Fremantle Press Is Casting WA Narrators for Three Children’s Audiobooks. Two of the Roles Are for First Nations Voices

Fremantle Press, the not-for-profit publisher in Western Australia, is casting narrators for a new audiobook pilot. It wants local voices, new and established, for three children’s novels recording from late October, and two of the roles are set aside for First Nations narrators. Applications close on Saturday, October 31.

No home booth? No problem, for the audition at least. Fremantle Press says the sample read “can be recorded on a phone in a quiet room,” and the grant behind the project pays for the training, mentoring and studio time that come after.

The publisher announced the call on October 19. It describes the project as an audiobook pilot that “will focus on accessibility in education, and making local stories and Australia’s rich cultural heritage available to more listeners.”

Three books, three very different reads

The first three titles are junior to middle grade novels, and all three are due out as audiobooks in the first quarter of 2027. Fremantle Press says three more titles will be announced by the end of this year.

The three books in the pilot, on the Fremantle Press announcement. Image: Fremantle Press

Blu and the Lost Storm by Sabrina Dudgeon-Swift follows an eleven-year-old boy whose dog goes missing in the mangroves on Larrakia Country in Darwin, with a crocodile somewhere nearby. The narration notes ask for “a First Nations narrator who can represent an 11-year-old-boy as well as read dialogue between multiple family members and characters,” and add that actors representing the Larrakia or Bardi peoples are encouraged to apply.

Penguin Peril by Deb Fitzpatrick strands a boy called Mitch overnight on Penguin Island after his kayak trip goes wrong. The narration notes say: “Much of the text is an internal monologue but there are sections of dialogue at the start and end of the book.” So this one is a long, close read in a single young voice.

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Sunny and Shadow by Helen Milroy is about a girl who can talk to dingoes, and a pup who slips through a cave into another time. Fremantle Press wants someone comfortable with a text full of characters, and says the main narrator “is female and First Nations and of indeterminant age, though not a young person.”

Head of Sales and Marketing Claire Miller said the team wants performers who respect the people listening. “We’re looking for narrators who will treat younger audiences as their equals,” she said. “We want them to demonstrate emotional range and interesting characterisations while staying true to the audiobook format and style.”

Miller also said she hopes the project will support established actors as well as emerging professionals who want experience in a new medium. For a newer narrator, a first published credit with mentoring attached is a real foot in the door.

Who pays for it, and who it’s for

The money behind the pilot is a Capacity Building Grant from Minderoo Foundation. Fremantle Press CEO Alex Allan said the grant is what lets the publisher take on and nurture new talent, by paying for training and mentorship, extra equipment, and fees for both professional and emerging voice actors.

The project is also supported by Stott Hoare, in association with Microsoft, and by Penguin Random House, according to the announcement.

Residency is the first filter. The call-out says actors “should be residents of Western Australia or, in the case of Blu and the Lost Storm, the Northern Territory.” That makes sense for a book set in Darwin, and it keeps the work with voices who sound like the places in the stories.

Helen Milroy, author of Sunny and Shadow, reads one of her earlier books in a Fremantle Press video. Image: Fremantle Press

The work itself happens in a studio, not a spare room. Sessions take place in person at 10 Parry Street in Fremantle, on a Friday or a Monday, though the publisher says it “will be flexible for the right narrator.”

What the audition actually asks for

The application is plain and friendly. Download the narrator brief and sample chapters, read one, and upload it as an MP3 with a professional CV. Fremantle Press invites notes on why you suit the role, plus “any other details we should know, like rates and availability for the project.”

If you’re shortlisted, expect a short in-person meeting and a recording session, and successful narrators need to be available for an onsite prep run soon after. The fee is set, not bid. The call-out says rates “are a set fee based on up to 5 hours recording for middle grade readers.”

Recording runs from late October to early January, which is quick. Shortlists could move fast, so anyone thinking about it shouldn’t leave the sample read to the last weekend of the month.

Why a children’s audiobook is a good first credit

Children’s narration is its own skill. A middle grade novel needs a convincing eleven-year-old for hours at a time, adults who don’t sound like cartoons, and enough energy to hold a listener who might be in a car, a classroom or a bed. That’s hard work, and it shows up on a demo in a way a short commercial read can’t.

There’s also the accessibility side. Fremantle Press frames the pilot around education, and an audiobook gives a student who finds print hard another way into the same story as the rest of the class. For narrators, that could mean a recording that keeps being played in classrooms long after the session ends.

For voice actors outside Australia’s biggest cities, a publisher building its own audio list at home is good news. It’s one more client who wants a local accent on purpose, and it hands two First Nations narrators a lead role in a published audiobook.

Voice actors who want to try can find the brief and the form on the publisher’s submission page, which also lists a contact address for questions. Fremantle Press says Alex Allan is available for interviews from October 20.

Sources: Fremantle Press announcement, October 19, 2026; Fremantle Press call for Western Australian voice actors on Submittable, closing date October 31, 2026. Images: Fremantle Press.

Lee este artículo en español: Fremantle Press busca narradores de Australia Occidental para tres audiolibros infantiles. Dos papeles son para voces de las Primeras Naciones

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