Matriarch by Tina Knowles and Truly by Lionel Richie are among the audiobooks that were honored at the 2026 Audie Awards, which were presented on Monday (March 2) at Pier 60 at Chelsea Piers in New York City. The awards, which are presented by The Audio Publishers Association, recognize distinction in audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment.
Knowles narrated her own audiobook with help from daughters Beyoncé and Solange, niece Angie Beyincé and Bey’s Destiny’s Child colleague Kelly Rowland. Other nominees in the category included Cher: Part One by Cher, which was narrated by Cher and Stephanie J. Block (who won a Tony for playing the icon in the Broadway musical The Cher Show) and The Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou, which was narrated by Uzo Aduba.
Blair Underwood won for best non-fiction narrator for narrating Lionel Richie’s audiobook, Truly. The autobiography and its audiobook equivalent took its title from Richie’s first solo single, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 and brought the R&B and pop star his first Grammy Award (for best pop vocal performance, male) after 18 previous losses.
Secrets of the Purple Pearl by Kate McKinnon won in the young listeners category. The audiobook was narrated by McKinnon and Emily Lynne. It beat, among others, Pajammin’, which was written and narrated by Ziggy Marley, the oldest son of Bob and Rita Marley.
Separation of Church and Hate, written and narrated by veteran TV host and personality John Fugelsang, won in the non-fiction category. It beat, among others, A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever, which was written and narrated by Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer.
Suzanne Collins’ Sunrise on the Reaping (narrated by Jefferson White) received the top honor of the evening, audiobook of the year.
The APA also honored the inaugural APA Hall of Fame inductees: narrators George Guidall, Hillary Huber, January LaVoy, Robin Miles and Simon Vance.
Presenters included Grammy-nominated artist Corinne Bailey Rae and NBC News anchor and author Morgan Radford. McKinnon and TV host Alton Brown were also in attendance.
Here are 2026 Audie Awards finalists in five key categories, with winners marked.
Audiobook of the Year
The Devil Reached Toward the Sky by Garrett M. Graff; Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, a full cast, and Garrett M. Graff; Published by Simon & Schuster Audio
King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby; Narrated by Adam Lazarre-White; Published by Macmillan Audio
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Lulu Raczka; Narrated by Marisa Abela, Harris Dickinson, Glenn Close, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Bill Nighy, Sophie Wilde, Jessie Buckley, Toheeb Jimoh, Patricia Allison, Bertie Carvel, Leah Hazard, David Gyasi, Rosalind Eleazar, and a full cast; Published by Audible Originals
Shield of Sparrows: Book 1 in the Shield of Sparrows series by Devney Perry; Narrated by Samantha Brentmoor and Jason Clarke; Published by Tantor Audio, a division of RBMedia
WINNER: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins; Narrated by Jefferson White; Published by Scholastic Audio
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy; Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, Katherine Littrell, Cooper Mortlock, and Steve West; Published by Macmillan Audio
Autobiography/Memoir
Cher: Part One by Cher, Narrated by Cher; Stephanie J. Block; Published by HarperAudio
Code Name: Pale Horse by Scott Payne; Narrated by Scott Payne with Michelle Shephard; Published by Simon & Schuster Audio
The Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou; Narrated by Uzo Aduba; Published by Penguin Random House Audio
WINNER: Matriarch by Tina Knowles; Narrated by Tina Knowles, Beyoncé, Solange, Kelly Rowland, and Angie Beyincé; Published Penguin Random House Audio
Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre; Narrated by Thérèse Plummer and Gabra Zackman; Published by Penguin Random House Audio
Best Non-Fiction Narrator
Martin Sheen for Ghosts of Hiroshima by Charles Pellegrino; Published by Blackstone Publishing
Dion Graham for Remember Us by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter; Published by HarperAudio
WINNER: Blair Underwood for Truly by Lionel Richie; Published by HarperAudio
Helen Stern for The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz by Anne Sebba; Published by Macmillan Audio
Dion Graham for The Zorg by Siddharth Kara; Published by Macmillan Audio
Non-Fiction
Death in the Jungle by Candace Fleming; Narrated by Karen Murray; Published by Penguin Random House Audio
Everything Is Tuberculosis Written and narrated by John Green; Published by Penguin Random House Audio
A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever; Written and narrated by Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer; Published by Simon & Schuster Audio
On the Hippie Trail; Written and narrated by Rick Steves; Published by Hachette Audio
WINNER: Separation of Church and Hate; Written and narrated by John Fugelsang; Published by Simon & Schuster Audio
Young Listeners
Benny on the Case by Wesley King; Narrated by P.J. Ochlan; Published by Dreamscape Media, a division of RBMedia
How the Word Is Passed by Clint Smith and Sonja Cherry-Paul; Narrated by Clint Smith; Published by Hachette Audio
Pajammin’; Written and narrated by Ziggy Marley; Published by HarperAudio
Prince Among Slaves by N. H. Senzai; Narrated by Junior Nyong’o and N. H. Senzai; Published by Penguin Random House Audio
WINNER: Secrets of the Purple Pearl by Kate McKinnon; Narrated by Kate McKinnon and Emily Lynne; Published by Hachette Audio
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