Janina Edwards
janina@janinaspeaksvolumes.com
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Janina Edwards

Janina Edwards Voice Over Sag Aftra
The Love List
https://www.janinaspeaksvolumes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Janina-Edwards-Romance-Male-Female-Dialogue.mp3


Yonder
https://www.janinaspeaksvolumes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Janina_Edwards_Dramatic_Storytelling_W_Characters_Yonder.mp3


Zooey & Sassafras
https://www.janinaspeaksvolumes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Janina_Edwards_Children_S_Book_Zooey_Sassafrass.mp3

Janina Edwards Voice Over Responsive Image

Compelling, Believable Voices of the Black Diaspora

Bio. Studio. Details.

Janina has recorded more than 400 titles through traditional audiobook publishers including Blackstone, Simon & Schuster, Dreamscape, Tantor, and Audible, as well independent production platforms, such as ACX and Findaway. She has been featured in the New York Times, Audiofile and ACX (Audible’s Audiobook Creation Exchange). Janina excels at portraying compelling believable characters and voices of African Americans, and other people of the English-speaking African diaspora (the West Indies, West and South Africa).

“I love to narrate audiobooks of all kinds, but my passion is to voice BIPOC stories, messages, and writers, and champion humanist and yogic principles.”

In addition, Janina narrates long-format journalism (via AUDM and Apple News), eLearning, audio description and meditation.

AWARDS/ACCOLADES
In 2022 The Final Revival of Opal and Nev won the Audie award for Best Fiction. Janina portrayed the voice of Sunny, the lead character, who connects the entire storyline, in that multi-narrator audiobook. Janina’s audiobook projects have garnered seven Audie award finalist nominations, eight Earphones awards and two SOVAS (Society of Voice Arts and Sciences) award nominations.

BOOTH
Janina records in a custom-built booth lined in Auralex foam. She uses a Neumann TLM 103 microphone with pop filter, and a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface. Her DAW of choice is Adobe Audition.

BACKGROUND AND TRAINING
Janina Edwards is a native of Chicago, IL, and graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Acting Program. She recorded her first audiobooks in the late 1980s for the American Foundation for the Blind Talking Books program.

She is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and is active with the Audio Publishers Association Diversity Mentoring program.

ACCENTS AND DIALECTS
Janina enjoys listening to the myriad ways that people talk. She grew up hearing African American people in Chicago, and the threads of the south mixed into their voices. While living in New York City for eleven years, she soaked up the language and rhythms of African and West Indian people in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights neighborhoods. She has lived in Atlanta for the past twenty-four years, swimming in the swagger and sway of the south.

While living in New York City, Janina studied French at Alliance Française and took Spanish lessons at The New School (NYC). Most recently she has studied African accents with PJ Ochlan (Dr. Dialect), and Beth McGuire (Yale University School of Drama, and Juilliard, and Black Panther movie Vocal Coach).

ECLECTIC INTERESTS
Janina’s background includes five years in the New York and Chicago Santeria communities where she was initiated to Oya. She is a former dancer (African Folkloric, Modern, and Belly Dance), and former amateur long-distance runner (completing the Chicago Marathon twice and the Georgia Half Marathon three times). Janina was the Props Manager for the Tony Award winning Alliance Theatre, the southeast’s largest regional theatre, for five years. She left that job to start her own company (JustWrite! Communications & Proposals, dba janinaspeaksvoumes). Janina is a certified yoga instructor (300 hours), specializing in Restorative Yoga. She is active with Kashi Atlanta Urban Yoga Ashram. She taught at Kashi and volunteered as a yoga teacher at the DeKalb County jail and taught at an addiction recovery center. She also sings ‘kirtan’ and plays the violin. Janina loves the outdoors and is an avid hiker and kayaker, and a volunteer leader with Outdoor Afro, a national non-profit that creates nature-based events for black people.

WRITING
For fifteen years, Janina made her living as a successful professional grant proposal writer working with arts non-profits in Atlanta-including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Theatrical Outfit, Atlanta Ballet, and more.

Janina’s literary writing focuses on fiction, and non-fiction personal essays, and memoir pieces. Her memoir pieces often explore her experiences as a caregiver for her parents, surviving domestic abuse, and her joyful experiences in the outdoors.

For an example of Janina’s writing check out her blog, and this published piece for the National Parks Service.

Genres

  • Journalism
  • Meditation
  • Audio Description
Janina Edwards Voice Over S Look For Me and Ill Be
Look For Me and I’ll Be Gone
https://www.janinaspeaksvolumes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Janina-Edwards-3rd-person-storytellerLook-For-Me-And-I-ll-Be-Gone.mp3

Look For Me and I’ll Be Gone
By John Edgar Wideman
Dual Narration w/Dion Graham
Earphones Award Winner 2022

Janina Edwards Voice Over The Lion King
The Lion King
https://www.janinaspeaksvolumes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Janina-Edwards-The-Lion-King.mp3

The Lion King
Adapted by Elizabeth Rudnick
(Companion to the 2019 Disney movie)
Audie, SOVAS Finalist 2020
Earphones Award Winner 2020

Janina Edwards Voice Over The Final Revival
The Final Revival of Opal and Nev
https://www.janinaspeaksvolumes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Janina-Edwards-OpalandNev.mp3

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev
By Dawnie Walton
Lead Voice in Multi-narrator project
Earphones and Audie Award Winner 2022

Janina Edwards Voice Over New Leaders img
New Leaders
https://www.janinaspeaksvolumes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Janina_Edwards_ELearning.mp3

Janina Edwards Voice Over wetland
Newman Wetlands Center
https://www.janinaspeaksvolumes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Janina-Edwards-Audio-Description.mp3

Janina Edwards Voice Over Lumosity
Lumosity
https://www.janinaspeaksvolumes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Janina_Edwards_Meditation.mp3

My Videos

https://youtu.be/OoGTlUfOIlE

From the Page to Your Ears

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrVYjBVsBg0&feature=youtu.be

Public Library System

Happy Clients

Janina Edwards Voice Over Lantern
Janina Edwards Voice Over Realm
Janina Edwards Voice Over Audiobooks Logo
Janina Edwards Voice Over Beeaudio Logo
Janina Edwards Voice Over Audm Logo
Janina Edwards Voice Over Podium Logo
Janina Edwards Voice Over Hachette Logo
Janina Edwards Voice Over Audio
Janina Edwards Voice Over Recorded Books
Janina Edwards Voice Over voices
Janina Edwards Voice Over Tantor
Janina Edwards Voice Over Lightspeed
Janina Edwards Voice Over Dreamscape
Janina Edwards Voice Over Macmillan
Janina Edwards Voice Over Deyan Audio
Janina Edwards Voice Over Fantasy
Janina Edwards Voice Over Blackstone
Janina Edwards Voice Over Nightmare
Janina Edwards Voice Over Harper Audio
Janina Edwards Voice Over Beacon Press
Janina Edwards Voice Over Berrett Publishers
Janina Edwards Voice Over SkyBolt Media
Janina Edwards Voice Over Mosaic
Janina Edwards Voice Over Penguin Random House

Just wanted to thank you again for talking A Stranger in the Citadel. All the prep work you did to make sure it was the best book it could be was amazing, and the performance is above and beyond. I really adore everything about it. Thank you for putting so much into my little book. It really meant a lot to me. And people are noting how amazing your narration was, so I’m so delighted and honored that you did this.

Tobias Bucknell "A Stranger in the Citadel" (Audible)

Edwards’s performance has a strength and dignity that are absolutely necessary to capture the importance of the material. Though the history itself is at times painful to hear, Edwards’s thoughtful pacing brings listeners through the powerful story.

Tiyah Miles “All That She Carried” (Penguin Random House)

Edwards captures their steamy chemistry and playful banter exquisitely. Her melodious tones are engaging but switch to smooth and seductive to draw listeners into the slow-building romance.

Audiofile Magazine Review “While We Were Dating” (Penguin Random House)

In a voice full of Southern charm, narrator Janina Edwards portrays librarian “Marvey” Harris and her gang of amateur sleuths in this series debut.

Audiofile Magazine Review “Murder By Page One”

It was a thrill to listen to Janina Edwards voice my characters. She brought them to life exactly as I’d imagined them. I loved the subtle nuances in her accents, which captured each character. And the way she delivered the setting descriptions brought me into my story world with such ease. I’ve requested to work with Janina on future projects

Olivia Matthews "Murder by Page One" (Simon & Schuster Audio)

Janina is thorough and professional. Perhaps more importantly, she brings life to every word on the page.

Christine Zane Thomas "The Scrying Game" (ACX)

Janina is, quite simply, a first-rate narrator. In the five years or so we’ve been working together, I’ve sent her some of the most difficult material I’ve ever seen. She has managed in all instances to fully comprehend the author’s intention and make impeccable choices for the best tone, pace and vocal characterizations for each narration. Further, her studio has a fine sound, and for multi-voice projects we’ve found it easily compatible with other top-flight studios from around the country.

Stefan Rudnicki, President/Publisher, Skyboat Media

Janina is an excellent narrator and a pleasure to do business with. She always delivers high quality audio files and finishes projects right on schedule. I highly recommend working with her.

Katherine Arnett, Audio Program Manager and Website Content Specialist,
North Atlantic Books"

Every time I listen to Janina Edwards narrate Three Girls from Bronzeville, I am in awe. Not only does she have a gorgeous and lush voice, but it’s also chameleonic in that it blends seamlessly into the story. She breathes life into my words in a way that’s masterful. I know the hard work that she put into understanding my story and its real-life characters on the front end, and the result is a narration that is luminous. It has been an honor and privilege to have her animate my memoir.

Dawn Turner Trice "Three Girls from Bronzeville" (Simon & Schuster Audio)

Among the full cast of narrators for THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL & NEV, Janina Edwards (as the music journalist Sunny) is the chord that holds the different notes together. Her masterful narration evoked all the wonder, worry, and warmth I felt when writing the ups and downs of Sunny’s journey through the colorful chaos of rock & roll.

Dawnie Walton "The Final Revival of Opal & Nev" (Simon & Schuster Audio)

Janina is the voice of our New Leaders eLearning content. We’ve worked with her for nearly eight years and know that we can count her to provide us with vocal delivery that is warm and personal; bringing our audio to life even when the material is technical. Janina is a fantastic partner and collaborrator and I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a dynamic voice actor!

Jennifer Baker, Senior Director of eLearning Design, New Leaders

The first time I heard Janina reading an excerpt from one of my stories, I said aloud, “That’s it! This is the voice I hear in my head when I’m writing my characters!” I knew my collection needed a voice artist who understood that the women in my stories aren’t just Black and aren’t just Southern and aren’t just in the church. My stories needed someone who understood the wonderful amalgamation of those facets, in order to do them justice. It’s such a joy and an honor to have Janina lend her perfect, versatile voice to my characters representing four generations of women. She captures them all so beautifully. Many fans of Church Ladies tell me they fell in love with Janina’s voice too and that she fully brought these women and their stories to life. Janina is a dream narrator, and I’m so grateful that hers is the voice that readers will remember when they think of my stories.

Deesha Philyaw "The Secret Lives of Church Ladies" (Tantor Audio)

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