About Dion Graham

Dion Graham’s warm, empathetic voice is like a chameleon, and has distinguished him as one of the most decorated audiobook narrators of a generation. His many accolades include the prestigious AudioFile Golden Voice award as well as multiple Audie awards, Earphones awards, ALA Odyssey awards, Publishers Weekly Listen Up awards, and IBPA Ben Franklin awards.

Graham is a truly versatile voice artist, with credits ranging from young adult books to the Dalai Lama’s memoir to Death by Black Hole by Neil deGrasse Tyson, and even a Western or two. If you’ve listened to an audiobook by Dave Eggers, George Pelecanos, or Chester Himes, there’s a good chance it was narrated by Dion Graham. But some of his most beloved performances are the memoirs, biographies, and works he’s performed by key 20th century luminaries such as James Baldwin, Muhammad Ali, Miles Davis, Carl Sagan, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Graham’s ability to seamlessly cross genres is a testament to his strength in connecting to characters and remaining open to every single story that he performs. When preparing for an audiobook performance, Graham has said “I try to be open. And it’s not like I’m trying very hard. I just dive in. I take the ride.” Like the best audiobook performers, he becomes a conduit for the human experience.

He came to audiobooks in an unusual way, when his friend asked him to narrate James Joyce’s The Dead one Christmas. He obliged — with nothing but a cassette recorder — and the two listened to the recording together in a dark room afterwards. It wasn’t until years later, when he was doing a Tennessee Williams play in London, that he met a narrator who encouraged him to get into the “great world of audiobooks.” It was a natural fit, as Graham has always had a deep love of reading. When he was a kid, he would get to the library early on summer mornings and wait for the doors to open.

Before he started performing audiobooks, Graham enjoyed a successful acting career on HBO’s The Wire, A & E’s The First 48, and several hit television shows. He’s also performed on Broadway, off-Broadway, internationally, and in films. He’s a graduate of Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, with an MFA in acting.

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