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Dion Graham is an American actor and narrator. As an actor, he has worked both on and off-Broadway, as well as in TV series and film. As of April 2024, he has narrated at least 280 audiobooks.[1] He has earned a place on AudioFile magazine's list of Golden Voice Narrators, as well as Audible's Narrator Hall of Fame. Further, he has won 11 Audie Awards, 71 Earphone Awards, 3 Listen-Up Awards, and 1 Odyssey Award.
Dion Graham | |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | Actor, narrator |
| Years active | 1992–present |
Book Riot called Graham "the best of the best" in audiobook narration, saying, "His voice is rich and emotive, making even the driest bits of a long biography or history come alive. His ability to inhabit characters seems limitless; his myriad character accents are always flawless."[2]
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Graham grew up in Cincinnati[3] and lives in New York City.[4][5]
His on-screen acting career began in 1992 when he played a role in Malcolm X. Throughout the 1990s, he appeared in other shows, such as Law & Order, and performed on- and off-Broadway.
Graham highlights two key moments in his life as being influential to his career as an audiobook narrator. First, a roommate of his requested that he record James Joyce’s story "The Dead" for a long road trip.[4] Months later, Graham listened to the recording and found it "compelling;" he also remembered enjoying the process of recording the story.[4] A few years later, Graham was performing a Tennessee Williams play at the Royal National Theatre when an acquaintance encouraged him to consider audiobooks.[4][3] His first audiobook narration was published in 2000.[3]
Since 2000, Graham has given voice to many Black characters and narrated classic works by African American authors, including Langston Hughes's The Weary Blues, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail, James Baldwin's Going to Meet the Man, and Chester Himes's The Big Gold Dream.
Throughout his career as an audiobook narrator, Graham has continued to act both on- and off-screen, including television shows such as The Wire, The Good Wife, and Madam Secretary.
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Graham has earned a place on AudioFile magazine's list of Golden Voice Narrators,[6] as well as Audible's Narrator Hall of Fame.[2] In 2012, Booklist honored him with a Voice of Choice award.[3] He has been named Publishers Weekly's Narrator of the Year, and his narrations have landed on many "best of" lists.[7]
Further, he has won 11 Audie Awards, 71 Earphone Awards, 3 Listen-Up Awards, and 1 Odyssey Award.
2000s
Awards
| Year | Title | Author(s) | Other narrator(s) | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Bombingham (2001) | Anthony Grooms | Earphones Award | Won | [8] | |
| West of Rehoboth (2001) | Alexs D. Pate | Earphones Award | Won | [9] | ||
| 2005 | I Got Somebody in Staunton (2005) | William Henry Lewis | Kevin R. Free, Lizan Mitchell, and Ezra Knight | Earphones Award | Won | [10] |
| 2006 | Dancing in the Dark (2005) | Caryl Phillips | Earphones Award | Won | [11] | |
| River Rising (2005) | Athol Dickson | Earphones Award | Won | [12] | ||
| 2007 | Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries (2007) | Neil DeGrasse Tyson | Earphones Award | Won | [13] | |
| 2008 | Cadillac Orpheus | Solon Timothy Woodward | Listen-Up Award for Fiction | Finalist | [14] | |
| Chasing the Devil's Tail: A Mystery of Storyville, New Orleans | David Fulmer | Earphones Award | Won | [15] | ||
| Pepperfish Keys (2007) | Darryl Wimberley | Earphones Award | Won | [16] | ||
| River Rising | Athol Dickson | Audie Award for Faith-Based Fiction and Nonfiction | Won | [17] | ||
| 2009 | Time Traveler: A Scientist's Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality (2007) | Ronald L. Mallett and Bruce Henderson | Earphones Award | Won | [18] | |
| The Way Home (2009) | George Pelecanos | Earphones Award | Won | [19] |
Best of the Year Lists
 |
| Year | Title | Author(s) | List | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | What is the What (2006) | Dave Eggers | AudioFile Best Fiction | |
| 2008 | Chasing the Devil’s Tail | AudioFile Best Mystery & Suspense | ||
| 2009 | The Way Home (2009) | George Pelecanos | AudioFile Best Mystery and Suspense |
2010s
Awards
Best of the Year lists
| Year | Title | Author(s) | Other narrator(s) | List | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (2000) | Dave Eggers | AudioFile Best Biography & Memoir | ||
| Peace, Locomotion | Jacqueline Woodson | Notable Children's Recordings | |||
| They Called Themselves the K.K.K. | Susan Campbell Bartoletti | AudioFile Best Young Adult | |||
| 2011 | Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson (2010) | Charles R. Smith, Jr. | AudioFile Best Children & Family Listening | ||
| Looking Like Me | Walter Dean Myers | Quincy Tyler Bernstine | AudioFile Best Children & Family Listening | ||
| The Rock and the River (2010) | Kekla Magoon | AudioFile Best Young Adult | |||
| 2012 | Miles: The Autobiography (1989) | Miles Davis and Quincy Troupe | AudioFile Best Biography & Memoir | ||
| Locomotion | Jacqueline Woodson | AudioFile Best Children | |||
| Looking Like Me | Walter Dean Myers | Quincy Tyler Bernstine | Notable Children's Recordings | ||
| 2013 | The Circle | AudioFile Best Fiction | |||
| Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site | Weston Woods | Notable Children's Recordings | [82] | ||
| 2014 | Behind Enemy Lines | AudioFile Best Children | |||
| H.O.R.S.E.: A Game of Basketball and Imagination (2012) | Christopher Myers | AudioFile Best Children | |||
| 2015 | In the Heat of the Night | AudioFile Best Mystery & Suspense | |||
| The Cool Cottontail | AudioFile Best Mystery & Suspense | ||||
| X: A Novel | Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon | Ilyasah Shabazz | AudioFile Best Young Adult | ||
| 2016 | My Name is Not Friday (2016) | Jon Walter | AudioFile Best Young Adult | ||
| My Greatest: My Own Story | Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham | AudioFile Best Memoir | |||
| 2017 | Trombone Shorty (2015) | Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews | AudioFile Best Children & Family Listening | ||
| Flying Lessons and Other Stories | AudioFile Best Children & Family Listening | ||||
| 28 Days: Moments in Black History that Changed the World (2015) | Charles R. Smith, Jr. | William Jackson Harper, Zainab Jah, January LaVoy, Robin Miles, Lizan Mitchell, Jonathan Earl Peck, and Carter Woodson Redwood | AudioFile Best Children & Family Listening | ||
| 2018 | Finding Langston (2018) | Lesa Cline-Ransome | AudioFile Best Children & Family Listening | ||
| Washington Black | Esi Edugyan | AudioFile Best Fiction | |||
| 2019 | Black Leopard, Red Wolf (2019) | Marlon James | AudioFile Best Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror |
2020s
Awards
Best of the Year lists
| Year | Title | Author(s) | Other narrator(s) | List | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Charlotte's Web (1952) | E. B. White | Audie Award for Middle Grade Title | ||
| Overground Railroad (2020) | Lesa Cline-Ransome | Shayna Small and Lesa Cline-Ransome (author's note) | AudioFile Best Children's Books | ||
| When Stars Are Scattered (2020) | Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed | Faysal Ahmed, Barkhad Abdi, Robin Miles, Ifrah Mansour, Bahni Turpin, Hakeemshady Mohamed, Sadeeq Ali, Dominic Hoffman, Christine Avila, and a full cast | AudioFile Best Children's Books | ||
| 2021 | Concrete Rose (2021) | Angie Thomas | AudioFile Best Young Adult of 2021 | ||
| Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619–2019 (2021) | Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain (editors) | J. D. Jackson, Kevin R. Free, January LaVoy, Robin Miles, Angela Y. Davis, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and a Full Cast | AudioFile Best History & Biography | [115] | |
| Harlem Shuffle (2021) | Colson Whitehead | AudioFile Best Fiction | [115] |
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2000s
| Year | Title | Author(s) | Other narrator(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Bombingham (2001) | Anthony Grooms | |
| West of Rehoboth (2001) | Alexs D. Pate | ||
| 2005 | I Got Somebody in Staunton (2005) | William Henry Lewis | Kevin R. Free, Lizan Mitchell, and Ezra Knight |
| 2006 | Dancing in the Dark (2005) | Caryl Phillips | |
| River Rising (2005) | Athol Dickson | ||
| 2007 | Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries (2007) | Neil DeGrasse Tyson | |
| 2008 | Chasing the Devil's Tail: A Mystery of Storyville, New Orleans | David Fulmer | |
| Pepperfish Keys (2007) | Darryl Wimberley | ||
| 2009 | Peace, Locomotion | Jacqueline Woodson | |
| Time Traveler: A Scientist's Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality (2007) | Ronald L. Mallett and Bruce Henderson | ||
| The Way Home (2009) | George Pelecanos | ||
| We Are the Ship | Kadir Nelson |
2010s
| Year | Title | Author | Other Narrator(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (2000) | Dave Eggers | |
| The Rock and the River (2010) | Kekla Magoon | ||
| You Shall Know Our Velocity! (2003) | Dave Eggers | ||
| 2011 | Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson (2010) | Charles R. Smith, Jr. | |
| Going to Meet the Man (1957) | James Baldwin | ||
| Looking Like Me | Walter Dean Myers | Quincy Tyler Bernstine | |
| 2012 | Astray | Emma Donoghue | Khristine Hvam, James Langton, Robert Petkoff, and Suzanne Toren |
| Locomotion | Jacqueline Woodson | ||
| Miles: The Autobiography (1989) | Miles Davis and Quincy Troupe | ||
| Pick-Up Game | Marc Aronson and Charles R. Smith, Jr., et al. | Quincy Tyler | |
| Swordspoint: A Melodrama of Manners | Ellen Kushner | Ellen Kushner , Katherine Kellgren, Robert Fass, Nick Sullivan, Simon Jones, Sam Guncler, and Anne Bobby | |
| We Are America | Walter Dean Myers | MacLeod Andrews, Olivia DuFord, Lizan Mitchell, Christopher Myers, Walter Dean Myers, Johanna Parker, Adriana Sananes, and Kaipo Schwab | |
| 2014 | H.O.R.S.E.: A Game of Basketball and Imagination (2012) | Christopher Myers | |
| The Swords of Riverside | Ellen Kushnerand Delia Sherman | Ellen Kushner , Barbara Rosenblat, Katherine Kellgren, Simon Jones | |
| 2015 | 28 Days: Moments in Black History that Changed the World (2015) | Charles R. Smith, Jr. | William Jackson Harper, Zainab Jah, January LaVoy, Robin Miles, Lizan Mitchell, Jonathan Earl Peck, and Carter Woodson Redwood |
| Book: My Autobiography (2014) | John Agard | ||
| Five Pieces of Jade (1972) | John Ball | ||
| Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1994) | John Berendt | Dylan Baker, Laverne Cox, Barbara Rosenblat, and a full cast | |
| X: A Novel | Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon | Ilyasah Shabazz | |
| 2016 | Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City | Matthew Desmond | |
| My Greatest: My Own Story | Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham | ||
| 2017 | Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science (1974) | Carl Sagan | |
| Dear Martin (2017) | Nic Stone | ||
| Trombone Shorty (2015) | Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews | ||
| 2018 | American Histories: Stories (2018) | John Edgar Wideman | |
| Down the River Unto the Sea (2018) | Walter Mosley | ||
| Finding Langston (2018) | Lesa Cline-Ransome | ||
| Fresh Ink: An Anthology (2018) | Lamar Giles (editor) | Guy Lockard, Kim Mai Guest, Bahni Turpin, Ron Butler, et al. | |
| The Monk of Mokha (2018) | Dave Eggers | ||
| Washington Black (2018) | Esi Edugyan | ||
| 2019 | Birthday Suit (2019) | Lauren Blakely | Andi Arndt, Sebastian York, January LaVoy, Julia Whelan, R.C. Bray, Shane East, Joe Arden, Erin Mallon, Savannah Peachwood, Jason Clarke, and Robin Miles |
| Black Leopard, Red Wolf (2019) | Marlon James | ||
| Blood in the Water (2019) | Jack Flynn | ||
| Lovely War (2019) | Julie Berry | Jayne Entwistle, Allan Corduner, Julie Berry, Fiona Hardingham, John Lee, Nathaniel Parker, and Steve West |
2020s
| Year | Title | Author(s) | Other narrator(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | American Savior: A Novel of Divine Politics (2008) | Roland Merullo | |
| Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom (2020) | Carole Boston Weatherford | ||
| Clean Getaway (2020) | Nic Stone | ||
| The Dead Are Arising | Les Payne and Tamara Payne | ||
| Dear Justyce (2020) | Nic Stone | ||
| Leaving Lymon (2020) | Lesa Cline-Ransome | ||
| Little Family (2020) | Ishmael Beah | ||
| Overground Railroad (2020) | Lesa Cline-Ransome | Shayna Small and Lesa Cline-Ransome (author's note) | |
| Trouble is What I Do (2020) | Walter Mosley | ||
| When Stars Are Scattered (2020) | Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed | Faysal Ahmed, Barkhad Abdi, Robin Miles, Ifrah Mansour, Bahni Turpin, Hakeemshady Mohamed, Sadeeq Ali, Dominic Hoffman, Christine Avila, and a full cast | |
| 2021 | Concrete Rose (2021) | Angie Thomas | |
| Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619–2019 (2021) | Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain (editors) | J. D. Jackson, Kevin R. Free, January LaVoy, Robin Miles, Angela Y. Davis, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and a Full Cast | |
| Harlem Shuffle (2021) | Colson Whitehead | ||
| The Lincoln Highway | Amor Towles | Edoardo Ballerini and Marin Ireland | |
| Look for Me and I'll Be Gone: Stories (2021) | John Edgar Wideman | Janina Edwards | |
| Milo Imagines the World (2021) | Matt de la Peña | ||
| Playing the Cards You're Dealt (2021) | Varian Johnson | ||
| Songdogs (1995) | Colum McCann | ||
| The Sundial (1958) | Shirley Jackson with Victor LaValle (foreword) | Kirsten Potter | |
| This Side of Brightness (2013) | Colum McCann | ||
| Trouble Is What I Do (2020) | Walter Mosley | ||
| 2022 | Animals (2021) | Will Staples | |
| Blackout | Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon | Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Imani Parks, Jordan Cobb, Shayna Small, A.J. Beckles, and Bahni Turpin | |
| The Bucket List | Peter Mohlin and Peter Nystrom | ||
| The Chimpanzee Whisperer: A Life of Love and Loss, Compassion and Conservation (2022) | Stany Nyandwi and David Blissett with Dr. Jane Goodall (foreword) | Callie Beaulieu (foreword) | |
| Dirty Bird Blues (1996) | Clarence Major with Yusef Komunyakaa (foreword) and John Beckman (introduction) | ||
| His Name Is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice (2022) | Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa | Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa (introduction) | |
| A Lynching at Port Jervis: Race and Reckoning in the Gilded Age (2022) | Philip Dray | ||
| The Scent of Burnt Flowers (2022) | Blitz Bazawule | ||
| The Weary Blues (1926) | Langston Hughes | ||
| 2023 | The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder (2023) | David Grann |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Malcolm X | Elijah Muhammad's FOI | |
| 1994 | Biography | Narrator / Self | 1 episode: Mike Tyson: Fallen Champ |
| 1995 | New York News | Subway cop | 1 episode: Thin Line |
| 1997 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Curtis Lambright | 1 episode: Saigon Rose |
| 1998 | Law & Order | Smith | 1 episode: Punk |
| 1999 | Crucible of Empire: The Spanish American War | Voiceover | |
| 2000 | American Experience | Narrator | 1 episode: Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory |
| Culture Shock | Narrator / Self | 1 episode: The Devil's Music: 1920s Jazz | |
| Third Watch | Crews | 1 episode: Young Men and Fire | |
| 2001 | Thirteen Conversations About One Thing | Defense Attorney | |
| 2002 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Samuel Hill | 1 episode: Waste |
| 2003 | Hack | Slavitt | 1 episode: Signature |
| The Investigators | Narrator | 1 episode: Railroaded in Texas | |
| Law & Order | Ron Hamilton | 1 episode: Floater | |
| NYPD Blue | Troy Miner | 1 episode: Shear Stupidity | |
| 2004 | American Experience | Narrator | 2 episodes |
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Detective Waites | 1 episode: Consumed | |
| Gallery Tours | Narrator | 4 episodes | |
| 2005 | Crime Life: Gang Wars | Voice | |
| 2006 | The Wire | State's Attorney Rupert Bond | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | Art of the Heist | Narrator | |
| I Love New York | Self | 13 episodes | |
| Law & Order | Principal Ron Hill | 1 episode: Good Faith | |
| 2006–2008 | Flavor of Love | Narrator / Self | 27 episodes |
| The Wire | State's Attorney Rupert Bond | 8 episodes | |
| 2008 | Gossip Girl | FBI Agent | 1 episode: The Magnificent Archibalds |
| 2010 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | FBI Agent Dowley | 1 episode: Penetration |
| Solved | Narrator / Self | 6 episodes | |
| 2011 | The Good Wife | Joey Church | 1 episode: Silly Season |
| Star Wars: The Old Republic | Felix Iresso / Marcus Trant / Officer Mal | ||
| 2013 | The Secret Life of Walter Mitty | TSA Officer #2 | |
| Star Wars: The Old Republic: Rise of the Hutt Cartel | Felix Iresso / Regulator Guard | ||
| 2009–2014 | After the First 48 | Narrator | 7 episodes |
| 2014 | Star Wars: The Old Republic - Shadow of Revan | Felix Iresso | |
| 2014–2015 | Madam Secretary | Diplomatic Security Head Agent Fred Cole | 5 episodes |
| 2015 | The Iron Warehouse | Larry Johnson | |
| Star Wars: The Old Republic - Knights of the Fallen Empire | Felix Iresso | ||
| 2016 | Mercy | Dr. Turner | |
| The Walking Dead: Michonne | Dominic | ||
| 2018 | Elementary | Hakeem | 1 episode: The Adventure of the Ersatz Sobekneferu |
| World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth | Voice | ||
| 2019 | The Atlanta Child Murders | Narrator | 3 episodes |
| FBI | ASAC Tom Andrews | 1 episode: Appearances | |
| Star Wars: The Old Republic - Onslaught | Additional Voices | ||
| 2020 | Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom | ||
| 2021 | The Blacklist | Gib Horn | 1 episode: 16 Ounces |
| 2021 | The Daily | Self | 1 episode: From the Sunday Read Archive: My Mustache, My Self |
| 2004–2022 | The First 48 | Narrator / Self | 486 episodes |
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