Origin Story

We have boxes of cassette tapes — “books on tape” — my wife has been a fan for… a Long time

Beginnings…

While doing other voice work in LA, I started studying with the late Frank Muller (a brilliant powerhouse and someone who set the bar very high) and then with the insightful and talented Laurel van der Lynde (and even a weekend workshop with Pat Fraley at a highschool gym in Hollywood). My first APAC was in downtown LA in the early 2000’s.

SAG-AFTRA and Audible hosted a contest in 2013. I’d left off my demo work with a recording of “Tender is the Night” by F Scott Fitzgerald. And, out of all the libraries in all the world… lo and behold, the sample for male narrators to audition with… “Tender is the Night” I took it as a sign! I was also chosen as one of those 20 finalists from over 2000 entries. And I haven’t looked back.

Recording…

I now have a StudioBricks One-Plus studio — AT4047 Mic, Scarlet 4i4, ProTools. I’ve recorded over 80 books both in studio and from home for companies in the US & Canada

• Brilliance Audio

• Penguin Random House Audio (NYC)

• Audible Studios

• Blackstone Audio

• ECW Press

• Penguin Random House Audio Canada

• Two Words Publishing

• Orca Book Publishers Canada

• Novel Audio

I earned Audible-Approved status in 2016 in recognition for my work as a narrator/producer.

I’ve enjoyed many direct connections with authors and publishers through ACX: NY Times and USA Today Best-selling authors Tanya Anne Crosby (10 books) and Russell Blake (the JET series).

I’ve performed others series such as works by Jim Rohn, a novella for Jess Walter (Scrib’d) and I was nominated as a finalist for the Independent Audiobook Awards for Herman Raucher’s classic “Summer of ‘42,”

Strengths in Style…

I have a reputation for respecting text and languages — I do my research and seek coaching for other languages: I once spent 3 days learning 30 words of Cheyenne for a book because it is a language only 1500 speak and I feel, as narrators, we are representing an oral tradition in telling stories, regardless of the culture. From Latin to French, German to Icelandic, I’ll do my best to approximate authenticity.

I care about storytelling. I have a lifelong connection to performance and dramatic presentations and I earned a degree in writing (Boston University). I respect the creative urge of a writer to tell a story — and to entrust me with that expression. I know the work that goes into finding the phrasing and I seek to lift that from the page into naturalistic language. My artist’s message is, “Compassion for self and others,” and it’s a theme I explore throughout my own work and through my narration and acting.

News and Interests…

I’m honored to have been featured in national print and national radio for my advocacy for audiobooks as a format and specifically Audiobooks in Canada; including a CBC interview in January 2020 by Michael Enright for “The Sunday Edition” .

Following a lifetime of performance as a pro figure skater, piano student, writer and performer and PR strategist and coach, I also coach narrator students through my Maple Audiobooks enterprise. I have worked as the head of the ACTRA Toronto Voice Committee Audiobook subcommittee. In July 1980, I first joined AGVA — now celebrating 40+ years as a proud union performer!

~ Braden Wright