Odyssey Award

The Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production is an annual award conferred by the American Library Association (ALA) upon the publisher of "the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States". It is jointly administered by two ALA divisions (Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)) and sponsored by Booklist magazine. It recognizes production quality in all respects, considering such things as narration, sound quality, background music and sound effects. It is named for Homer's eighth century BCE epic poem Odyssey, which was transmitted orally, to remind modern people of the ancient roots of storytelling.

The award was inaugurated in 2008.

For many reasons indicated in the 2008 manifesto, "it is essential for ALSC and YALSA to provide the same level of support for this nonprint format that they have historically provided for print materials, by creating an annual award for the best audiobooks in the field."

Criteria Source: "Eligibility & Criteria" All literary genres are eligible for consideration, including read-alongs. The Committee will consider and vote on titles published within their assigned calendar year, January 1 to October 31, in addition to those published between November 1 and December 31 of the previous year. A title may only be submitted once and cannot be reconsidered the next year. Audiobooks produced previously in another audio format are ineligible for consideration. The audiobook is intended for either young adults or children, who are defined as persons up to and including age 18; works for this entire age range are to be considered. Adult titles are ineligible. Audiobooks featuring single or full cast narration are eligible. Audiobooks previously published in another country are eligible presuming they have also been distributed in the United States during the term of eligibility. Only audiobooks produced in English are considered, but this requirement does not limit the use of words or phrases in another language where appropriate in context. If no title is deemed sufficiently meritorious, no award will be given that year. The chair, with assistance from designated ALSC or YALSA staff, is responsible for verifying the eligibility of all nominated titles. The award will be presented to the producers of the audiobooks.

Recipients In each of the fifteen cycles to 2022, at least one title has been named an Honor Audiobook with five being the greatest number of Honors (2008, 2009, 2018) and one being the fewest (2016). Beginning in the 2022 award-year, two titles may be named Winners, one for Excellence in Audiobook Production for Children, and one for Excellence in Audiobook Production for Young Adults.

+ Odyssey Award winners and honor audiobooks Year Author Title Producer Narrator Citation2008JazzLive Oak Media, Vaneese ThomasWinnerBloody JackListen & Live AudioHonorDooby Dooby MooScholastic / Weston Woods StudiosHarry Potter and the Deathly HallowsListening LibrarySkulduggery PleasantHarperCollins Children's AudioTreasure IslandListening Library2009Recorded BooksWinnerCurse of the Blue TattooListen & Live AudioHonorElijah of BuxtonListening Library Jim McMullanI'm DirtyScholastic Media / Weston Woods StudiosMartina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban FolktalePeachtree PublishersNationHarperAudio2010Louise, the Adventures of a ChickenLive Oak MediaWinnerIn the Belly of the BloodhoundListen & Live AudioHonorPeace, LocomotionBrilliance AudioWe Are the Ship: The Story of Negro BaseballBrilliance Audio2011Listening LibraryWinnerAlchemy and Meggy SwannListening LibraryHonorBrilliance AudioRevolutionListening Library David LevithanWill Grayson, Will GraysonBrilliance Audio2012RottersListening LibraryWinnerGhetto CowboyBrilliance AudioHonorOkay for NowListening LibraryScholastic Audio Books Fiona HardinghamYoung FredleListening Library 2013 Brilliance Audio WinnerArtemis Fowl and the Last GuardianListening LibraryHonorGhost KnightListening Library Monstrous Beauty Macmillan Audio 2014ScowlerListening Library Winner Better Nate Than Ever Simon & Schuster Audio Honor Creepy Carrots!Weston Woods Studios Eleanor & Park Listening Library and Sunil MalhotraMatildaPenguin Audio2015 H.O.R.S.E. A Game of Basketball and ImaginationLive Oak Media and Christopher Myers Winner Five, Six, Seven, Nate!Audioworks division of Simon & Schuster Audio Honor Listening Library Scholastic Audio2016Listening Library Winner Echo Scholastic Audio, David de Vries, MacLeod Andrews, Rebecca Soler Honor2017 Anna and the Swallow Man Listening Library Winner Dream On, AmberRecorded Books HonorGhostSimon & Schuster AudioNimona HarperAudio, Jonathan Davis, Marc Thompson, January LaVoy, Natalie Gold, Peter Bradbury and David Pittu2018 HarperAudio Winner Listening Library HonorListening LibraryLong Way Down Simon & Schuster Audio Trombone Shorty Live Oak Media Hachette Audio 2019 Sadie Macmillan Audio , Fred Berman, Dan Bittner, Gabra Zackman, and more Winner Du Iz Tak? Weston Woods Studios , Sebastian D’Amico, Burton Fott, Galen Fott, Laura Fott, Sarah Hart, Bella Higginbotham, Evelyn Hipp, and Brian Hull Honor Esquivel! Space-Age Sound Artist Live Oak Media Scholastic Audio HarperAudio 2020 Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction Scholastic Audio , Jeanne Birdsall, Jenna Lamia, Richard Ferrone and more Winner Redwood and Ponytail Hachette Audio and Tessa Netting HonorSong for a WhaleListening Library with Lynne Kelly We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga Live Oak Media , Agalisiga (Choogie) Mackey, Ryan Mackey, Traci Sorell, Tonia Weavel We're Not from Here Listening Library 2021 Kent State Scholastic Audio , Lauren Ezzo, Christina DeLaine, Johnny Heller, Roger Wayne, Korey Jackson, and David de Vries WinnerClap When You LandHarperAudio and Melania-Luisa MarteHonorFighting WordsListening LibraryStamped: Racism, Antiracism, and YouHachette Audio and Omar MohamedWhen Stars Are ScatteredListening Library, Barkhad Abdi and a full cast2022Boogie Boogie, Ya'llHarperAudioWinner (Children)When You Look Like UsHarperAudioWinner (Young Adults)Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu YeboahListening LibraryHonorI Talk Like a RiverDreamscape MediaHonorPerfectly ParvinListening LibraryHonor2023Stuntboy, In the MeantimeSimon & Schuster Audio, Nile Bullock and Angel Pean with a full castWinner (Children)Scholastic AudioWinner (Young Adults)Weston Woods Studios and Scholastic AudioHonor, adaptation by Garet ScottDemon in the Wood Graphic NovelMacmillan Audio and a full castHonorInheritance: A Visual PoemHarperAudioHonorListening Library, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, and a full castHonor2024El DeafoListening LibraryFull castWinner (Children)Promise BoysMacmillan Young ListenersFull castWinner (Young Adults)Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite FoodsHachette AudioHonorMexikid: A Graphic MemoirPenguin Random House AudioFull castHonorOnce There WasSimon & Schuster AudioHonorSisters of the Lost MarshScholastic AudioHonorStatelessHachette AudioHonor2025Erin FrankelA Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central KitchenAndy T. Jones for DreamscapeLuis Carlos de La LombanaWinner (Children)Tony Keith Jr.How the Boogeyman Became a PoetAbigail Marks for HarperAudioTony Keith Jr.Winner (Young Adults)Renée WatsonBlack Girl You Are AtlasBrian Ramcharan for Listening LibraryRenée WatsonHonorBrian BlissDispatches from Parts UnknownAlmeda Beynon for HarperAudioJoy NashHonorMelanie SumrowGirls Like HerAbigail Marks for HarperAudioMelanie Sumrow and January LaVoyHonorMargaret O’Hair and Sofia SanchezYou Are BravePaul Gagne and John Pels for Scholastic AudioSofia SanchezHonor2026Traci Sorell and Joseph ErbClack, Clack! Smack! A Cherokee Stickball StoryArnie Cardillo with Traci Sorell for Live Oak MediaTraci Sorell with full castWinner (Children)Alex L. Combs and Andrew EakettTrans History: From Ancient Times to the Present DayIris McElroy and Juan García Ticoulat for Listening Library/Penguin Random House AudioAlex L. Combs, Andrew Eakett with full cast Winner (Young Adults)Ryan La SalaThe Dead of SummerZane Birdwell and Paul Gagne for Scholastic AudioPete Cross and A’rese EmokpaeHonorCynthia Leitich SmithLegendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal StoriesSydney Mathieu for Heartdrum/HarperCollinsFull castHonorJason ReynoldsSoundtrackDan Zitt and Brian Ramcharan for Listening Library/Penguin Random House AudioFull castHonorJames Robinson andWhale Eyes: A Memoir About Seeing and Being SeenIris McElroy and Olivia Langen for Listening Library/Penguin Random House AudioJames RobinsonHonor

Multiple awards Listening Library has won 5 awards, Harper has won 4, and Live Oak Media and Scholastic have each won 3.

Katherine Kellgren is the narrator of the most Odyssey-honored titles at five Honor Audiobooks, including three written by L. A. Meyer and produced by Listen & Live Audio — the first, second, and fourth Jacky Faber books.

2009

Sherman Alexie, author and narrator of the 2009 Odyssey Award-winning audiobook, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, also won the annual National Book Award for Young People's Literature for the print edition of that book (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, September 2007)."National Book Awards – 2007" . National Book Foundation (NBF). Retrieved 2012-04-15. (With acceptance speech by Alexie, interview with Alexie, and other material, partly replicated for all five Young People's Literature authors and books.)

2020

Jarret J. Krosoczka, who wrote, illustrated, and narrated the 2020 Odyssey-winning audiobook Hey, Kiddo, was a National Book Award for Young People's Literature finalist for the print edition.

Odyssey Award

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