Best Shayna Small Audiobooks

The best audiobooks narrated by Shayna Small — 5 titles spanning Thriller, Sci-Fi, Literature & Fiction, averaging 3.77 ABR stars.

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Shayna Small has become a go-to voice for contemporary Black fiction, particularly the kind that pulses with urgency and cultural specificity. She's part of the celebrated ensemble behind both Blackout and Whiteout — the multi-author YA anthologies featuring Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Dhonielle Clayton, and others — where her warm, expressive delivery holds its own alongside a roster of heavy hitters. Her work on Boom Town shows she can anchor a full narrative solo, bringing the same grounded energy to Stone's prose. The standout in her catalog may be The Amen Corner — James Baldwin's play demands emotional precision and a feel for cadence, and Small delivers. Listeners who love fiction rooted in Black American experience, especially stories with strong female voices and emotional directness, will find her narration feels like it was written for exactly the way she reads it.

Where to Start with Shayna Small

  1. 1
    Preacher's Frenzy cover

    Preacher's Frenzy

    First Mountain Man [Dramatized Adaptation] • Book 26

    by William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone, Zeke Alton, James Konicek, Jeff Baker, Chris Genebach, Mort Shelby, Christopher Graybill, David Coyne, Alejandro Ruiz, Shayna Small, Terence Aselford, Nora Achrati

    Narrated by full cast, Mort Shelby, David Coyne, Chris Genebach, Nora Achrati, James Konicek, Alejandro Ruiz, Zeke Alton, Terence Aselford, Christopher Graybill, Jeff Baker, Shayna Small

    ★ 3.83 ABR Score (24 ratings)
    ★ 4.83 Audible (24)
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  2. 2
    Dies the Fire (2 of 3) : Emberverse, Book 1, Part 2 cover

    Dies the Fire (2 of 3) : Emberverse, Book 1, Part 2

    Novels of The Change (Emberverse) • Book 1

    by S.M. Stirling

    Narrated by full cast, Scott McCormick, Nora Achrati, Patrick Bussink, Laura C. Harris, Eva Wilhelm, Andrew Quilpa, Shayna Small, Terence Aselford, Jacob Yeh, Scott Bruffey, James Lewis

    ★ 3.82 ABR Score (18.0K ratings)
    ★ 3.93 Goodreads (17.9K) ★ 4.86 Audible (7)
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  3. 3
    Whiteout cover

    Whiteout

    Blackout • Book 2

    by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon

    Narrated by Danielle Shemaiah, Nic Stone, Shayna Small, Bahni Turpin, Alaska Jackson, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Kevin R. Free, James Fouhey, Korey Jackson

    ★ 3.76 ABR Score (7.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.6 Goodreads (7.2K) ★ 4.46 Audible (78)
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    Multiple narrators each voicing their own character make this snowy Atlanta romance feel like eavesdropping on real conversations between friends, turning an ensemble story into something genuinely intimate.

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  4. 4
    Boom Town cover

    Boom Town

    by Nic Stone

    Narrated by Ariel Blake, Angel Pean, Shayna Small, Bahni Turpin, Nic Stone

    ★ 3.75 ABR Score (3.0K ratings)
    ★ 3.44 Goodreads (3.0K) ★ 4.2 Audible (61)
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    Two dancers vanish from Atlanta's notorious strip club, prompting a former headliner to investigate their disappearance. The ensemble cast including Bahni Turpin creates distinct voices for this seedy underworld thriller.

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  5. 5
    The Amen Corner cover

    The Amen Corner

    by James Baldwin

    Narrated by Myra Lucretia Taylor, Dion Graham, January LaVoy, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Janina Edwards, Aaron Goodson, Angel Pean, Shayna Small, Robin Miles, Dominic Hoffman, JD Jackson, Adenrele Ojo

    ★ 3.68 ABR Score (1.1K ratings)
    ★ 3.95 Goodreads (1.1K) ★ 5 Audible (4)
    More about this pick

    Sister Margaret Alexander leads a storefront church while family secrets threaten everything in Baldwin's theatrical masterpiece. Twelve narrators including Robin Miles create a powerful ensemble performance.

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Browse Related Lists

Shayna Small — Narrator Profile Scott Brick Ray Porter Adam Verner Abby Craden Michael Kramer Maxine Mitchell Grover Gardner George Guidall Dick Hill Luke Daniels Barrie Kreinik Simon Vance Bahni Turpin R.C. Bray Robertson Dean January LaVoy Simon Prebble Travis Baldree Nick Podehl Edoardo Ballerini Julia Whelan Tim Gerard Reynolds Andrea Parsneau Nora Achrati Davina Porter Best Fantasy Best Sci-Fi Best Thriller Best Mystery Best Horror Best Literature & Fiction

How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

Read our full ranking methodology →