Odyssey Award

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]

Odyssey Award
Awarded forthe year's best English-language audiobook for children or young adults
CountryUnited States
Presented byAssociation for Library Service to Children and Young Adult Library Services Association, divisions of ALA
First awarded2008
Websiteala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/odysseyaward ala.org/yalsa/odyssey

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]

Criteria

Source: "Eligibility & Criteria"[4]

  • All literary genres are eligible for consideration, including read-alongs.[4]
  • 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.[4]
  • Audiobooks produced previously in another audio format are ineligible for consideration.[4]
  • 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.[4]
  • Audiobooks featuring single or full cast narration are eligible.[4]
  • Audiobooks previously published in another country are eligible presuming they have also been distributed in the United States during the term of eligibility.[4]
  • 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.[4]
  • If no title is deemed sufficiently meritorious, no award will be given that year.[4]
  • The chair, with assistance from designated ALSC or YALSA staff, is responsible for verifying the eligibility of all nominated titles.[4]
  • The award will be presented to the producers of the audiobooks.[4]

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.[5]

Odyssey Award winners and honor audiobooks[6]
YearAuthorTitleProducerNarratorCitation
2008 Walter Dean Myers Jazz Live Oak Media James "D-Train" Williams
Vaneese Thomas		 Winner
L. A. Meyer Bloody Jack[lower-alpha 1] Listen & Live Audio Katherine Kellgren Honor
Doreen Cronin Dooby Dooby Moo Scholastic /
Weston Woods		 Randy Travis
J. K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Listening Library Jim Dale
Derek Landy Skulduggery Pleasant HarperCollins Children's Audio Rupert Degas
Robert Louis Stevenson Treasure Island Listening Library Alfred Molina
2009 Sherman Alexie The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Recorded Books Sherman Alexie Winner
L. A. Meyer Curse of the Blue Tattoo[lower-alpha 1] Listen & Live Audio Katherine Kellgren Honor
Christopher Paul Curtis Elijah of Buxton Listening Library Mirron Willis
Kate McMullan
Jim McMullan		 I'm Dirty Scholastic Media /
Weston Woods Studios		 Steve Buscemi
Carmen Agra Deedy Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale Peachtree Publishers Carmen Agra Deedy
Terry Pratchett Nation HarperAudio Stephen Briggs
2010 Kate DiCamillo Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken Live Oak Media Barbara Rosenblat Winner
L. A. Meyer In the Belly of the Bloodhound[lower-alpha 1] Listen & Live Audio Katherine Kellgren Honor
Jacqueline Woodson Peace, Locomotion Brilliance Audio Dion Graham
Kadir Nelson We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro Baseball Brilliance Audio Dion Graham
2011 Adam Rex The True Meaning of Smekday Listening Library Bahni Turpin Winner
Karen Cushman Alchemy and Meggy Swann Listening Library Katherine Kellgren Honor
Patrick Ness The Knife of Never Letting Go Brilliance Audio Nick Podehl
Jennifer Donnelly Revolution Listening Library Emily Janice Card
John Green
David Levithan		 Will Grayson, Will Grayson Brilliance Audio MacLeod Andrews
2012[7] Daniel Kraus (author) Rotters Listening Library Kirby Heyborne Winner
G. Neri Ghetto Cowboy Brilliance Audio JD Jackson Honor
Gary D. Schmidt Okay for Now Listening Library Lincoln Hoppe
Maggie Stiefvater The Scorpio Races Scholastic Audio Books Steve West
Fiona Hardingham
Cynthia Voigt Young Fredle Listening Library Wendy Carter
2013[8] John Green The Fault in Our Stars Brilliance Audio Kate Rudd Winner
Eoin Colfer Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian Listening Library Nathaniel Parker Honor
Cornelia Funke Ghost Knight Listening Library Elliot Hill
Elizabeth Fama Monstrous Beauty Macmillan Audio Katherine Kellgren
2014 Daniel Kraus Scowler Listening Library Kirby Heyborne Winner
Tim Federle Better Nate Than Ever Simon and Schuster Audio Tim Federle Honor
Aaron Reynolds Creepy Carrots! Weston Woods Studios, Inc James Naughton
Rainbow Rowell Eleanor & Park Listening Library Rebecca Lowman and Sunil Malhotra
Roald Dahl Matilda Penguin Audio Kate Winslet
2015 Christopher Myers H.O.R.S.E. A Game of Basketball and Imagination Live Oak Media Dion Graham and Christopher Myers Winner
Tim Federle Five, Six, Seven, Nate! Audioworks division of Simon and Schuster Audio Tim Federle Honor
Julie Berry The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place Listening Library Jayne Entwistle
Natalie Lloyd A Snicker of Magic Scholastic Audiobooks Cassandra Morris
2016 Kimberly Brubaker Bradley The War That Saved My Life Listening Library Jayne Entwistle Winner
Pam Muñoz Ryan Echo Scholastic Audio Mark Bramhall, David de Vries, MacLeod Andrews, Rebecca Soler Honor
2017 Gavriel Savit Anna and the Swallow Man Listening Library Allan Corduner Winner
Emma Shevah Dream On, Amber Recorded Books Laura Kirman Honor
Jason Reynolds Ghost Simon and Schuster Audio Guy Lockard
ND Stevenson Nimona HarperAudio Rebecca Soler, Jonathan Davis, Marc Thompson, January LaVoy, Natalie Gold, Peter Bradbury and David Pittu
2018 Angie Thomas The Hate U Give HarperAudio Bahni Turpin Winner
Philip Pullman The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage Listening Library Michael Sheen Honor
Matt Haig A Boy Called Christmas Listening Library Stephen Fry
Jason Reynolds Long Way Down Simon and Schuster Audio Jason Reynolds
Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews Trombone Shorty Live Oak Media Dion Graham
Cressida Cowell The Wizards of Once Hachette Audio David Tennant
2019 Courtney Summers Sadie Macmillan Audio Rebecca Soler, Fred Berman, Dan Bittner, Gabra Zackman, and more Winner
Carson Ellis Du Iz Tak Weston Woods Studio Eli D’Amico, Sebastian D’Amico, Burton Fott, Galen Fott, Laura Fott, Sarah Hart, Bella Higginbotham, Evelyn Hipp, and Brian Hull Honor
Susan Wood Esquivel! Space-Age Sound Artist Live Oak Media Brian Amador
Varian Johnson The Parker Inheritance Scholastic Audiobooks Cherise Booth
Elizabeth Acevedo The Poet X HarperAudio Elizabeth Acevedo
2020 Jarrett J. Krosoczka Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction Scholastic Audiobooks Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Jeanne Birdsall, Jenna Lamia, Richard Ferrone and more Winner
K.A. Holt Redwood and Ponytail Hachette Audio Cassandra Morris and Tessa Netting Honor
Lynne Kelly Song for a Whale Listening Library Abigail Revasch with Lynne Kelly
Traci Sorell We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga Live Oak Media Lauren Hummingbird, Agalisiga (Choogie) Mackey, Ryan Mackey, Traci Sorell, Tonia Weavel
Geoff Rodkey We're Not from Here Listening Library Dani Martineck
2021 Deborah Wiles Kent State Scholastic Audiobooks Christopher Gebauer, Lauren Ezzo, Christina DeLaine, Johnny Heller, Roger Wayne, Korey Jackson, and David de Vries Winner
Elizabeth Acevedo Clap When You Land HarperAudio Elizabeth Acevedo and Melania-Luisa Marte Honor
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley Fighting Words Listening Library Bahni Turpin
Jason Reynolds Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You Hachette Audio Jason Reynolds
Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed When Stars Are Scattered Listening Library Faysal Ahmed, Barkhad Abdi and a full cast
2022 C. G. Esperanza Boogie Boogie, Ya'll HarperAudio C. G. Esperanza Winner (Children)
Pamela N. Harris When You Look Like Us HarperAudio Preston Butler III Winner (Young Adults)
Laurie Ann Thompson Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah Listening Library Adjoa Andoh Honor
Jordan Scott I Talk Like a River Dreamscape Media Jordan Scott Honor
Olivia Abtahi Perfectly Parvin Listening Library Mitra Jouhari Honor
2023 Jason Reynolds Stuntboy, In the Meantime Simon & Schuster Audio Guy Lockard, Nile Bullock and Angel Pean with a full cast Winner

(Children)

Ryan La Sala The Honeys Scholastic Audio Pete Cross Winner

(Young Adults)

Mac Barnett The Three Billy Goats Gruff Weston Woods Studios and Scholastic Audio Mac Barnett Honor
Leigh Bardugo, adaptation by Garet Scott Demon in the Wood Graphic Novel Macmillan Audio Ben Barnes and a full cast Honor
Elizabeth Acevedo Inheritance: A Visual Poem HarperAudio Elizabeth Acevedo Honor
Jarrett J. Krosoczka The First Helping (Lunch Lady Books 1 & 2) Listening Library Kate Flannery, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, and a full cast Honor

Multiple awards

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.

See also
  • Category:Audiobooks

Notes
  1. The table gives full titles except for three Jacky Faber books written by L. A. Meyer, narrated by Katherine Kellgren, and produced by Listen & Live Audio:
    2008 Honor, Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy
    2009 Honor, Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady
    2010 Honor, In the Belly of the Bloodhound: Being an Account of a Particularly Peculiar Adventure in the Life of Jacky Faber

References
  1. "Welcome to the Odyssey Award home page!". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). American Library Association (ALA). Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  2. "Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production" Archived 2011-12-04 at the Wayback Machine. Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). ALA. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
  3. "About the ALSC/Booklist/YALSA Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production". ALSC. ALA. Archived from the original on 2009-02-10. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
  4. "ALSC/Booklist/YALSA Odyssey Award Eligibility & criteria". ALSC. ALA. 2007. Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
  5. YALSA (2021). "Odyssey Award Manual" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-12-25. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  6. "Odyssey Award winners and honor audiobooks, 2008–present" Archived 2015-04-26 at the Wayback Machine. ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  7. "Listening Library Nabs 2012 Odyssey Award" Archived 2023-02-21 at the Wayback Machine. Phyllis Levy Mandell. School Library Journal. January 23, 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
  8. "Brilliance Audio wins 2013 Odyssey Award for The Fault in Our Stars" Archived 2013-03-02 at the Wayback Machine. ALA Press Release. January 28, 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
  9. "National Book Awards – 2007" Archived 2019-10-21 at the Wayback Machine. 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.)
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