Launched in 2021, the Penguin Random House Audio Narrator Mentorship Program is an initiative for actors new to audiobooks, offering them the opportunity to work with our team of producers to strengthen their craft and gain industry knowledge. We believe that publishing and casting should be entirely inclusive and we created this program to widen the playing field for every actor who participates in the program. Over a six-month period, mentees will be guided by their mentors in individual coaching sessions, producing demo samples, and preparing for and participating in our Showcase Day.

Currently, we are a bicoastal team of more than 20 audiobook producers, with 300 years of combined experience. We produce approximately 2,000 titles per year and have garnered 19 GRAMMY® Awards and 117 Audie Awards®.

How to Apply

Application

• You’ll need to answer 17 questions about yourself and your skills. You can preview the questions here .

• Complete the application in full. Any incomplete applications will not be considered. Please note that you will not be able to return to the application once you’ve exited it, so have all your answers and your narration sample recorded and ready to go prior to starting.
• Give attention to your answers for the open-ended questions. Thoughtful and insightful responses are recommended.
• Be mindful of any restrictions to applying, as anyone who does not meet the criteria will be disqualified. Those restrictions are:
  • You must be 18 years old or older.
  • You have not narrated more than 9 audiobooks at the time of submission.
  • You can speak, read, and perform in English even if you are fluent in other languages.

Narration Sample

• As part of your submission, you must include a 2-3 minute narration sample. The sample should be from a literary text of your choosing.
• New to audiobooks? Don’t worry! We will not be judging the audio quality of your sample.
• Be sure to think about how the sample highlights your unique skillset(s) and your ability to engagingly tell a story. We recommend a balance of narrative and dialogue, and to showcase an emotional or situational arc.
• Your narration sample should not be one of the following or your submission will be disqualified (the below do not give us the best sense of your ability to narrate a literary text):
  • Commercial Voice Over Reel
  • Animation Reel
  • Video Game Reel
  • Documentary Voice Over
  • E-learning
  • Podcast (Exception: an excerpt from an audio drama is acceptable if you are the sole narrator in the sample submitted)
• To submit your sample, you have two options:
  • Soundcloud – Record your sample, upload it to Soundcloud (instructions here), and include the link in your application where indicated. Please make sure the link to your sample is working and accessible to outside parties.
  • Box – Record your sample and upload it to our dedicated Box folder (link is on the application). You must label your sample with your full name and it should match the name used on your application. Where indicated on the application, please let us know you uploaded your sample to Box and include the file name.

Submit the application between Monday, August 11, 2025 and Monday, August 25, 2025 at 11:59 PM EDT. All applicants will be contacted directly about their status via email before the end of December. 

**Incomplete applications will not be considered.**

Listen to producers and the program’s co-runners, Kelly Gildea and Amber Beard, share what stands out to them in a submission:

Mentorship Alumni

We’ve received thousands of applications from around the world, and nearly 100 narrators have participated in the program over five sessions since 2021. The vast majority of mentees who have completed the program thus far have gone on to narrate audiobooks for Penguin Random House Audio and other publishers, using the skills they developed during this mentorship.

See a couple of our mentees interviewed on our Meet the Voice YouTube series: Philip Hernandez and Aixa Kay

Have Questions?

From eligibility to submission guidelines and more—we have the answers.

Visit Our FAQ >

Listen to producers and mentorship alumni discuss the program: