| Robin Miles | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Education: | Yale University (BA, Theater) Yale School of Drama (MFA, Drama) |
| Occupation: | Stage, screen, and audiobook actress |
Robin Miles is an American actor, casting director, audiobook narrator and audiobook director. Miles has acted in Broadway shows and on TV shows including Law & Order and Murder by Numbers. She is best known for her audiobook narrations and narration director work for which she has won numerous awards, including Audie Awards, AudioFile Golden Voice, and Earphone Awards. Miles is revered in her field and is credited as one of the audiobook narrators saving the publishing industry.[1] In 2017, Miles was inducted into Audible's Narrator Hall of Fame. Miles also has a voice training school, VOXpertise, for aspiring narrators.[2] She has narrated over 300 books.[3] Miles specializes in recreating "accents and speech patterns from around the globe."[4]
Robin Miles grew up in New Jersey and credits her immigrant neighborhood for immersing her in a rich world of accents, languages and cultures which she has been able to draw on for her narration work. Miles started in musical theater, but transitioned to drama. Miles graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater Studies and she earned her Master of Fine Arts in Drama from Yale School of Drama.[5] After graduating and moving to New York City, Miles was looking for community service volunteer opportunities. She started book narration by volunteering to read for the American Foundation for the Blind and the National Library Service.[5] When she started narration work, Miles was surprised by how ethnically segregated the work was considering it is voice work:
It was like, 'You do the black books, and you're Jewish, you do the Jewish books.' I was totally shocked," she says. "But, it's kind of morphed. It really started out with such a small pool of people, that the people they had did everything whether or not they could handle the accent and culture. And then, when a little more diversity came in, it was like, well nobody can do anything outside of their yard. And now, I think we're also beginning to hopefully, break through that again.[5]Miles has narrated a wide range of genres including children's books, non-fiction, fantasy, horror, historical fiction, biography and other genres including the Young Reader's Edition of Kamala Harris's The Truths We Hold.
According to The New York Times, Miles "excels at technically perfect Standard American dialect but interjects just enough slightly sarcastic pauses and subtly acerbic inflections to emphasize the true meaning of the text."[6]
According to AudioFile magazine, who reviewed The Vela, "The best way to tie together a space opera written alternately by four authors" is "choosing the capable Robin Miles to narrate" as "Miles creatively utilizes dialects to differentiate the denizens of several planets that revolve around a dying sun".[7]
AudioFile also reviewed The Shadow King, writing, "Robin Miles gives a flawless emotional narration of this superb novel, set in Ethiopia in 1974 and in 1935, on the eve of Mussolini's invasion. Mengiste's beautiful writing already draws fully formed characters; Miles adds yet another dimension to their inner lives by slowing and quickening her voice strategically, adding suspense and fervor to their experiences, particularly those of the tormented protagonist."[8] Also reviewing The Shadow King, The Times wrote, "The eloquence of Maaza Mengiste's tribute to the forgotten women warriors who defended Ethiopia from Mussolini's invasion in 1935 is unforgettably conveyed by the narrator Robin Miles, whose upbringing in the ethnic melting pot of New Jersey has enhanced her gift for entering into character."[9]
In 2014, Booklist named Miles a Voice of Choice narrator.[10] AudioFile magazine has also named Miles a Golden Voice narrator.[11] In 2017, she was inducted into Audible's Narrator Hall of Fame.[12]
| Year | Audiobook | Award | Result | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Brother, I'm Dying (2007) by Edwidge Danticat | Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award for Biography | Selection | [13] | |
| 2010 | Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff | Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award for Nonfiction | Winner | [14] | |
| 2011 | Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices by Myers | Audie Award for Distinguished Achievement in Production | Winner | [15] | |
| 2013 | by Delia Sherman | Audie Award for Children's Titles for Ages 8-12 | Finalist | [16] | |
| 2014 | Keeping Hope Alive by Dr. Hawa Abdi | Audie Award for Faith-Based Fiction and Nonfiction | Winner | [17] [18] | |
| METAtropolis: Green Space by Jay Lake, Elizabeth Bear, Karl Schroeder, Seanan McGuire, Tobias S. Buckell, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Ken Scholes | Audie Award for Original Work | Finalist | |||
| (2014) by Roxane Gay | Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award for Narrator of the Year | Finalist | [19] | ||
| 2015 | Prepared for a Purpose by Antoinette Tuff | Audie Award for Faith-Based Fiction and Nonfiction | Finalist | [20] [21] | |
| Revolution by Deborah Wiles | Audie Award for Distinguished Achievement in Production | Finalist | [22] | ||
| 2016 | by N.K. Jemisin | Audie Award for Fantasy | Finalist | [23] | |
| 2017 | 28: Moments in Black History that Changed the World by Charles R. Smith Jr. | Audie Award for Young Listeners' Title | Winner | [24] [25] [26] | |
| Another Brooklyn (2016) by Jacqueline Woodson | Audie Award for Best Female Narrator | Finalist | |||
| Audie Award for Literary Fiction or Classics | Finalist | ||||
| In the Embers by Brian Price and Jerry Stearns | Audie Award for Audio Drama | Winner | |||
| Audie Award for Original Work | Finalist | ||||
| 2018 | Difficult Women (2017) by Roxane Gay | Audie Award for Short Stories or Collections | Finalist | [27] | |
| New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson | Audie Award for Excellence in Production | Finalist | |||
| Audie Award for Science Fiction | Finalist | ||||
| by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Audie Award for Multi-Voiced Performance | Finalist | |||
| by N.K. Jemisin | Audie Award for Best Female Narrator | Finalist | [28] | ||
| Audie Award for Science Fiction | Finalist | ||||
| 2019 | Any Man by Amber Tamblyn | Audie Award for Multi-Voiced Performance | Finalist | [29] | |
| Barracoon (2018) by Zora Neale Hurston with Deborah G. Plant (Ed.) | Audie Award for Best Female Narrator | Finalist | |||
| 2020 | Birthday Suit by Lauren Blakely | Audie Award for Audio Drama | Finalist | [30] [31] | |
| Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White | Audie Award for Middle Grade Title | Winner | |||
| Have a Nice Day by Billy Crystal and Quinton Peeples | Audie Award for Audio Drama | Finalist | |||
| New Kid (2019) by Jerry Craft | Audie Award for Middle Grade Title | Finalist | |||
| 2021 | by N. K. Jemisin | Audie Award for Best Female Narrator | Winner | [32] [33] | |
| Audie Award for Fantasy | Winner | ||||
| 2022 | Class Act by Jerry Craft | Audie Award for Middle Grade Title | Finalist | [34] | |
| (2021) by Dawnie Walton | Audie Award for Fiction | Winner | |||
| Four Hundred Souls (2021) by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain (Eds.) | Audie Award for Multi-Voiced Performance | Finalist | |||
| 2024 | by N. K. Jemisin | Audie Award for Science Fiction | Finalist | [35] |
| Year | Audiobook | List | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Brother, I'm Dying (2007) by Edwidge Danticat | AudioFile Best of Biography & Memoir | |
| AudioFile Best of Fiction | |||
| 2011 | Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff | AudioFile Best of Biography & Memoir | |
| 2012 | Stealing Freedom | AudioFile Best of Young Adult | |
The Epic Story of America's Great Migration (2010) by Isabel Wilkerson | AudioFile Best of History | ||
| 2013 | We Need New Names (2013) by NoViolet Bulawayo | AudioFile Best of Fiction | |
| 2014 | Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin | AudioFile Best of Biography & Memoir | |
| 2015 | (2015) by Naomi Jackson | AudioFile Best of Fiction | [36] |
| 2016 | 28: Moments in Black History that Changed the World by Charles R. Smith Jr. | AudioFile Best of Children | |
| Another Brooklyn (2016) by Jacqueline Woodson | AudioFile Best of Fiction | ||
| Hidden Figures (2016) by Margot Lee Shetterly | AudioFile Best of Biography & Memoir | ||
| (2016) by N. K. Jemisin | AudioFile Best of Science Fiction & Fantasy | [37] | |
| 2017 | American Street | AudioFile Best of Young Adult | [38] |
| (2017) by N. K. Jemisin | AudioFile Best of Science Fiction & Fantasy | [39] | |
| 2018 | Barracoon (2018) by Zora Neale Hurston with Deborah G. Plant (Ed.) | AudioFile Best of Biography & Memoir | [40] |
| 2020 | (2020) by Isabel Wilkerson | AudioFile Best of Nonfiction & Culture | [41] |
| When Stars are Scattered (2020) by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed | AudioFile Best of Children | ||
| 2021 | Four Hundred Souls (2021) by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain (Eds.) | AudioFile Best of History & Biography | [42] |
| Just As I Am (2020) by Cicely Tyson and Michelle Burford | AudioFile Best of Memoir |