The best author-narrated audiobooks & memoirs
Some books are best heard in the author's own voice — memoir especially. Author-narrated titles have repeatedly won Audiobook of the Year, because the performance carries the truth of the story. Below: the award-winning author-narrated and nonfiction audiobooks in this index.
| Audiobook | Author | Narrator(s) | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Separation of Church and Hate | John Fugelsang | John Fugelsang | Audie Nonfiction (2026) |
| There's Always This Year | Hanif Abdurraqib | Hanif Abdurraqib | Audie Nonfiction (2025) |
| Surrender | Bono | Bono | Audiobook of the Year (2024) |
| Poverty, by America | Matthew Desmond | Dion Graham | Audie Nonfiction (2024) |
| Finding Me | Viola Davis | Viola Davis | Audiobook of the Year (2023) |
| The Ransomware Hunting Team | Renee Dudley; Daniel Golden | BD Wong | Audie Nonfiction (2023) |
| The Joy of Sweat | Sarah Everts | Sophie Amoss | Audie Nonfiction (2022) |
| Fire in Paradise | Alastair Gee; Dani Anguiano | T. Ryder Smith | Audie Nonfiction (2021) |
| Grace Will Lead Us Home | Jennifer Berry Hawes | Karen Chilton, Jennifer Berry Hawes | Audie Nonfiction (2020) |
| The Perfectionists | Simon Winchester | Simon Winchester | Audie Nonfiction (2019) |
| American Wolf | Nate Blakeslee | Mark Bramhall | Audie Nonfiction (2018) |
| Hillbilly Elegy | JD Vance | JD Vance | Audie Nonfiction (2017) |
| Ghettoside | Jill Leovy | Rebecca Lowman | Audie Nonfiction (2016) |
| Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him | David Henry; Joe Henry | Dion Graham | Audie Nonfiction (2015) |
| Still Foolin' 'Em | Billy Crystal | Billy Crystal | Audiobook of the Year (2014) |
| David and Goliath | Malcolm Gladwell | Malcolm Gladwell | Audie Nonfiction (2014) |
| Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History | Florence Williams | Kate Reading | Audie Nonfiction (2013) |
| Bossypants | Tina Fey | Tina Fey | Audiobook of the Year (2012) |
| The Murder of the Century | Paul Collins | William Dufris | Audie Nonfiction (2012) |
| Life | Keith Richards | Johnny Depp, Joe Hurley | Audiobook of the Year (2011) |
| The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks | Rebecca Skloot | Cassandra Campbell, Bahni Turpin | Audie Nonfiction (2011) |
| The National Parks: America's Best Idea | Ken Burns; Dayton Duncan | Ken Burns, Dayton Duncan | Audie Nonfiction (2010) |
| Hot, Flat, and Crowded | Thomas Friedman | Oliver Wyman | Audie Nonfiction (2009) |
| Roots: The Saga of an American Family | Alex Haley | Avery Brooks | Audie Nonfiction (2008) |
| Narrow Dog to Carcassonne | Terry Darlington | Steve Hodson | Audie Nonfiction (2007) |
| The World Is Flat | Thomas L. Friedman | Oliver Wyman | Audie Nonfiction (2006) |
| Chasing the Devil | David Reichert | Dennis Boutsikaris | Audie Nonfiction (2005) |
| The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings | Amy Tan | Amy Tan | Audie Nonfiction (2004) |
| 3000 Degrees | Sean Flynn | Richard Rohan | Audie Nonfiction (2003) |
| John Adams | David McCullough | Nelson Runger | Audie Nonfiction (2002) |
| The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography | Sidney Poitier | Sidney Poitier | Audie Nonfiction (2001) |
| 'Tis | Frank McCourt | Frank McCourt | Audie Nonfiction (2000) |
| Full Circle: A Pacific Journey with Michael Palin | Michael Palin | Michael Palin | Audie Nonfiction (1999) |
| James Herriot's Animal Stories | James Herriot | Christopher Timothy | Audie Nonfiction (1998) |
| Genesis | Bill Moyers | Mandy Patinkin | Audie Nonfiction (1997) |
| Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation | Jonathan Kozol | Dick Hill | Audie Nonfiction (1996) |
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More guides: best audiobooks by award · Audiobook of the Year · best audiobooks for beginners: where to start · best full-cast & multi-voiced audiobooks · best audiobooks for long drives & road trips.