2011 Audies outcome
Unfortunately, Mr. Armitage did not win the Audie for Best Adaptation (lost to Sean Barrett reading Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men).
Too bad, Mr. Armitage, but I LOVED Venetia as did everyone I know who heard it. And in my world a lot more people listened to Venetia than No Country for Old Men. (I confess that I’ve never been able to make myself finish a McCarthy novel.)
And I would guess that you don’t care much about this anyway — I sort of put you in the “it’s an honor to be nominated crowd,” but I also guess, based on your comment that your education taught you to fear not disappointing others, but disappointing yourself, that you really think that, that it’s not about the recognition, but about the job you you do and the things you learn.
You’re always tops with me, Mr Armitage, and you can read me a book any old time. In fact, you will be, in just a week’s time. Several books 🙂
Me + Richard Armitage 
Mr. Armitage is ALWAYS a winner no matter what the votes may say. And I think you are absolutely right–I don’t think he really cares about winning awards as much as he cares about working hard at his craft and continuing to go from strength to strength.
And one day, I do believe those awards WILL also come to him as more people discover the wonder and glory that is Armitage. 😀
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Maybe Sean Barrett is great, but I suspect Armitage lost out because Heyer is just not considered to be of the same literary quality as McCarthy, i.e., the meat of the reading was more substantial and offered the reader more opportunity to show an elite cultural talent. As opposed to Heyer which is fluff. But I’ve never been able to stomach McCarthy (tried All the Pretty Horses, and The Road, and tossed them both into the corner in frustration). And I love Heyer. I bet a lot more people heard Armitage than heard the McCarthy adaptation.
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I am sure you are correct; lots more people are enjoying the plebeian pleasures of Heyer over “great literature” via McCarthy.
Richard’s brilliance in bringing all those characters to such brilliant life and deliniating between each one, male, female, young, old, aristocrat or common man–it’s amazing. And award-worthy, definitely.
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Just listened to Venetia again today. And I still never tire of LotN. There isn’t another voice in the universe I would rather hear read an audio book. His rich tones are heavenly, his delivery is animated and wry, and he makes anything sound arresting.
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I’m enjoying a re-listen to Venetia again at the moment. Fluff it may be but with Richard’s brilliant vocal talents it is also a master class.
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Yes. Hard to believe, isn’t it? Who votes for this stuff? I have never been inclined to listen to an audio book before. Mr. Armitage should get some kind of award for THAT!
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I never really cared for audiobooks either, always preferring the written word before me, until I heard Richard’s work. He is simply the best.
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I’m in that cathegory too, such an accomplishment deserves an award.
OML 😉
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Oh what a shame…
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Can I dare suggest that everyone here is way too biased to make an objective assessment? 😉
Awards and acknowledgments are nice, but ultimately, trophies for art is a dubious business. No serious artist that I know, of any persuasion (literary, visual, performance), gives them too much credence (even when in receipt of them).
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Did anyone make an assessment?
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Not to be obstreperous, but I just don’t see that anyone here said that Armitage was robbed or that Barrett shouldn’t have won. And I think what you say about trophies is more or less what I said in the post. We’d have liked Armitage to have won. And I don’t care for McCarthy, pretty much no matter who reads him.
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Um, I do think a couple a commenters did indeed imply that RA should have been the winner! Of course folks would have liked RA to win, it was just a light-hearted jest.
My trophy comment reiterates your point.. I don’t see what the issue is here.
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Apologies since I must have misunderstood you. 🙂
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Miss Understood… the story of my life! 😉
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[…] back in 2011, for his work on the adaptation of Georgette Heyer’s Venetia. Here’s us talking about his loss. Here’s the website for the awards, which are considered the “Oscars” of the […]
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Could Hamlet be Richard Armitage’s “Audie” moment? | Me + Richard Armitage said this on June 15, 2014 at 12:41 am |
[…] [Armitage’s previous nomination for an Audie — the Oscars of the audiobook world — was for Venetia, ….] […]
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Dies natalis XLVI and Richard Armitage is an Audie nominee again | Me + Richard Armitage said this on February 11, 2015 at 10:17 pm |
[…] Previous nominations were for David Copperfield (2017); Classic Love Poems (2016); Hamlet (2015); and Venetia (2010). […]
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Richard Armitage’s 5th Audie Nomination for Romeo & Juliet | Me + Richard Armitage said this on February 6, 2018 at 6:33 pm |