Each year, the Audio Publishers Association hosts an awards event to recognize excellence in audiobook production - The Audies. We sat down with APA Executive Director Michele Cobb to get some background on the impetus of The Audie awards as well as the nomination and judging process.

I (Laura) was selected to be an Audie preliminary round judge this year so I broke down my experience and pros/cons of the process. Finally, we had to give our own predictions on who we think vs hope to win in our most beloved categories, Romance and Erotica.

Find out more about the APA at www.audiopub.org and follow them on Instagram @audiobooks

Have you picked up a Xio Axelrod book before?  I will admit I (Laura) had not and I've been MISSING OUT.  We welcomed the USA Today Bestselling author and one of her dynamic duo of narrators, Benjamin Charles, onto the podcast to discuss her new book, Girls with Bad Reputations, as well as her writing style, audiobook journey and what's next!

Also, if you haven't picked up a Benjamin Charles books, Laura recommends Riley Hart's The End Zone and M. Jay Granberry's Exquisitely Hidden

Follow Xio on socials - @xioaxelrod on Instagram and Tiktok
Follow The Lillys @thelillysrock and find more music at www.thelillysrock.com
Follow Benjamin on socials - @benjamincharlesvoice

Acclaimed narrator Julia Whelan sat down with us to discuss the impetus of why she started Audiobrary, a new audiobook distribution app, as well as her book within the book, Casanova, LLC.

Julia has narrated nearly 400 books in a variety of genres and has won 2 Audie awards for her narration.  She has also written two previous book, My Oxford Year and Thank You For Listening.    You can follow her on Instagram and Tiktok @justjuliawhelan.

She created Audiobrary with dual intentions, to support the continued focus on Human Voices Only but to also give authors and narrators as space to equally reap benefits from an audiobook success.   Check out www.audiobrary.com for more details and follow @myaudiobrary on Instagram for more release news!