Davina Porter

Last updated

Davina Porter
Born
England
Occupation(s)Audiobook narrator and actor
Years active1986–present
SpouseFergus Porter [1]

Davina Porter is a British audiobook narrator and actor, best known for narrating the unabridged audiobooks of the Outlander series of novels by Diana Gabaldon. Since the 1960s she has been based in the United States, and she began narrating books on tape in the mid-1980s.

Life and career

Porter was born in England, to an English father and a Scottish mother. [2] She moved to the United States in the early 1960s, where she began acting in community theatre and began acting professionally in the mid-1980s. [3] As of 2018 she was based in Westport, Connecticut, and recorded her works at a studio in Katonah. [4]

Porter began narrating audiobooks in 1986. [3] [5] In addition to her work on the Outlander series, she has narrated books by Leo Tolstoy, Daniel Defoe, Alexander McCall Smith and Anne Perry, and narrates both children's and adult literature. [6] [4] In 1989 her recording of Madame Bovary was described in the Los Angeles Times as "a performance against which all others must be measured". [7] In 2019 she had narrated 192 books available on the Audible service. [3] She has also acted in and directed a number of stage productions. [6]

In 2004 Porter won the Audie Award for Faith-Based Fiction and Nonfiction for her narration of Treasure of Stonewycke by Michael Phillips and Judith Pella. [8] In 2006 she won the Audie Award for Best Female Narrator for her narration of A Breath of Snow and Ashes , the sixth book in the Outlander series. [9] In 2015 she won the Sova Award for Best Female Narrator for Written in My Own Heart's Blood , the eighth book in the series. [1]

In 2017 Porter was selected as one of the 20 inaugural members of the Narrator Hall of Fame by Audible. [4] [5] Audible said of Porter's selection that she "has developed a special relationship with the listener, making every audiobook she performs a transporting experience". [5]

Porter has said it takes her a week to two and a half weeks to record a book, depending on length, working five hours a day. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 Musbach, Julie (19 December 2017). "Westport Resident/Actor Davina Porter Inducted Into the Narrator Hall of Fame". Broadway World. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  2. ↑ "Davina Porter: The voice behind the Outlander series". Audiofile Magazine. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Remer, Abby (16 October 2019). "Davina Porter narrates books on tape". The Martha's Vineyard Times. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Meyers, Joe (29 January 2018). "Westport actor Davina Porter chosen for audiobook hall of fame". Connecticut Post. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Donahue, Casey (21 December 2017). "Westport's Davina Porter Inducted Into Audible Narrator Hall Of Fame". Westport Daily Voice. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  6. 1 2 Murphy, Sean (7 January 2022). "Who is Davina Porter - the voice of Outlander audiobooks?". Daily Record. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  7. ↑ Love, Keith (2 July 1989). "The Sound of Wanton Secrets". The Los Angeles Times. p. 193. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  8. ↑ "2004 Audie Awards". Audio Publishers Association . Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "Audie Awards". City of Lincoln Libraries. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
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