The best nonfiction audiobooks, by award record: every Audie Nonfiction winner
Looking for a nonfiction audiobook that's actually worth a credit? This is the complete record of the Audie Award's Nonfiction category — 31 winners from 1996 to 2026, the audiobook industry's own pick for the best nonfiction production of each year. The most recent winner is Separation of Church and Hate by John Fugelsang, narrated by John Fugelsang.
| Year | Narrator | Audiobook | Author |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | John Fugelsang | Separation of Church and Hate | John Fugelsang |
| 2025 | Hanif Abdurraqib | There's Always This Year | Hanif Abdurraqib |
| 2024 | Dion Graham | Poverty, by America | Matthew Desmond |
| 2023 | BD Wong | The Ransomware Hunting Team | Renee Dudley; Daniel Golden |
| 2022 | Sophie Amoss | The Joy of Sweat | Sarah Everts |
| 2021 | T. Ryder Smith | Fire in Paradise | Alastair Gee; Dani Anguiano |
| 2020 | Karen Chilton, Jennifer Berry Hawes | Grace Will Lead Us Home | Jennifer Berry Hawes |
| 2019 | Simon Winchester | The Perfectionists | Simon Winchester |
| 2018 | Mark Bramhall | American Wolf | Nate Blakeslee |
| 2017 | JD Vance | Hillbilly Elegy | JD Vance |
| 2016 | Rebecca Lowman | Ghettoside | Jill Leovy |
| 2015 | Dion Graham | Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him | David Henry; Joe Henry |
| 2014 | Malcolm Gladwell | David and Goliath | Malcolm Gladwell |
| 2013 | Kate Reading | Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History | Florence Williams |
| 2012 | William Dufris | The Murder of the Century | Paul Collins |
| 2011 | Cassandra Campbell, Bahni Turpin | The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks | Rebecca Skloot |
| 2010 | Ken Burns, Dayton Duncan | The National Parks: America's Best Idea | Ken Burns; Dayton Duncan |
| 2009 | Oliver Wyman | Hot, Flat, and Crowded | Thomas Friedman |
| 2008 | Avery Brooks | Roots: The Saga of an American Family | Alex Haley |
| 2007 | Steve Hodson | Narrow Dog to Carcassonne | Terry Darlington |
| 2006 | Oliver Wyman | The World Is Flat | Thomas L. Friedman |
| 2005 | Dennis Boutsikaris | Chasing the Devil | David Reichert |
| 2004 | Amy Tan | The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings | Amy Tan |
| 2003 | Richard Rohan | 3000 Degrees | Sean Flynn |
| 2002 | Nelson Runger | John Adams | David McCullough |
| 2001 | Sidney Poitier | The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography | Sidney Poitier |
| 2000 | Frank McCourt | 'Tis | Frank McCourt |
| 1999 | Michael Palin | Full Circle: A Pacific Journey with Michael Palin | Michael Palin |
| 1998 | Christopher Timothy | James Herriot's Animal Stories | James Herriot |
| 1997 | Mandy Patinkin | Genesis | Bill Moyers |
| 1996 | Dick Hill | Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation | Jonathan Kozol |
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Most-awarded nonfiction narrators
Dion Graham (2 wins) · Oliver Wyman (2 wins).
See also: Audiobook of the Year · Best Narrator winners · Grammy audiobook winners.