| Odyssey Award | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | the year's best English-language audiobook for children or young adults |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Association for Library Service to Children and Young Adult Library Services Association, divisions of ALA |
| First awarded | 2008 |
| Website | ala |
The Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production is an annual award conferred by the American Library Association upon the publisher of "the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States". [1] [2] 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. [3] It recognizes production quality in all respects, considering such things as narration, sound quality, background music and sound effects. [3] It is named for Homer's eighth century BCE epic poem Odyssey , which was transmitted orally, to remind us modern people of the ancient roots of storytelling. [3]
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." [4]
Source: "Eligibility & Criteria" [4]
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. [5]
Listening Library has won 5 awards and Live Oak Media and Harper 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. [lower-alpha 1]
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). [9]
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.
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is a division of the American Library Association.
The Michael L. Printz Award is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". It is sponsored by Booklist magazine; administered by the ALA's young-adult division, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA); and named for the Topeka, Kansas, school librarian Mike Printz, a long-time active member of YALSA. Up to four worthy runners-up may be designated Honor Books and three or four have been named every year.
Bloody Jack: Being An Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship's Boy is a historical novel by L.A. Meyer, published by Harcourt Children's Books in September 2002. It is centered on an orphaned girl in London in the early 19th century.
Kirby Heyborne is an American actor, musician, singer, songwriter, narrator and comedian. He is known for his work in films centered around the culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Heyborne has also worked extensively as an audiobook narrator, narrating more than 300 books. He has won two Odyssey Awards and an Audie Award for Middle Grade Title. In 2015, Booklist named him a Voice of Choice narrator.
Curse of the Blue Tattoo is a 2004 historical novel by L.A. Meyer, the second book in the Bloody Jack series. It continues the story of orphaned London girl, Jacky Faber, in the early 19th century. The novel is preceded by Bloody Jack (2002) and followed by Under the Jolly Roger (2005), In the Belly of the Bloodhound (2006), Mississippi Jack (2007), My Bonny Light Horseman (2008), Rapture of the Deep (2009), The Wake of the Lorelei Lee (2010), The Mark of the Golden Dragon (2011), Viva Jacquelina! (2012), Boston Jacky (2013), and Wild Rover No More (2016).
Jennifer Donnelly is an American writer best known for the young adult historical novel A Northern Light.
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of libraries to better serve teens. YALSA administers several awards and sponsors an annual Young Adult Literature Symposium, Teen Read Week, the third week of each October, and Teen Tech Week, the second week of each March. YALSA currently has over 5,200 members. YALSA aims to expand and strengthen library services for teens through advocacy, research, professional development and events.
January LaVoy is an American actress and audiobook narrator. As an actress, she is most recognized as Noelle Ortiz on the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live. LaVoy made her Broadway debut in the Broadway premiere of the play Enron at the Broadhurst Theatre on April 27, 2010.
The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal established by the Association for Library Service to Children in 2001 with support from Bound to Stay Bound Books, Inc., is awarded annually to the writer and illustrator of the most distinguished informational book published in English during the preceding year. The award is named in honor of Robert F. Sibert, the long-time President of Bound to Stay Bound Books, Inc. of Jacksonville, Illinois. ALSC administers the award.
Dominic Hoffman is an American actor and playwright. He is known for his recurring roles on The Shield as Louis Sperling, A Different World as Whitley's boyfriend, Julian Day, and Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Jeff Russell.
Katherine Ingrid Kellgren or Kjellgren was an American actress, known for her narration of audiobooks.
Elizabeth Acevedo is an American poet and author. In September 2022, the Poetry Foundation named her the year's Young People's Poet Laureate.
Bahni Turpin is an American audiobook narrator and stage and screen actor based out of Los Angeles. Her audiobook career includes some of the most popular and critically-acclaimed books in recent years, including The Help and The Hate U Give. She has won 9 Audie Awards, including Audiobook of the Year for Children of Blood and Bone; 14 Earphone Awards; and 2 Odyssey Awards. Turpin has also earned a place on AudioFile magazine's list of Golden Voice Narrators, and in 2016, she was named Audible's Narrator of the Year. In 2018, Audible inducted her into the Narrator Hall of Fame.
Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction is a graphic memoir by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, published October 9, 2018 by Graphix. The book tells the story of Krosoczka's childhood living with his grandparents while his mother lived with a substance use disorder.
When Stars Are Scattered is a nonfiction young adult graphic novel written by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, illustrated by Victoria Jamieson and Iman Geddy, and published April 14, 2020, by Dial Books.
Dion Graham is an American actor and narrator. As an actor, he has worked both on and off-Broadway, as well as in TV series and film. As of April 2024, he has narrated at least 280 audiobooks. He has earned a place on AudioFile magazine's list of Golden Voice Narrators, as well as Audible's Narrator Hall of Fame. Further, he has won 11 Audie Awards, 71 Earphone Awards, 3 Listen-Up Awards, and 1 Odyssey Award.
MacLeod Andrews is an American actor and audiobook narrator. He has won 15 Earphone Awards, and 2 Audie Awards, as well as acting awards.
JD Jackson is an American audiobook narrator, actor, and theater professor. Jackson won 26 Earphone Awards and 1 Audie Award. In 2020, AudioFile named him a Golden voice Narrator and two years later Booklist named him a voice of Choice Narrator.
Nick Podehl is an American voice actor. He has narrated more than 250 audiobooks, for which he has received 14 Earphone Awards and 2 Odyssey Award honors.
Michael Lockwood Crouch is an American voice actor. He has recorded over 300 audiobooks, through which he received 29 Earphone Awards, 2 Audie Awards, 1 Voice Arts Award, and 1 Odyssey Award honor. In June 2021, AudioFile named him a Golden Voice Narrator. As an actor, he is best known for his roles on the English-language Pokémonand Yu-Gi-Oh! television series.
