This month, we’re highlighting a selection of audiobooks featuring AAPI writers and voice actors across a range of genres, from intimate memoirs and lyrical poetry to fantasy epics and compelling fiction. These titles offer meaningful listening experiences that resonate well beyond May. Dive into the collection below—and hit play any time of year.

Four Ruined Realms

Written by Mai Corland
Performed by Jaine Ye, Greg Chun, Sophie Oda, Donald Chang, Roger Yeh, and Zion Jang
Published by Recorded Books

“A compelling fantasy tale with a memorable ensemble.” — Kirkus Reviews

The King of Yusan may be the greatest liar of them all. His sister’s ring is in his sights, and he will do anything to get what he wants. Even manipulating the five blades to steal it …

 

 

 

The Railway Conspiracy

Written by John Shen Yen Nee and SJ Rozan
Performed by Daniel York Loh
Published by Recorded Books

“Fiendishly clever . . . A fair-play treat for mystery readers who prefer their deduction with a dash of adrenaline.” — Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Judge Dee and Lao She must use all their powers of deduction—and kung fu skills—to take down a sinister conspiracy between Imperial Russia, Japan, and China in a rollicking new mystery set in 1920s London.

 

 

 

Sunlight Playing Over a Mountain

Written by Selina Li Bi
Performed by Cindy Kay
Published by Recorded Books

“An extraordinary coming-of-age tale.” — School Library Journal, Starred Review

A mythology-tinged debut novel about a Chinese-Filipino teenager whose world of daydreams is destroyed by a family secret. Perfect for fans of Emily X. R. Pan, Ann Liang, and lyrical coming-of-age tales.

 

 

 

Down in the Sea of Angels

Written by Khan Wong
Performed by Eunice Wong
Published by Dreamscape

An intense and thoughtful time-traveling dystopian fantasy where three individuals, psychically linked through time, fight enslavement, exploitation, and environmental collapse. A great read for fans of Emily St. John Mandel.

 

 

 

 

Aloha Everything

Written by Kaylin Melia George
Performed by Barrie Kealoha
Published by Dreamscape

A Center for the Study of Multicultural Literature Best Book of 2024
A 2025 Asian Pacific American Award Book
A 2025 Notable Book for a Global Society – International Literacy Association

Aloha Everything is both a captivating read and a fantastic educational resource for learning about Hawaiian history, ecology, and culture. With breathtaking hand-painted illustrations and beautiful rhyming poetry that will lull little ones into brilliant dreams of vibrant adventure, this book is sure to capture the hearts of both children and parents alike.

 

 

Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen

Written by Lili‘uokalani
Performed by Emily Woo Zeller
Published by Tantor

In 1893, Liliuokalani, the Queen of Hawaii, was deposed and five years later her nation became an incorporated territory of the United States.

 

 

 

 

The Brides of High Hill

Written by Nghi Vo
Performed by Cindy Kay
Published by Tantor

“Nghi Vo is one of the most original writers we have today.” — Taylor Jenkins Reid

Nghi Vo’s Hugo Award–winning Singing Hills Cycle returns with a stand-alone gothic mystery that unfolds in the empire of Ahn.

 

 

 

 

The Song Poet: A Memoir of My Father

Written by Kao Kalia Yang
Performed by Kao Yang
Published by Highbridge

Winner of the 2017 Minnesota Book Award in Creative Nonfiction

Following her award-winning book The Latehomecomer, Kao Kalia Yang now retells the life of her father Bee Yang, the song poet, a Hmong refugee in Minnesota, driven from the mountains of Laos by American’s Secret War.

 

 

 

Scenes From An Unholy War

Written by Yoshitaka Amano and Hideyuki Kikuchi
Performed by a full cast
Published by GraphicAudio

In a village on the edge of the Frontier, D is among the warriors and mercenaries hired to defend the village from the Black Death, a notorious bandit gang. But the bandits don’t arrive, and the village mayor dismisses the mercenaries. As D leaves the scene, he’s struck by “sunlight syndrome”—the deadly ailment unique to dhampirs!