Jennifer Aquino

What was the first audiobook you performed?

Be The Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists by Chenxing Han.

What title or series are you best known for?

The American Girl Doll Series: Nanea by Kirby Larson.

If a listener wanted to get to know your work, which of your audiobooks would you point them to?

On Again, Awkward Again by Erin Entrada Kelly & Kwame Mbalia
Something Like Fate by Amy Lea
Devil’s Bargain by Rachel Caine
Children Aren’t the Only Ones Who Know Where the Presents Are Hidden by Josh Malerman
Becoming Marlow Fin by Ellen Won Steil

Where else have we heard your voice?

Grey’s Anatomy — the doctor who killed McDreamy
Twin Peaks — Eolani Jacoby
Rugrats All Grown Up — Chelsea
Chicken Nugget (Netflix English dub) — Hongcha
Maximum Chase (Genki for Xbox) — Catherine Stanfield

What do you always have in the booth?

“Room temperature water, a banana just in case my stomach starts growling, 2 crystals: Clear Quartz for clarity & focus, and Sodalite, which is deeply connected to the throat chakra, to reclaim my voice & step into my power. These 2 crystals paired together help with clarity and grounding.”

How did you come to performing audiobooks?

“During the pandemic, when film & TV shut down, I took an audiobook course with coach Elise Arsenault. I was laser-focused and finished the course in 6 months. I then joined the Audiobook Publishers Association, and started reaching out to publishers, introducing myself and sharing the link to my demo samples on my website. Within two months, I got my first audiobook with North Atlantic Books, and I started narrating with other publishers quickly thereafter. In the first 4 months of reaching out to publishers, I booked 11 books with 7 publishers. In 2 years, I narrated 47 books with 16 publishers.”

Anything else you’d like a listener to know?

“The audiobook industry is a very generous community. I’m grateful for all the casting directors, producers, publishers, directors, authors, engineers, editors, marketing folks, and coaches I’ve worked with. And thank you to all the listeners, reviewers, and to all my narrator friends! In addition to narrating, I also direct audiobooks and I’m grateful to direct with Penguin Random House, Brilliance, Scholastic, Hachette, and Macmillan! Narrating audiobooks is not easy; a lot of work goes into the production of audiobooks. Thank you for listening, and thank you for your support!”