Significant Work#2: AUDIO NARRATION

My Role & Artistic Contribution

My approach to narration is deeply informed by my experience with Shakespearean and classical plays. The vocal dexterity required to perform those texts—navigating their rich language, sustaining breath control, and modulating tone and rhythm—has been invaluable to my work voicing audiobooks, where the speaker alone constructs an entire world for the listener. In my nearly two decades of doing this work, I’ve had the honor of rendering the worlds of New York Times Bestsellers (Damon Tweedy, Kwame Alexander, Chuck Palahniuk, Walter Dean Myers) and critically acclaimed titles and have been recognized with the Golden Earphones award for Narration.

Whether tackling history (The Movement), psychological horror (Hide and Seeker), romance (Talk Flirty to Me) or contemporary fiction (The Fugitivities), I rely on:

    • Precision of speech: Ensuring clarity, intelligibility, and tonal consistency

    • Characterization & Point of View: Developing vocal shifts that differentiate speakers while maintaining narrative flow

    • Genre awareness: Adapting pacing, pitch, and inflection for a given narrative

    • World-building through voice: Establishing setting, period and mood

Each title presents unique technical challenges for the narrator. In Friday Black, I navigated the sharp satirical tone of Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s collection of speculative fiction short stories, alternating between bleak dystopian landscapes and wry humor. For In The Blink of an Eye, I channeled the steely resolve of Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf’s personal account of navigating a career in the NBA. Forging a Nightmare and Hide and Seeker each demanded varied characterizations and a mastery of horror pacing to build suspense and deliver scares.

Creative Challenges & Process

Discipline and intense stamina are required for the work. A single book can take 10–60 hours to record, demanding vocal endurance, consistency, and technical adaptability. Unlike traditional performance mediums, narrators often voice a large cast of characters alone, continuously alternating between different accents, ages, and emotional states. My preparation mirrors that of a theatrical role—consisting of deep script analysis, mapping out vocal arcs, and making deliberate choices about rhythm, breath, and pacing to shape the listening experience.

Narration is more than simply crafting a performance; it is about fostering a relationship between author and audience. When well executed, audiobooks provide an intimate, immersive storytelling experience and serve as an essential access point, specifically for the visually impaired and neurodivergent audiences, providing a literary gateway that might otherwise be inaccessible. Understanding this impact, I approach narration with a heightened focus on clarity, pacing, and emotional grounding, ensuring that every listener—from first timer to the seasoned audiobook devotee—can engage fully with the story.

Reception & Impact

My work has been widely distributed by industry leaders such as Recorded Books, Audible Studios, and Apple Books, reaching audiences worldwide. While I submit this expansive body of work as a single significant entry, I highlight the following titles as representative of my range as a narrator:

    • Friday Black — a speculative fiction with biting humor
    • In the Blink of an Eye — a powerful memoir by NBA star, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
    • Hide and Seeker — psychological horror
    • Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary — YA biography of the civil rights leader.

Why This Work is Significant to the Field

Voice acting represents a natural extension of my craft—a fusing of my training in heightened text, my skill in storytelling, and my ability to create character solely through voice. My work in this field has been recognized by peers and publishers and continues to grow.

With the growing popularity of podcasts and serialized audio dramas, audiobook narration continues to be an exciting medium that challenges the primacy of visual storytelling and offers access to literature. My work in this space expands the reach of my creative practice, allowing me to inhabit spaces beyond stage and screen.