How Do They Choose the Narrator ?

[Jem]

If it's self-published, the author chooses. If it's a small publisher, the author usually has some input or decision-making power. If it's a big publisher, they either have their own studio or they farm it out to a studio and have no control over who narrates. Big publishers don't really seem to care who narrates what; they just want their money.

Studios try to maximize profit, so if they can get a D-list celebrity (or better), they will. It doesn't matter if the celebrity can read books at all or is a decent narrator because they have their own platform to market to.

As a listener, I stay away from audiobooks narrated by celebrities because they are usually pretty badly narrated. As a narrator, I'm frustrated that so much work goes to people who don't give a damn about the performance.

[Bruce]

The person who chooses is the person who pays the bills! The author may not have any input if they don't have ownership of their audio rights, which are usually managed separately from print rights.

Non-fiction is often narrated by the author, as is poetry. But fiction is usually best left to professional narrators unless you're Neil Gaiman.