Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording facts for kids

The Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording is a special award given out each year. It celebrates the best audio recordings where people speak, like audiobooks, stories, and narrations. This award has been given since 1959 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in the United States.

Over the years, the award's name has changed a few times to better describe what it honors. When it first started in 1959, it was called Best Performance, Documentary or Spoken Word. For a long time, from 1998 to 2022, it was known as Best Spoken Word Album. Now, starting in 2023, it's called Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording. This new name shows that it includes audiobooks and storytelling. Poetry readings now have their own separate Grammy award.

It's important to know that the year listed for an award is when the Grammy Awards ceremony took place. The recording itself was usually released in the year before the ceremony.

Award Winners

Many famous and talented people have won this Grammy Award over the years. These winners include actors, authors, comedians, and even former U.S. Presidents and First Ladies! They are recognized for their amazing ability to bring stories and ideas to life through their voices.

Stan Freberg was the first person to win this award in 1959.

In the early years, the award honored a variety of spoken recordings. The very first winner in 1959 was Stan Freberg for The Best of the Stan Freberg Shows. In 1960, the poet Carl Sandburg won for A Lincoln Portrait. Famous conductor Leonard Bernstein won in 1962 for Humor in Music. Later, in 1971, Martin Luther King Jr. won posthumously (after his death) for his powerful speech, Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam.

Director Orson Welles won this award twice.

Well-known actors have also been recognized. Orson Welles, famous for his movie Citizen Kane, won the award twice, in 1977 and 1979. James Earl Jones, known for his deep voice, won in 1977. Sir John Gielgud, a legendary British actor, won in 1980.

Actor Ben Kingsley won for The Words of Gandhi in 1985.

In 1985, actor Ben Kingsley won for his recording of The Words of Gandhi. Comedian Gilda Radner won in 1990 for It's Always Something, and George Burns won in 1991 for Gracie: A Love Story. Documentarian Ken Burns won in 1992 for his recording of The Civil War.

The celebrated American poet Maya Angelou won this award three times, showing her incredible impact with spoken word. She won in 1994 for On the Pulse of Morning, in 1996 for Phenomenal Woman, and again in 2003 for A Song Flung Up to Heaven.

Hillary Clinton won the award in 1997.

Several prominent political figures have also received this award for their audiobooks. Former First Lady Hillary Clinton won in 1997 for her book It Takes a Village. Actor LeVar Burton won in 2000 for The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr..

Actor and director Sidney Poitier won for his autobiography The Measure of a Man in 2001.

In 2001, actor and director Sidney Poitier won for his autobiography The Measure of a Man. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton won in 2005 for his autobiography My Life.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama has won this award twice.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama has won the award twice, first in 2006 for Dreams from My Father and again in 2008 for The Audacity of Hope. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is also a three-time winner, showing his dedication to sharing his stories and insights.

The beloved Betty White won the award in 2012.

Comedians and TV personalities have also been honored. Jon Stewart won in 2011 for Earth (The Audiobook). The beloved actress Betty White won in 2012 for If You Ask Me (and of Course You Won't). Stephen Colbert won in 2014, and Joan Rivers won in 2015. Carol Burnett won in 2017 for In Such Good Company.

Carrie Fisher won the award posthumously in 2018.

Actress Carrie Fisher won the award posthumously in 2018 for The Princess Diarist. Most recently, former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama won in 2020 for her audiobook Becoming and again in 2024 for The Light We Carry. In 2023, Viola Davis won for Finding Me, achieving the rare EGOT status (winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award).

Multiple Wins & Nominations

Some individuals have been recognized multiple times for their spoken word recordings.

Many talented people have also been nominated for this award multiple times.

Images for kids

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  Carl Sandburg received the award in 1960.

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  Leonard Bernstein received the award in 1962.

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  Charles Laughton received the award in 1963.

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  Edward R. Murrow received the award in 1967.

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  Martin Luther King Jr. won the award posthumously in 1971 for Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam.

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  Richard Harris won the award in 1974.

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  Peter Cook & Dudley Moore won the award in 1975.

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  James Whitmore won the award in 1976.

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  James Earl Jones received the award in 1977.

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  Sir John Gielgud received the award in 1980.

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  William Warfield received the award in 1984.

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  Garrison Keillor won the award in 1988.

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  1990 award winner, comedian Gilda Radner.

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  Comedian George Burns won the award in 1991.

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  Documentarian Ken Burns won in 1992.

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  LeVar Burton won the award in 2000.

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  Former U.S. President Bill Clinton won in 2005.

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  Three-time winner, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

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  Jon Stewart won the award in 2011.

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  Comedian Stephen Colbert won in 2014.

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  Comedienne Joan Rivers won in 2015.

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  Viola Davis won the award in 2023 achieving the EGOT

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  Former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama won in 2020 and 2024.

See also

• Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children