Nikki Massoud

What was the first audiobook you performed?

Girl Serpent Thorn, Melissa Bashardoust

What title or series are you best known for?

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

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

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
Googoosh: A Sinful Voice by Tara Dehlavi + Googoosh
Little Bosses Everywhere by Bridget Read
The Rook and Rose Series by M.A. Carrick
Christmas is All Around by Martha Waters

Where else have we heard your voice?

Henry V (Play On Podcast, translated by Lloyd Suh)- Katherine, Princess of France.
The Compass (Podcast)- Episode 182
Guest Starring roles on Life & Beth (Hulu), Love Life (HBO Max), Mozart in the Jungle (Amazon), Emergence (ABC), Madam Secretary (CBS), and more….

What do you always have in the booth?

A pillow, hot Throat Coat Tea, comfortable shoes, and a treat for later…

How did you come to performing audiobooks?

I grew up listening to books and CDs on tape! I vividly remember listening to Josh Grisham’s The Partner on a long hot road trip to the North Carolina with my family, or sitting inside on winter days listening to Juliet Stevenson perform Jane Eyre. I loved that I got to listen to the words and visualize everything however I wanted. And I was always a voracious reader.

When I moved to New York, I knew a few other actors from my conservatory, the Brown University/Trinity Rep MFA program, were finding success and fulfillment recording audiobooks. So I took their advice and took classes with different teachers, including the great Paul Ruben, and I posted my reel.

One day, in February 2020, Tom Mis was searching online for a young Farsi-speaking female narrator, found my profile, and reached out. So I auditioned for him at Macmillan and booked the job (Melissa Bashardoust’s Girl, Serpent, Thorn)! I was so excited— and then lockdown happened. So I recorded and engineered my very first audiobook at home in a makeshift closet-booth and now I’ve recorded almost a hundred titles! I feel incredibly lucky to be part of this community, doing this incredible work.

Anything else you’d like a listener to know?

“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning”- Dr. Maya Angelou