2021 Hugo Awards Finalists

Black Sun

Between Earth and Sky: Book #1

By: Rebecca Roanhorse
Narrated by: Cara Gee, Nicole Lewis, Kaipo Schwab & Shaun Taylor-Corbett
Length: 12 hours 46 minutes

“This is a whirlwind of a first installment and I am equally psyched and disappointed that I have to wait for the others to come out. I am a huge huge fan of the audio edition of this book, it is so beautifully done with a full cast and the image of each character is so complete and vivid. A total dream to listen to; I found myself just sitting... Read more

The City We Became

A Novel

The Great Cities: Book #1

By: N. K. Jemisin
Narrated by: Robin Miles
Length: 16 hours 12 minutes

“I've listened to mediocre books made awesome by a talented narrator, but this book is a case of a fantastic story made even more engaging by phenomenal narrator Robin Miles. The story is like Neil Gaiman meets Jeff VanDerMeer as New York City's boroughs personified seek to save their city (and themselves) from an ancient interdimensional threat.... Read more

Harrow the Ninth

Locked Tomb: Book #2

By: Tamsyn Muir
Narrated by: Moira Quirk
Length: 19 hours 50 minutes

Harrow the Ninth, the sequel to the sensational, USA Today bestselling novel Gideon the Ninth, turns a
galaxy inside out as one necromancer struggles to survive the wreckage of herself aboard the Emperor’s haunted
space station.
Harrowhark Nonagesimus, last necromancer of the Ninth House, has been drafted by her Emperor to fight an
unwinnable war.... Read more

Network Effect

Murderbot Diaries: Book #5

By: Martha Wells
Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
Length: 12 hours 47 minutes

“Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries has become one of my favorite series of all time, and Network Effect is a perfect addition. Murderbot is still trying to figure out what it wants after hacking its governor module. In the meantime, it spends its days protecting the humans it cares about. Of course, everything goes terribly wrong when a friend... Read more

Upright Women Wanted

By: Sarah Gailey
Narrated by: Romy Nordlinger
Length: 3 hours 52 minutes

“A quite enjoyable audiobook! Great alternative history/dystopian future(??) Read more

Riot Baby

By: Tochi Onyebuchi
Narrated by: Tochi Onyebuchi
Length: 3 hours 46 minutes

Ella has a Thing. She sees a classmate grow up to become a caring nurse. A neighbor’s son murdered in a drive-by shooting. Things that haven’t happened yet. Kev, born while Los Angeles burned around them, wants to protect his sister from a power that could destroy her. But when Kev is incarcerated, Ella must decide what it means to watch her... Read more

Ring Shout

By: P. Djeli Clark
Narrated by: Channie Waites
Length: 5 hours 36 minutes

“The emotionally charged, wild ride of Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark was one I did not want to end. Clark pulled me into the life of Maryse and her band of monster hunters and held me hostage. With beautiful language, deep characters, and a fully immersive world, this story of vengeance and self-forgiveness unfolds. By the end, I was in tears.... Read more

Finna

Poems

By: Nate Marshall
Narrated by: Nate Marshall
Length: 1 hour 35 minutes

Sharp, lyrical poems celebrating the Black vernacular—its influence on pop culture, its necessity for familial survival, its rite in storytelling and in creating the safety found only within its intimacy

“Terrific . . . illuminates life in this country in a strikingly original way.”—Ron Charles, The Washington Post

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF... Read more

The Empress of Salt and Fortune

Singing Hills Cycle: Book #1

By: Nghi Vo
Narrated by: Cindy Kay
Length: 2 hours 25 minutes

With the heart of an Atwood tale and the visuals of a classic Asian period drama, Nghi Vo's The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a tightly and lushly written narrative about empire, storytelling, and the anger of women.

A young royal from the far north, is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her... Read more

Come Tumbling Down

Wayward Children: Book #5

By: Seanan McGuire
Narrated by: Seanan McGuire
Length: 3 hours 51 minutes

“Seanan McGuire strikes again with another breathtakingly beautiful fantasy! The Wayward Children series is an amazing collection of novellas for those who love the unique and bizarre, who long to see themselves in fiction, who want to lose themselves in words. This particular installment returns to some of her very best characters and can be... Read more

The Empire of Gold

A Novel

The Daevabad Trilogy: Book #3

By: S. A. Chakraborty
Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
Length: 28 hours 37 minutes

"No series since George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire has quite captured both palace intrigue and the way that tribal infighting and war hurt the vulnerable the most." —Paste Magazine
The final chapter in the bestselling, critically acclaimed Daevabad Trilogy, in which a con-woman and an idealistic djinn prince join forces to save a... Read more

A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky

The World of Octavia Butler

By: Lynell George
Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
Length: 4 hours 14 minutes

A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia E. Butler offers a blueprint for a creative life from the perspective of award-winning science-fiction writer and “MacArthur Genius” Octavia E. Butler. It is a collection of ideas about how to look, listen, breathe — how to be in the world. 

This audiobook is about the creative process.... Read more

Beowulf: A New Translation

By: Maria Dahvana Headley
Narrated by: JD Jackson & Maria Dahvana Headley
Length: 4 hours 8 minutes

“Narrated by JD Jackson. Sooo good! I listened to to this book 3x.!!! Beautiful! Read more

Raybearer

The Raybearer Series: Book #1

By: Jordan Ifueko
Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt
Length: 13 hours 48 minutes

“Such a cool fantasy novel with an incredible magic system! Perfect for fans of "Children of Blood and Bone." I highly recommend listening to the audiobook to further immerse yourself in this beautiful world that Ifueko has created. Read more

Legendborn

The Legendborn Cycle

By: Tracy Deonn
Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt
Length: 18 hours 54 minutes

“I listened to this audiobook almost entirely it one sitting. It was utterly enthralling. Read more

A Deadly Education

A Novel

The Scholomance: Book #1

By: Naomi Novik
Narrated by: Anisha Dadia
Length: 10 hours 58 minutes

“A school for wizards! The Chosen One! But imagine if the Chosen One was just a sweet, dumb jock with a penchant for slaying monsters who had a hard time saying ‘no.’ And if the bright, often-relegated Lady Sidekick was just as intelligent, rude, and ruthless as she wanted to be. If she was the so-called hero of the story. And one more small... Read more

Cemetery Boys

By: Aiden Thomas
Narrated by: Avi Roque
Length: 13 hours 47 minutes

“"Listening to Cemetery Boys made me smile. A lot. Aiden Thomas presents a story of persistence, mystery, and finding one’s place in the world. Yadriel, a trans, teenage, latinx boy, lives in a family of brujos and brujas. After coming out as trans his family does not know where he fits within their traditions. With the help of his opinionated... Read more

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

By: T. Kingfisher
Narrated by: Patricia Santomasso
Length: 8 hours 30 minutes

Fourteen-year-old Mona isn't like the wizards charged with defending the city. She can't control lightning or speak to water. Her familiar is a sourdough starter and her magic only works on bread. She has a comfortable life in her aunt's bakery making gingerbread men dance.

But Mona's life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the... Read more