The best original work audiobooks for beginners: where to start
If you've never finished a original work audiobook, start with one that already won. Every title below took the Audie Award in the original work category — broadly loved, superbly narrated, the audiobook industry's own pick for the best original work production of its year. They are the safest first credits: hard to switch off, and hard to regret. The most recent winner is The Big Fix: A Jack Bergin Mystery by John Mankiewicz, Jamie Napoli, Daniel Pyne, Katie Pyne, Aaron Lipstadt (2026).
The DispatcherThe Starling ProjectJeffery DeaverThe Starling ProjectMandela: An Audio HistoryNelson MandelaMandela: An Audio History| Audiobook | Author | Narrator(s) | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Big Fix: A Jack Bergin Mystery | John Mankiewicz, Jamie Napoli, Daniel Pyne, Katie Pyne, Aaron Lipstadt | Jon Hamm, Ana de la Reguera, Alia Shawkat, Omar Epps, Erin Moriarty, Sosie Bacon, John Slattery, full cast | Audie Original Work (2026) |
| Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The Goddess of Manhattan | Christopher Golden, Thomas E. Sniegoski | Marni Penning, Scott McCormick, full cast | Audie Original Work (2025) |
| Exodus: The Shanghai Jews | Kate McAll | Edita Brychta, Michael Canavan, full cast | Audie Original Work (2024) |
| Mrs. Wickham | Sarah Page | Jessie Buckley, Johnny Flynn, full cast | Audie Original Work (2023) |
| Heroine | Mary Jane Wells | Mary Jane Wells | Audie Original Work (2022) |
| When You Finish Saving the World | Jesse Eisenberg | Kaitlyn Dever, Jesse Eisenberg, Finn Wolfhard | Audie Original Work (2021) |
| Evil Eye | Madhuri Shekar | Nick Choksi, Harsh Nayaar, Annapurna Sriram, Bernard White, Rita Wolf | Audie Original Work (2020) |
| Spin | Harvey Edelman, Neil Fishman | Jim Dale, Barrett Leddy, Lisa Livesay, Nicola Barber, Khristine Hvam, Nick Sullivan, John Brady, Johnny Heller | Audie Original Work (2019) |
| Romeo and Juliet: A Novel | David Hewson | Richard Armitage | Audie Original Work (2018) |
| The Dispatcher | John Scalzi | Zachary Quinto | Audie Original Work (2017) |
| The Starling Project | Jeffery Deaver | Alfred Molina, full cast | Audie Original Work (2016) |
| Mandela: An Audio History | Nelson Mandela | Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, Joe Richman | Audie Original Work (2015) |
| Thirteen | Scott Harrison et al. | Barnaby Edwards, full cast | Audie Original Work (2014) |
| Gun Church | Reed Farrel Coleman | Joe Barrett, John Keating | Audie Original Work (2013) |
| METAtropolis: Cascadia | Jay Lake, Mary Robinette Kowal, Elizabeth Bear, Ken Scholes, Karl Schroeder, Tobias Buckell | Rene Auberjonois, Kate Mulgrew, Wil Wheaton, Gates McFadden, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton | Audie Original Work (2012) |
| New Adventures of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (vol. 2) | Max Allan Collins | Stacy Keach, full cast | Audie Original Work (2011) |
| Tell Me a Story 3: Women of Wonder | Amy Friedman | Bryce Dallas Howard, Paula Poundstone, Wendy Hammers, Margot Rose, Jessica DiCicco, Yvette Freeman | Audie Original Work (2010) |
| Louis Vuitton Soundwalk, China: Beijing | Stephen Crasneanscki | Gong Li | Audie Original Work (2009) |
| Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls | Yuri Rasovsky | Phil Proctor, Simon Templeman, Moira Quirk, Martin Jarvis, Rosalind Ayres, Robertson Dean, W. Morgan Sheppard | Audie Original Work (2008) |
| Hasidic Williamsburg, Brooklyn for Men & Women | Soundwalk | Joseph Piekarski, Pearl Gluck | Audie Original Work (2007) |
| Famous Composers | Darren Henley | Marin Alsop | Audie Original Work (2006) |
| The Story of Classical Music | Darren Henley | Marin Alsop | Audie Original Work (2005) |
| New York: The Bronx 2004 | Soundwalk | Tony Morante | Audie Original Work (2004) |
| Getting to Know William Shakespeare | Joy Wake | Fred Child | Audie Original Work (2003) |
| The Life and Works of Chopin | Jeremy Siepmann | Jeremy Siepmann | Audie Original Work (2002) |
| The History of the Theatre | David Timson | Derek Jacobi, full cast | Audie Original Work (2001) |
| Song of the Unicorn | Susan Hammond, Debra A. S. Olivia | Jeremy Irons, Graham Harley, Phelan Landry, Robert Lurtsema, Catherine McNally, Tracy Moore | Audie Original Work (2000) |
| Haunted Cattle Drive | Connie Kingrey | Gerald Drake, James Ahrens, Jonathan Poland, Jackie Perlman, Kevin Fitzgerald | Audie Original Work (1999) |
| Diana, Princess of Wales: A Radio Tribute | BBC Productions | full cast | Audie Original Work (1998) |
| Zeus: Thunderbolt from the Sky | Julie Fenster | Stan Winiarski | Audie Original Work (1997) |
| Enjoying Italian Opera | Dale Harris | Dale Harris | Audie Original Work (1996) |
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Frequently asked questions
Which original work audiobook should I start with?
Start with a recent Audie Original Work winner such as "The Big Fix: A Jack Bergin Mystery" by John Mankiewicz, Jamie Napoli, Daniel Pyne, Katie Pyne, Aaron Lipstadt (2026). Award winners are the safest first listens because they are judged on narration as much as story, so the performance carries you through.
Are these good for someone new to audiobooks?
Yes. Every audiobook here won the Audie Award, the audiobook industry's own award — they are broadly loved and exceptionally well narrated, which is exactly what makes a first audiobook easy to finish.
How do I listen for free?
A free 30-day Audible Premium Plus trial includes one credit. You can use it on any original work audiobook on this page and keep it permanently, even if you cancel before the trial ends.
More original work guides: every Audie-winning original work audiobook · full-cast original work audiobooks · all listening guides · best audiobooks by award.