"Audiobook Empire is a production company and educational community serving independent authors, publishers, and professional audiobook narrators. In addition to producing audiobooks, the company provides coaching, business education, conferences, and training designed to help narrators build sustainable careers. Through its conferences, online programs, and active community, Audiobook Empire has become a recognized resource for narrators seeking both technical skills and business knowledge."

-The Working Narrator, July 2026

The Empire is open to all. We even have an imprint specializing in clean reads, Cats Meow, and we recently opened a Foreign Language Division that produces in Spanish, French, and German.

Please note that we won't produce books containing extreme religious or political views or non-consensual sexual activity, including dubious consent. These decisions are made at our discretion.

Our Talent Legion application form opens up about once a year, usually in June. Follow our socials, especially Instagram, to get a heads up the next time it's opening. Because of the number of Legionnaires already with the Empire, we only accept a few new members each time, but you're certainly welcome to apply more than once!

We only consider applications from professional narrators with at least 10 audiobooks under their belt. That number is non-negotiable.

The "Foreign Legion" is what we call the roster for our Foreign Language Division, which produces audiobooks in Spanish, French, and German. If any of those are your native language and you are a professional narrator, you should absolutely apply!

We've recently unveiled our Casting Headquarters, where all of our open casting calls are housed. You're welcome to check there periodically to see what's available.

We also encourage you to join our Talent Legion Facebook group, which is often where casting calls are announced first. Upon admission to the Legion, you'll also be added to a mailing list where are you'll receive occasional updates about goings on within the Empire, including casting calls.

Please note that the majority of our castings are done directly, not via open call.

If you want to send us occasional updates about what you've got going on, that's fine with us, although we prefer shorter emails that focus on the types of projects you are looking to do rather than what you have been doing. In other words, help us cast you. Tell us your current rate, availability, genres you're looking for work in, and any relevant updates, like your union status.

That depends on the project.

Sometimes we aren't hired by the author at all, but rather by someone who has acquired the audio rights from them. Other times, the author has hired us, but would rather be "hands off" with the project. But most times, the author is involved in certain ways, like giving performance notes, approving the 15-minute checkpoint, and conducting a technical review of the finished files.

Rest assured, we do not allow our clients to listen as you record or offer creative feedback after the checkpoint has been approved. The project manager also acts as an intermediary between the client and narrator on all productions.

Your standard rate for raw narration. You know what rates are fair to you and the Empire respects that.

It's that straightforward.

With that said, we don't like to see our narrators paid less than $200 PFH. This isn't a union-imposed minimum, just a personal standard.

As a rule, narrators will not be expected to do their own post-production. The Empire has several post teams waiting in the wings.

The only things you are responsible for are narration and pick-ups. Because of this, you may want to consider charging a 'narration-only' rate for Empire projects, rather than a 'full-production' rate.

We are not a SAG-Aftra signatory, although we have a great relationship with them. We use Skywire Paymaster services to process union payments.

In general, yes. Live streaming of recording sessions can be a great (and fun!) promotional tool. However, permission will need to be obtained from the rights holder if anything is to be recorded. Allowances for streaming on platforms like Discord, Clubhouse, and TikTok are provided for in our production contracts.

Promotional support will always be part of the deal at Audiobook Empire. We have several promotional partnerships with marketing teams, PR personnel, and virtual book tour companies, all of whom offer our clients exclusive discounts on their services.

Yes! If you have an author wanting an audiobook, but you don't have post-production personnel, contracts, etc., we've got you covered. Drop your author off with us and we'll take care of them, so you can get back in the booth and record.

The first step is to reach out to us so we can make sure the project is a good fit. We can also assist in bringing the author onboard. Once we give you the greenlight about the project, do an email introduction between us and the author, and we'll take it from there!