Production/Direction
for Publishers

May works on a project-by-project basis for publishers as a director and/or producer. Her rich background in theater, film, and traditional book publishing offers a unique insider perspective on what it takes to produce a quality program and a first-rate performance. Audiobook production is an art and a business and her range of experience with executives and talent in all facets of the entertainment industry helps provide the means to deliver excellence in both. For May, creativity and quality control is the order of the day.

Below are samples of the diverse projects May has produced and/or directed for publishers, along with endorsements by the executives who hired her.

Penguin Random House Audio

AudioFile Magazine Earphones Award-Winner
Review by
AudioFile Magazine

"This audiobook presents unsparing parallel portrayals of a mother and her daughter: Elsie, whose rocky relationship with an Albanian immigrant leads to pregnancy, and Luljeta, her daughter. Now age 17, Luljeta is struggling to come to terms with who she is after realizing she will not be able to escape her hardscrabble town of brass mills just yet. The dual narrations of Lauren Fortgang and Thérèse Plummer vividly depict both the down-on-its-luck town and its hardworking residents, including the Albanian immigrants who are attempting to reconcile their difficult past while forging a new life in America. Elsie's narration is more nuanced, while Luljeta's reflects her adolescent angst. Accents for the Albanian characters help to add dimension to this story of struggle and the search for belonging."

The Endorsement

"May Wuthrich is a trusted colleague who was a  producer-director at Penguin Audio and has been directing for Random House Audio for over 10 years.  She has proven herself one of the most skilled audiobook directors out there and is beloved among authors and actors.  If May is working on your project be happy, you're in good hands."  — Dan Zitt,  Executive Producer and Vice President, Content Production Penguin Random House Audio, Listening Library, Living Language 

Review by
AudioFile Magazine

"Artist Marina Abramović narrates this memoir documenting her life and 50 years of performance art. Her Yugoslavian-accented English and unique phrasing patterned with starts and stops make this listening experience as distinctive as Abramović's art. Her smoky-voiced, even-toned reading balances the often horrific accounts of her abusive childhood, world travels, spiritual search, love life, and pain-centered performances. In a steady serious tone, Abramovic immerses listeners in oppressive Communist Belgrade, where she discovers that "art is a matter of life and death." Believing that her body is an object to be acted upon, the artist explains how her extreme, disturbing, masochistic performances revolutionized the art world. Like her live audiences, Abramović's listeners enter into her narrated performance art and discover that "the artist is present." 

The Endorsement

"May is a great audio book director who is always up for new challenges. She delivers a high quality product with a smile and is a favorite among narrators. I would suggest her for any project." — Aaron Blank, Executive Producer

Audio Publishers Association Audie Award Winner for Best Fiction 2020
Review by
AudioFile Magazine

"Blair Brown delivers a superb narration of Elizabeth Gilbert’s novel, which features the recollections of a 95-year-old New York seamstress who came of age during WWII. Brown’s straightforward, charming depiction illuminates the vivacious young woman the wistful elderly narrator remembers, and her conversational pacing creates vibrant pictures for the listener."

The Endorsement

"I’ve had the pleasure of working with May Wuthrich since 2012, first when she was a freelance producer/director at Penguin Audio and now as a directer at Penguin Random House Audio. She has met every project I’ve given her with the utmost care and enthusiasm.   The amount of research and prep-work she does continues to impress me, as does her professionalism and warmth, which puts narrators and authors instantly at ease. I count on May to handle the most sensitive and complex projects, and the result is consistent excellence."  — Diane McKiernan, Executive Producer

Live Oak Media

Review by
AudioFile Magazine

"Tavia Gilbert performs this first-person narration with an enthusiastic high pitch--which is perfect for the eccentric young heroine who lives on an island in Maine and takes a lobster boat to school. Piper is a small girl with big feelings, especially strong since her older brother left for boarding school. Her emotions shift frequently, and Gilbert captures them all, especially Piper's wonder at discovering the gift-giving Fairy Tree. Gilbert also transitions easily to portray other characters. She adopts a Maine accent and jovial tone for the caring lobster boat captain. She's just as convincing as Piper's snooty classmate and the beautiful new teacher whose manner is commanding, rather than princess-like as Piper expects. Gilbert stresses the positive feelings and humor more than the underlying pathos of this story."

The Endorsement

 "May has produced a number of audiobook projects for me. I find her to be a pleasure to work with and adept at every aspect of the production process. She invariably casts the right actor for a given project and is skilled at directing them, eliciting their best performance. She instantly establishes rapport with actor and engineer alike, making the experience a positive one for all concerned. As for editing and post production, May is committed to making certain that the final program is flawless.  I have nothing but praise for her work!”
— Arnie Cardillo, President and Publisher, Live Oak Media

Hachette Audio

Named by AudioFile Magazine as a Best Book of the Year 2015
Earphones Award-Winner
Review by
AudioFile Magazine

"This mostly epistolary novel tracks the real and imagined friendship of Samuel Clemens (author Mark Twain) and Henry Morton Stanley (African explorer) from their meeting on a Mississippi riverboat before the Civil War through the end of their lives. Clemens, Stanley, and Stanley’s wife— painter Dorothy Tennant—are the main voices, ably performed by the ensemble of narrators. Henry Leyva captures the charming and tragic elder Clemens, and—more remarkably—James Langton, the bull-headed and searching Stanley. The vividly rendered Tennant—read by Polly Lee—matches both for energy and passion. Robert Petkoff ably covers the narration and other major characters. A meditation on Anglo-American imperial culture in the late nineteenth century, the story meanders from Cuba to the Congo. 

The Endorsement

"When my husband's novel, Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise, was scheduled to be published posthumously, I wanted May Wuthrich on board as the producer/director for the audio edition.  I've known May for more than a decade and have seen her work in multiple capacities.  Her production talents are many and her interpretation of the literary word, pitch-perfect.   She has heart.  Her work is always first-rate."
—  Lori Marie Carlson-Hijuelos, Author

Brilliance Audio

Finalist for the Audiobook Publishers Association Audie Award for Best Book of the Year 2011
Review by
AudioFile Magazine

"...Dual narrators add a welcome level of complexity as Carter and Sadie Kane recount their story in turns. Kevin Free channels his inner adolescent well as the world-traveling Carter, and Katherine Kellgren’s Sadie steals the show with her sardonic wit..."

Starred Review by
Publishers Weekly Magazine

For Book 2: The Throne of Fire:  "The amazing performances of Kevin R. Free and Katherine Kellgren make this YA fantasy...enthralling for listeners of any age...  Free deftly handles Carter's narration; he sounds exactly like a 14–year-old boy, while voicing dozens of other characters. Kellgren's narration is no less impressive, and her interpretation of a budding teen girl is exuberant and believable, as are the multitude of other colorful characters she creates. Between these two spirited performances, the characters come to life and leave listeners breathless."

Review by
AudioFile Magazine

For Book 3: The Serpent's Shadow:  "As Sadie, Katherine Kellgren draws the listener in, narrating in a rapid-fire British accent that suits Sadie’s quick wit. Kevin R. Free performs Carter’s portions of the story at a slower pace that matches his more subdued and cautious personality. Both narrators create a rich cast of the people and Egyptian gods and monsters that populate the Kanes’ world. Even listeners unfamiliar with the series will root for Sadie and Carter to save the world and sort out their personal lives.   

The Endorsement

“I was among the first audiobook executives to hire May as a director.  Her experience in publishing and film, the work she did with authors, screenwriters and playwrights, as well as her training as an actor, made her a compelling candidate for the job.  And I wasn't disappointed.  The first book she directed for Brilliance, Peace, Locomotion by multi-award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson and narrated by Dion Graham, won many awards, among them an Audio Publisher Associations Audie Award and an Odyssey Honor Award.  When I acquired the audio rights to Rick Riordan's trilogy, The Kane Chronicles,  May was my first choice to direct and she delivered in every way.  She directed the National Book Award-winning title Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose and when then New York Times Tech Columnist David Pogue narrated his first children's book, May was my go to director.  The list goes on.  I had total confidence that if May was directing, every detail would be considered and executed to the highest possible standard." — Tim Ditlow, VP Content Epic!