2026 AUDIE AWARDS® CATEGORIES

General Categories
1. FICTION: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a fiction audiobook. This category is for titles that do not fit into specific fiction categories 2-8. English language only.

2. LITERARY FICTION & CLASSICS: For excellence in narration, production, and content of an audiobook of literary fiction or a classic. English language only.

3. MYSTERY: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a mystery audiobook, usually featuring a protagonist trying to solve a crime, such as murder, committed early in the story. English language only.

4. THRILLER/SUSPENSE: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a thriller/suspense audiobook, usually featuring a hero racing to stop a catastrophe. English language only.

5. SCIENCE FICTION: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a science fiction audiobook, involving an alternate reality based on possible science (however far-fetched). English language only.

6. FANTASY: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a fantasy or paranormal audiobook, involving a world of magic and fantastical creatures brought to life. For example, the story may contain fairies, wizards, vampires, zombies, ghosts, werewolves, etc. English language only.

7. ROMANCE: For excellence in narration, production, and content of an audiobook of romance, including romantic suspense, historical romance, etc. NOTE: there is now a seperate category for erotica. English language only.

8. EROTICA: For excellence in narration, production, and content of an erotic audiobook.  Any titles with erotic content are best served in this category. English language only.

9. NON-FICTION: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a non-fiction audiobook. This category is for those titles that do not fit into the specific non-fiction categories 10-12. English language only.

10. HISTORY/BIOGRAPHY: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a historical or biographical audiobook (these two categories are combined since a biography is an account or history of a person’s life). English language only.

11. AUTOBIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR: For excellence in narration, production, and content of an autobiography or a memoir. Both of these are an author’s account of their own life, whether straightforward (autobiography) or as a literary story drawn from the person’s life (memoir). English language only.

12. BUSINESS/PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a personal development or motivational audiobook. English language only.

13. FAITH-BASED FICTION OR NON-FICTION: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a spiritual or faith-based audiobook. English language only.

14. SHORT STORIES/COLLECTIONS: For excellence in narration, production, and content of an audiobook that consists of stories, essays, anecdotes, or other short prose or poetry elements. English language only.

15. YOUNG LISTENERS: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a children’s audiobook for ages up to 8, including audiobook+book sets. English language only.

16. MIDDLE GRADE: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a children’s audiobook intended for middle readers, ages 8-12. English language only.

17. YOUNG ADULT: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a teen audiobook, ages 13-18. English language only.

18. SPANISH LANGUAGE: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a Spanish language audiobook. Fiction and non-fiction titles are eligible, as are single and multi-voiced productions; learning language titles are not.

ESPAÑOL: Por excelencia en narración, producción y contenido de un audiolibro en idioma español. Tanto títulos de ficción y no ficción son elegibles para esta categoría, así como las producciones a una o varias voces. No aplica a títulos sobre aprendizaje del idioma.

19. HORROR: For excellence in narration, production, and content of a horror audiobook, usually designed to scare and shock the listener into a sense of impending doom. English language only.

20. NEW BEST PRODUCTION & SOUND DESIGN:  This award celebrates outstanding achievements in sound quality, including the use of sound effects, music, ambient noise, and other elements that enhace the storytelling. The category honors works where production techniques are used to create an immersive and captivating listening experience, complementing the narration and elevating the overall impact of the work. English language only.

21. NEW BEST ADAPTATION/ORIGINAL WORK: This category recognizes the best adaptation of a graphic novel or written work, honoring its creative transformation into the audio format. English language only.

Narration Categories
22. BEST FICTION NARRATOR: For excellence in the solo reading of a fiction audiobook. English language only.

23. BEST NON-FICTION NARRATOR: For excellence in the solo reading of a non-fiction audiobook. English language only.

24. NARRATION BY THE AUTHOR(S): For excellence in the narration of an audiobook, read solely by the author(s). English language only.

25. NEW ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE: For excellence in a title which includes multiple narrators.  English language only.

26. NEW JUDGES CATEGORY: NEW VOICE AWARD: This award celebrates rising stars amongst emerging talent in audio narration, honoring narrators who have voiced 50 titles or fewer. English language only.

Audiobook of the Year Category
27. AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR: This award honors a title that achieves outstanding sales alongside a powerful, impactful marketing campaign that successfully reaches a wide audience of both new and existing listeners. The Audiobook of the Year should exemplify excellence in marketing, publicity, visibility, commercial success, and its ability to attract and engage new listeners. Titles that meet the key sales threshold will be assessed for the quality of their audio content and production values, ensuring they represent the pinnacle of audio artistry and stand as a benchmark of excellence within the audiobook industry.

Submission must include this Audiobook of the Year Supplemental form (due no later than 10/31/25), which will aid the judges in determining finalists.  English language only.