Inside the Mind of a Master Audiobook Narrator (with Sean Pratt)
When you listen to an audiobook, especially fiction, you want to be transported, swept into another world where characters feel real and scenes play like movies in your mind. A great narrator doesn’t just read words; they breathe life into them, transforming text into an immersive experience.
Take Andy Serkis’ narration of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. One listener described his performance this way: “He’s not just giving characters unique voices and emotions; he’s acting the scenes out. You can feel their pain, their joy, and their anger.” But how does a narrator achieve this? What separates a competent reading from a performance that makes you forget you’re listening to a book at all?
In this episode, I talk with Sean Pratt, a seasoned actor and audiobook narrator with 35 years of acting experience and 27 years narrating audiobooks (also known by his pseudonym Lloyd James). Sean has recorded over 1,100 books across nearly every genre, from Agatha Christie mysteries to Jonathan Haidt’s nonfiction bestseller The Anxious Generation, which topped the Associated Press’s list of top nonfiction audiobooks. His work has earned him 9 AudioFile Magazine “Earphones” awards, 5 SOVAS nominations, and 5 “Audie” nominations.
Sean is also the author of To Be or Wanna Be: The Top Ten Differences Between a Successful Actor and a Starving Artist, and he coaches aspiring narrators on the craft and business of audiobook narration. He understands both sides of the mic—the artistry required to disappear into a text and the technical precision needed to sustain that illusion across hundreds of pages.
I wanted to know: How do you prepare to voice dozens of characters in a single novel? What does it take to infuse dry nonfiction with emotion and depth? And how has the explosion of audiobooks changed the way stories are told and consumed? Sean’s answers reveal a craft far more complex and demanding than most listeners realize.
In this episode, we discuss:
• The art and science of transforming written words into immersive audio experiences
• How narrators prepare to voice multiple characters with distinct personalities and accents
• What it takes to narrate 1,100+ books across nearly every genre without burning out
• The difference between reading a book and performing it
• Why some audiobooks feel like movies for your mind while others fall flat
• How the audiobook industry has evolved over Sean’s 27-year career
• The technical and emotional challenges of narrating both fiction and nonfiction
• What aspiring narrators need to know about the craft and the business
This is a conversation about the invisible art that makes words come alive, and the human voice that becomes the bridge between a writer’s vision and your imagination.
🎧 Listen to the full episode: https://www.podpage.com/curiously/the-art-science-of-audiobook-narration-with-sean-pratt/
💡 Learn more about Sean Pratt’s work: www.seanprattpresents.com
💡 Follow Sean on X: @SPPresents
💡 Follow Sean on Instagram: @sppresents
💡 About Curiously: https://www.podpage.com/curiously/about/