Audie Meets Spice

Such is the latent influence of A Christmas Story that whenever I see a box marked “Fragile” my brain pronounces it fra-gee-lay, and another part of my brain says “It’s a major award!” But in today, the box marked “fragile” that came to my house did have a major award in it: the Audie that The Dispatcher won this year. The Audies, in case you were not aware, are the awards that the audiobook industry give out, and this year The Dispatcher was a finalist in three categories, and won in “Original Work,” meaning a production that was designed from the ground up to be an audiobook. I showed the Audie to Spice, as you can see; she was not notably impressed, but then, she’s a cat.

The Audie will not stay on the chair any longer than the cat will; it will go on the award shelf along with the Hugos and Locus and other various awards. I’m delighted to have the physical trophy because I’m proud of The Dispatcher, not only in terms of what I wrote, but how it was brought to life by Zachary Quinto and the folks at Audible. It’s nice to have a tangible reminder that the whole package was appreciated by listeners and industry peers. Thanks, folks.

17 Comments on “Audie Meets Spice”

  1. Surely there is a button on that award that, when pushed, will activate an audible, “Congratulations, John!”

  2. I think it’s nice that the Audie comes packaged with a set of pillow cases! (Srsly, congratulations!)

  3. Well deserved. The Dispatcher audio book provides an incredible listening experience. The story is fantastic, and Zachary Quinto’s reading is brilliant.

  4. Congratulations!

    And I think it was awfully nice of the Audies to design their award to perfectly match Spice’s lovely fur.

  5. I like Spice’s idea of celebration by napping! — I still need to listen to The Dispatcher and the Collapsing Empire. I suspect I’ll be more impressed and not lulled into sleep by Zach or Wil or John’s writing.

    In fact, that may be a good idea (the short) for tonight. — I’m fine; my apartment complex has made it through Harvey unscathed, neither flooded out nor lost power. But thousands of others in town are now in shelters for the next many weeks, and I’ve seen video of areas flooded, including near where I grew up and one of my old high school’s in-district friendly rivals. — However, several neighbors and friends around town are OK, so I’m counting this one a…well, it’s mixed. — I will be very glad when I can get to the store for groceries, but hey, I’ve got a working fridge, there’s food there and in the pantry, my apartment is not flooded and has power, so I am OK and my neighbors in the complex are all OK too. So that’s at least a win. — That said, the flooding still has to subside and from here in Houston clear over to New Orleans still is getting it, and from Houston west to Corpus Christi, things are going to be in recovery for weeks and months.

    Other fans have said they really enjoyed the short and the novel, so I’m looking forward to listening and reading. My two cats are in agreement with Spice: They’re both napping on the bed. Heh. Cats know where it’s at.

  6. Congratulations Mr. S! Well deserved. The story was a lot of fun to listen to, and if I recall the first time I heard any of it was from the author himself, on your 2nd-to-last-book tour in L.A. It was so great to get a sneak peek like that on one of your upcoming novels. Also…Spice is totally giving you a high-five.

  7. My sense of humor is so warped that, in the unlikely event that I won one of those, I would be unable to resist the temptation to attach it to the wall upside down with hinges and a spring. Then, when asked about it, I could fold it down, saying, “Oh, that? It’s my Audie Murphy.”

    Sorry, I’ll see myself out….

  8. Congratulations on your Audie – it’s well deserved.

    Left it on the chair as long as the cat was there, huh? So it was there for about ten hours?

  9. bluecatship – congratulations on coming through the tropical disaster well, I know it was partly luck as well as you do. I have seen the torrential rain these storms cause with my own eyes, and no one knows where it will fall. We’re all glad you’re doing well, and hope you continue to do well as this catastrophe keeps unfolding. Hang in there, Bluecatship! And always live in a high place!

    Scalzi – congratulations on the new Audie award! No luck here, just skillz and well done!! So when you put this award on the shelf with the others, maybe you could take a photo and post it. Remember, it isn’t bragging, it’s showing your fans what you can do, and have done. Keep up the good work!!! I’m sure I’m not the only one who wants to see the trophy case…

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