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Listen Up: Veteran Westport Narrator Lands In Hall of Fame

WESTPORT, Conn. — Some people have a way with accents.

Davina Porter of Westport has landed in The Narrator Hall of Fame.

Davina Porter of Westport has landed in The Narrator Hall of Fame.

Photo Credit: Contributed

Others have a knack for bringing a lively yarn to life.

Westport resident Davina Porter is such a talented speaker she is among the inaugural inductees of The Narrator Hall of Fame.

In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Audible Books has launched the distinction as a way of honoring “the voices that transform stories.”

Porter, an award-winning actor and 20-year narrator of audio books, is among just 20 featured inductees — and it’s easy to see why.

Known for the sheer beauty of her voice and her special talent for dialects and accents, Porter actually has a loyal fan base.

“Fran Muller and C.J. Critt were my all-time favorite narrators, and, after hearing you read ‘Beyond the Black Stump,’ I’m adding you to my list whose voices I’d listen to if they read the phone book!” gushed one listener in a review.

“I’ve heard many narrators ‘do voices’, but the best ones do what you did: truly play the characters…with kindness or warmth…” wrote another fan. “There was somehow an attitude of kindness and caring in your voice toward the people inhabiting the book that granted the listener free and inviting access to the world of the story.”

A founding narrator with Recorded Books, Porter has an impressive list of classics in her audiography, including “Anna Karenina” and “Madame Bovary,” for which the Los Angeles Times hailed her recording as “a narrator against whom all others should be measured.”

The selection for the new Hall of Fame was based on several criteria, including a wide body of work, exceptional reviews and a commitment to the craft and dedication to spreading awareness of audio performance.

“Narrators don’t just read the story—they bring it to life, adding nuance to every word and personality to every character,” according to Audible Books. “Porter has developed a special relationship with the listener, making every audiobook she performs a transporting experience.”

The new nod is not the first for Porter, who was included among AudioFile magazine’s 50 Best Voices of the Last Century. In 2015, she won the Sova Award for Best Female Narrator for “In My Own Heart’s Blood” by Diana Gabaldon.

In 2004, she won an “Audie,” the Oscar of the audio book industry, winning a second in 2006 for “A Breath of Snow and Ashes.”

And you can’t say she’s not versatile. Porter is also known for her work with children’s titles.

Her interpretation of Paul Revere’s horse in “Mr. Revere and I” was praised as “the perfect choice for a mare of distinction and breeding.”

For more on The Narrator Hall of Fame, visit the website.

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