The best nonfiction audiobooks, by award record: every Audie Nonfiction winner

Looking for a nonfiction audiobook that's actually worth a credit? This is the complete record of the Audie Award's Nonfiction category — 31 winners from 1996 to 2026, the audiobook industry's own pick for the best nonfiction production of each year. The most recent winner is Separation of Church and Hate by John Fugelsang, narrated by John Fugelsang.

Last verified 2026-06-10 · Source: Wikipedia + APA

Year	Narrator	Audiobook	Author
2026	John Fugelsang	Separation of Church and Hate	John Fugelsang
2025	Hanif Abdurraqib	There's Always This Year	Hanif Abdurraqib
2024	Dion Graham	Poverty, by America	Matthew Desmond
2023	BD Wong	The Ransomware Hunting Team	Renee Dudley; Daniel Golden
2022	Sophie Amoss	The Joy of Sweat	Sarah Everts
2021	T. Ryder Smith	Fire in Paradise	Alastair Gee; Dani Anguiano
2020	Karen Chilton, Jennifer Berry Hawes	Grace Will Lead Us Home	Jennifer Berry Hawes
2019	Simon Winchester	The Perfectionists	Simon Winchester
2018	Mark Bramhall	American Wolf	Nate Blakeslee
2017	JD Vance	Hillbilly Elegy	JD Vance
2016	Rebecca Lowman	Ghettoside	Jill Leovy
2015	Dion Graham	Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him	David Henry; Joe Henry
2014	Malcolm Gladwell	David and Goliath	Malcolm Gladwell
2013	Kate Reading	Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History	Florence Williams
2012	William Dufris	The Murder of the Century	Paul Collins
2011	Cassandra Campbell, Bahni Turpin	The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks	Rebecca Skloot
2010	Ken Burns, Dayton Duncan	The National Parks: America's Best Idea	Ken Burns; Dayton Duncan
2009	Oliver Wyman	Hot, Flat, and Crowded	Thomas Friedman
2008	Avery Brooks	Roots: The Saga of an American Family	Alex Haley
2007	Steve Hodson	Narrow Dog to Carcassonne	Terry Darlington
2006	Oliver Wyman	The World Is Flat	Thomas L. Friedman
2005	Dennis Boutsikaris	Chasing the Devil	David Reichert
2004	Amy Tan	The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings	Amy Tan
2003	Richard Rohan	3000 Degrees	Sean Flynn
2002	Nelson Runger	John Adams	David McCullough
2001	Sidney Poitier	The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography	Sidney Poitier
2000	Frank McCourt	'Tis	Frank McCourt
1999	Michael Palin	Full Circle: A Pacific Journey with Michael Palin	Michael Palin
1998	Christopher Timothy	James Herriot's Animal Stories	James Herriot
1997	Mandy Patinkin	Genesis	Bill Moyers
1996	Dick Hill	Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation	Jonathan Kozol

Most-awarded nonfiction narrators

Dion Graham (2 wins) · Oliver Wyman (2 wins).

Every Audie Nonfiction finalist (the full nominee record)

The Audie Nonfiction category names finalists alongside each winner. These 114 audiobooks were nominated but didn't win — also sourced; each title's full record is in the A–Z index.

Year	Finalist	Author	Narrator(s)
2026	A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever	Rob Reiner; Christopher Guest; Michael McKean; Harry Shearer	Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer
2026	Death in the Jungle	Candace Fleming	Karen Murray
2026	Everything Is Tuberculosis	John Green	John Green
2026	On the Hippie Trail	Rick Steves	Rick Steves
2025	Cool Food	Robert Downey Jr.; Tom Kostigan	Robert Downey Jr., Tom Kostigan, Deepti Gupta
2025	The Situation Room	George Stephanopoulos; Lisa Dickey	George Stephanopoulos, Peter Ganim, Elisabeth Rodgers
2025	This Is Not a Game	Marc Fennell	Marc Fennell
2025	When Women Ran Fifth Avenue	Julie Satow	Karen Murray
2024	A Refugee's American Dream	Leth Oun; Joe Samuel Starnes	Tim Lounibos
2024	Fire Weather	John Vaillant	Alan Carlson
2024	Punished for Dreaming	Bettina L. Love	Karen Chilton, Bettina L. Love
2024	Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies	Elizabeth Winkler	Eunice Wong
2023	Davos Man	Peter S. Goodman	Michael David Axtell
2023	Queer Ducks (And Other Animals)	Eliot Schrefer	Joel Froomkin, Dustin Ballard, Hope Newhouse, Neo Cihi
2023	The Sex Lives of African Women	Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah	Iesha Nyree, Adenrele Ojo, Deanna Anthony, Stephanie Weeks, Joy Hooper, Lisa Reneé Pitts, Karen Murray, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Janina Edwards, M. J. Brown, Karla Mosley
2023	The Soul of the Indian: An Interpretation	Charles Alexander Eastman	Shaun Taylor-Corbett
2022	Freedom	Sebastian Junger	Sebastian Junger
2022	Last Call	Elon Green	David Pittu
2022	The Menopause Manifesto	Jen Gunter	Jen Gunter
2022	The Premonition: A Pandemic Story	Michael Lewis	Adenrele Ojo
2022	This Is Your Mind on Plants	Michael Pollan	Michael Pollan
2021	If You Tell	Gregg Olsen	Karen Peakes
2021	Rage	Bob Woodward	Robert Petkoff
2021	Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope	Nicholas D. Kristof; Sheryl WuDunn	Jennifer Garner
2021	Wandering in Strange Lands	Morgan Jerkins	Morgan Jerkins
2020	Mama's Last Hug	Frans de Waal	L. J. Ganser
2020	Talking to Strangers	Malcolm Gladwell	Malcolm Gladwell
2020	The Perfect Predator	Steffanie Strathdee; Thomas Patterson; Teresa Barker	Christine Lakin, Dan Woren
2020	We Are the Weather	Jonathan Safran Foer	Jonathan Safran Foer
2019	Dopesick	Beth Macy	Beth Macy
2019	Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter	Ben Goldfarb	Will Damron
2019	Heartland	Sarah Smarsh	Sarah Smarsh
2019	The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist	Radley Balko; Tucker Carrington	Robert Fass
2019	Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?	Martin Luther King, Jr.	JD Jackson
2018	Ghosts of the Tsunami	Richard Lloyd Parry	Simon Vance
2018	Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign	Jonathan Allen; Amie Parnes	Kimberly Farr
2018	The Butterfly Effect	Jon Ronson	Jon Ronson
2018	This Fight Is Our Fight	Elizabeth Warren	Elizabeth Warren
2017	A Million Years in a Day	Greg Jenner	Matthew Lloyd Davies
2017	Adnan's Story	Rabia Chaudry	Rabia Chaudry
2017	Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City	Matthew Desmond	Dion Graham
2017	The Gene: An Intimate History	Siddhartha Mukherjee	Dennis Boutsikaris
2017	Words on the Move	John McWhorter	John McWhorter
2016	I Wasn't Strong Like This When I Started Out	Lee Gutkind	Tavia Gilbert
2016	Missoula	Jon Krakauer	Mozhan Marno
2016	The Dorito Effect	Mark Schatzker	Chris Patton
2016	The Song Machine	John Seabrook	Dion Graham
2015	Being Mortal	Atul Gawande	Robert Petkoff
2015	Deep Down Dark	Héctor Tobar	Henry Leyva
2015	Flash Boys	Michael Lewis	Dylan Baker
2015	The Innovators	Walter Isaacson	Dennis Boutsikaris
2015	Unruly Places	Alastair Bonnett	Derek Perkins
2014	Beyond Belief	Jenna Miscavige Hill	Sandy Rustin
2014	Thank You for Your Service	David Finkel	Arthur Bishop
2014	The End of Nature	Bill McKibben	Jeff Woodman
2014	The Telling Room	Michael Paterniti	L. J. Ganser
2013	Cemetery John	Robert Zorn	Sean Runnette
2013	Love Is the Cure	Elton John	Elton John
2013	Sex and God at Yale	Nathan Harden	Scott Aiello
2013	The Crisis of Zionism	Peter Beinart	Lloyd James
2012	Dog Sense	John Bradshaw	Michael Page
2012	My Korean Deli	Ben Ryder Howe	Bronson Pinchot
2012	The 4 Percent Universe	Richard Panek	Ray Porter
2012	Unbroken	Laura Hillenbrand	Edward Herrmann
2011	Game Change	John Heilemann; Mark Halperin	Dennis Boutsikaris
2011	No One Would Listen	Harry Markopolos	Harry Markopolos, Frank Casey, Neil Chelo, David Kotz, Gaytri Kachroo, Michael Ocrant
2011	Obama's Wars	Bob Woodward	Boyd Gaines
2011	The Poisoner's Handbook	Deborah Blum	Coleen Marlo
2010	Anne Frank Remembered	Miep Gies; Leslie Gold	Barbara Rosenblat
2010	Columbine	Dave Cullen	Don Leslie
2010	Outliers	Malcolm Gladwell	Malcolm Gladwell
2010	What Americans Really Want…Really	Frank Luntz	L. J. Ganser
2009	Abraham Lincoln, a Man of Faith and Courage	Joe Wheeler	Grover Gardner
2009	Buying In	Rob Walker	Robert Fass
2009	Gang Leader for a Day	Sudhir Venkatesh	Reg Rogers
2009	Out of Mao's Shadows	Philip P. Pan	David Colacci
2008	Banker to the Poor	Muhammad Yunus	Ray Porter
2008	Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage	Alfred Lansing	Simon Prebble
2008	Jesus for the Non-Religious	John Shelby Spong	Alan Sklar
2008	The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War	David Halberstam	Edward Herrmann
2007	Babylon by Bus	Ray LeMoine; Jeff Neumann; Donovan Webster	Jeremy Davidson
2007	Striking Back	Aaron J. Klein	Stefan Rudnicki
2007	Team of Rivals	Doris Kearns Goodwin	Suzanne Toren
2007	The Looming Tower	Lawrence Wright	Alan Sklar
2006	A Crack in the Edge of the World	Simon Winchester	Simon Winchester
2006	Conspiracy of Fools	Kurt Eichenwald	Stephen Lang
2006	The Boys of Pointe du Hoc	Douglas Brinkley	Douglas Brinkley
2006	The Truth (with Jokes)	Al Franken	Al Franken
2005	Ask Not	Thurston Clarke	Edward Herrmann
2005	Caddy for Life	John Feinstein	John Feinstein
2005	Running with the Bulls	Valerie Hemingway	Anne Flosnik
2005	The Culture of Fear	Barry Glassner	Barry Glassner
2005	They Made America	Harold Evans; Gail Buckland; David Lefer	Harold Evans
2004	Hitler's Scientists	John Cornwell	Simon Prebble
2004	Middletown, America	Gail Sheehy	Gail Sheehy
2004	The Bounty	Caroline Alexander	Michael York
2004	The Devil in the White City	Erik Larson	Tony Goldwyn
2003	Band of Brothers, E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne	Stephen E. Ambrose	Tim Jerome
2003	Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America	Yossef Bodansky	Nadia May
2003	Mark Twain	Geoffrey C. Ward; Dayton Duncan; Ken Burns	Bille Meisle
2003	The Trial and The Death of Socrates	Plato	Bruce Alexander, Jamie Glover
2002	An Album of Memories	Tom Brokaw	Tom Brokaw et al.
2002	The Life and Works of Chopin	Jeremy Siepmann	Jeremy Siepmann
2001	On Writing	Stephen King	Stephen King
2000	Elegy for Iris	John Bayley	David Frederick Case
2000	The War Journal of Major Damon Rocky Gause	Damon Rocky Gause	Dick Hill
1999	Ned Kelly: A Short Life	Ian Jones	Paul English
1999	White Coolies	Betty Jeffrey	Beverly Dunn
1998	The Lord God Made Them All	James Herriot	Christopher Timothy
1998	Tuesdays with Morrie	Mitch Albom	Mitch Albom
1997	Full House: The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin	Stephen Jay Gould	Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
1997	It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet	James Herriot	Christopher Timothy
1996	Crossing the Threshold of Hope	Pope John Paul II	Earl Hammond, William Bogert
1996	Lincoln's Letters: The Private Man and the Warrior	Abraham Lincoln	George Vail

See also: Audiobook of the Year · Best Narrator winners · Grammy audiobook winners.