)
14 titles here took more than one Audie Award — the rare books that won a genre category and the overall prize, or held up across categories.
| Audiobook | Author | Audie awards won |
|---|---|---|
| The Graveyard Book | Neil Gaiman | Middle Grade (2015); Middle Grade (2009); Multi-Voiced Performance (2015) |
| World War Z | Max Brooks | Multi-Voiced Performance (2014); Multi-Voiced Performance (2007) |
| The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 | Garrett M. Graff | Audiobook of the Year (2020); Multi-Voiced Performance (2020) |
| The Breaker | Minette Walters | Mystery (2000); Fiction (1998) |
| The Amber Spyglass | Philip Pullman | Middle Grade (2002); Multi-Voiced Performance (2002) |
| Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls | Yuri Rasovsky | Audio Drama (2008); Original Work (2008) |
| Still Foolin' 'Em | Billy Crystal | Audiobook of the Year (2014); Humor (2014) |
| Project Hail Mary | Andy Weir | Audiobook of the Year (2022); Science Fiction (2022) |
| Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales | Nelson Mandela (ed.) | Audiobook of the Year (2010); Multi-Voiced Performance (2010) |
| Mandela: An Audio History | Nelson Mandela (with Joe Richman) | Audiobook of the Year (2015); Original Work (2015) |
| Jitters | Adele Parks | Science Fiction (2011); Multi-Voiced Performance (2011) |
| Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim | David Sedaris | Humor (2005); Short Stories or Collection (2005) |
| Clap When You Land | Elizabeth Acevedo | Young Adult (2021); Multi-Voiced Performance (2021) |
| Children of Blood and Bone | Tomi Adeyemi | Audiobook of the Year (2019); Romance (2019) |
Listen to an award-winning audiobook free
An Audible Premium Plus trial is free for 30 days and includes one credit — enough to get one audiobook of your choice and keep it, even if you cancel.
Try Audible free for 30 daysAs an Amazon Associate, AudiobookIndex earns from qualifying purchases and program sign-ups made through links on this page.
Most-awarded authors
Authors with the most distinct Audie-winning audiobooks in this index:
| Author | Audie-winning titles |
|---|---|
| Stephen King | 6 |
| Michael Connelly | 5 |
| L.A. Meyer | 4 |
| James Lee Burke | 3 |
| Joe Hill | 3 |
| James Herriot | 3 |
| David Sedaris | 3 |
| Garrison Keillor | 3 |
| Philip Pullman | 3 |
| Andy Weir | 2 |
| Garrett M. Graff | 2 |
| Graham Greene | 2 |
Best audiobooks by genre
Every Audie genre category, most recent winner first — open any for the complete sourced winner list.
- Best fiction audiobooks — 32 winners; latest: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2026)
- Best nonfiction audiobooks — 31 winners; latest: Separation of Church and Hate by John Fugelsang (2026)
- Best middle grade audiobooks — 31 winners; latest: All the Blues in the Sky by Renee Watson (2026)
- Best multi-voiced performance audiobooks — 31 winners; latest: A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe by Mahogany L. Browne (2026)
- Best original work audiobooks — 31 winners; latest: The Big Fix: A Jack Bergin Mystery by John Mankiewicz, Jamie Napoli, Daniel Pyne, Katie Pyne, Aaron Lipstadt (2026)
- Best mystery audiobooks — 30 winners; latest: Gone Before Goodbye by Reese Witherspoon & Harlan Coben (2026)
- Best business and personal development audiobooks — 30 winners; latest: The Next Conversation by Jefferson Fisher (2026)
- Best humor audiobooks — 29 winners; latest: The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon (2025)
- Best audio drama audiobooks — 26 winners; latest: George Orwell's 1984 by George Orwell, adapted by Joe White (2025)
- Best short stories or collection audiobooks — 26 winners; latest: Food for Thought by Alton Brown (2026)
- Best young listeners audiobooks — 25 winners; latest: Secrets of the Purple Pearl by Kate McKinnon (2026)
- Best science fiction audiobooks — 24 winners; latest: Simultaneous by Eric Heisserer (2026)
- Best faith-based fiction and nonfiction audiobooks — 24 winners; latest: Silent Horizons by Chad Robichaux and Jack Stewart (2026)
- Best romance audiobooks — 22 winners; latest: King of Envy by Ana Huang (2026)
- Best thriller & suspense audiobooks — 20 winners; latest: Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell (2026)
- Best young adult audiobooks — 20 winners; latest: Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray (2026)
- Best history or biography audiobooks — 18 winners; latest: Baldwin: A Love Story by Nicholas Boggs (2026)
- Best fantasy audiobooks — 15 winners; latest: Anima Rising by Christopher Moore (2026)
- Best autobiography or memoir audiobooks — 12 winners; latest: Matriarch: A Memoir by Tina Knowles (2026)
- Best literary fiction & classics audiobooks — 11 winners; latest: The Director by Daniel Kehlmann (2026)
- Best spanish language audiobooks — 10 winners; latest: Apocalipsis Z - El principio del fin by Manel Loureiro (2026)
- Best horror audiobooks — 2 winners; latest: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones (2026)
See also: Audiobook of the Year winners · best narrators · Grammy audiobook winners.