Winners of the annual Audie Awards, which honor excellence in audio publishing, will be announced June 4 at a ceremony in Chicago hosted by the Audio Publishers Association. Winners will be selected from finalists in 26 categories, and for the first time, the APA will also present a special award for Audiobook of the Year.

If you're looking for an excellent spoken word audio, consider one of the finalists named below. For a list of finalists in all categories and an announcement of the winners, check the Audio Publishers website at audiopub.org.

Audiobook of the Year

• The John Cheever Audio Collection by John Cheever, read by John Cheever and others (Caedmon/HarperAudio)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling, read by Jim Dale (Listening Library)
• The Complete Arkangel Shakespeare by William Shakespeare, read by a cast of Shakespearean actors (Audio Partners)
• David Sedaris Live at Carnegie Hall, live performance by David Sedaris (Time Warner AudioBooks)
• A Patriot's Handbook introduced by Caroline Kennedy with selections by various readers (Hyperion)

Abridged Fiction

• Brick Lane by Monica Ali, read by Elizabeth Sastre (HighBridge Audio)
• The King of Torts by John Grisham, read by Dennis Boutsikaris (Random House Audio)
• A Place of Hiding by Elizabeth George, read by Simon Jones (Random House Audio)
• The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart, read by Nicky Guadagni (BTC)
• The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, read by Maggi-Meg Reed and Christopher Burns (HighBridge)

Abridged Nonfiction

• The Bounty by Caroline Alexander, read by Michael York (Penguin)
• The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, read by Tony Goldwyn (Random House Audio)
• Hitler's Scientists by John Cornwell, read by Simon Prebble (Listen & Live)
• Middletown, America by Gail Sheehy, read by Gail Sheehy (Brilliance)
• The Opposite of Fate by Amy Tan, read by Amy Tan (Brilliance)