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This is one of the most common questions I see lately on social media in author and audiobook spaces. Many indie authors and audiobook rights holders are frustrated with their go-to audiobook casting site: ACX. It has recently been overrun with AI “voices”, partially by design, but also because it doesn’t have a vetting process for narrators who sign up. When googling to find other casting sites, the results that show up are often out of date -thanks Google AI Overview! Voices 123 frequently pops up, but you won’t find many professional narrators there. It’s mainly for commercial and animation voice actors looking for 30 second slots and other short form work. And another tried and true platform (Findaway Marketplace) has gone the way of the dodo. The good news is that now (writing in October 2026), there are some other great sites for finding vetted audiobook narrators. A couple of these platforms are brand new, and have improved on some of the older sites. None of the following are sponsors, and I have organized them alphabetically. 

Auditiono

Created by Royal Wave Media, Auditiono is a site where one can post an audition for vetted narrators. It’s useful to indie authors, as well as for narrator/ producers looking for a partner for dual and duet audiobook projects. The books up for audition also must pass a vetting process. Once the project is approved (by a human), it goes live and can be viewed by hundreds of experienced narrators.  You can also use the platform to search for narrators by entering various criteria, including Genre Specialty, Proficient accents, Languages, Voice Presentation (for ex: Female / femme-presenting, Nonbinary / androgynous, etc., as well as voice ages and heritage).  You can specify multiple criteria for most categories. You can also specify the “compensation” (your budget for the finished audiobook project). Pro tip: The vast majority of the narrators on this site don’t specify a PFH (Per Finished Hour) range, so you may want to include a search with the “Negotiable/ Varies by Project” option. Also, consider a “Hybrid PFH Portion” if your preferred narrator is out of your PFH range.  

Narrator List

Australian narrator Amy Soakes has been running Narrator List since 2021. This is a great place for Indie authors looking for narrators from around the world. Authors can post auditions for upcoming projects, browse narrators, and learn about audiobook production, all for free. I spoke to Amy recently and learned that the narrator database portion of the website will be going through some major changes in the near future. This is to ensure it stays up to date with professional narrator information and current audiobook industry changes.

Narrator Rush

Earlier this year, Audiobook Rush came on the scene as “ the central hub for everything happening in the world of audiobooks, from industry news to listening culture.” Kat Jackson (Editor-In-Chief) and Daniel Henning (CEO,Founder, and Publisher) are both long-time pros in the industry who started Audiobook Rush to keep audiobook lovers current on the latest news, titles, and narrators in the audiobook world. The Narrator Rush list features profiles and a directory of vetted, experienced narrators who have at least 25 verifiable audiobook credits. The top of the page highlights 6 profiles randomly, and refreshes several times per day. The rest of the listings are in alphabetical order by first name. You can see all of them by scrolling, or if you do “control F” (or command F on Mac), you can look up a specific narrator and see their profile, which includes the number of books they have narrated (under the name listed), a few of the audiobooks they are known for, and a link to their website and social media pages. 

Spoken Realms

While Spoken Realms is a production house, and not an audiobook matchmaking service per se, they make their big list of vetted narrators public so indie authors can find narrator/ producers with experience. If you already have a narrator in mind, visit the Spoken Realms Storytellers page and scroll to the bottom to see if their name is listed (or do CTRL F / Command F). If they do, that means they have worked with Spoken Realms in the past, and likely possess production skills (either hands on, or the ability to outsource editing etc.). They may be a great candidate for your indie audiobook project, and they can also get you access to the Spoken Realms distribution platform, which is useful for authors who want to go wide (non-exclusive) while doing a royalty split, or who want to split royalty payments between multiple narrators. 

If you would prefer to let someone else handle all of the casting, and produce your project with an award winning production team, they can do that too. Visit their In-House Production page. 

Voices to Know

While Voices to Know is relatively new, the co-founders, Robin Whitten, Michele Cobb, and Laura Ross, are all pros in the audiobooks and publishing industry, with decades of experience. VTK currently features over 700 vetted audiobook narrators, studios and production companies. I contacted them to ask about gaining access from the author side and was told “Indie authors are eligible, and welcome! to sign up for a professional account with Voices To Know.  An easy search on accents and cultural connections, awards, and pseudonyms along with many other fields, make Voices To Know a go-to resource to find the right voice for any project. VTK has also curated interviews and profiles with many narrators.” —Robin Whitten, Voices To Know cofounder. Authors and other casting professionals can sign up for free at https://voicestoknow.com/register-account/. 

Your story deserves to be told. Out loud. By a professional, vetted narrator. I hope you find these platforms to be useful, and remember, you can always try googling your favorite narrator if you don’t find them on one of the casting sites, or ask your fellow authors for recommendations. 

Thanks for reading!

Rebecca H. Lee 

My publicly accessible narrator profiles on various audiobook casting sites:

Auditiono:  https://auditiono.com/narrator/rebecca-h-lee 
Narrator List: https://narratorlist.com/narrator/rebecca-h-lee/
Narrator Rush  https://audiobookrush.com/narrator/rebecca-h-lee/ 
Spoken Realms: https://spokenrealms.com/narrators/rebecca-h-lee