Timeless Tale of Oliver Twist Wins Audie Award
Oliver Twist, a Focus on the Family Radio Theatre® Production, wins Audie Award in Audio Drama Category

Contact: Katie Dodillet, katiedodillet@tyndale.com, 630.784.5275

Carol Stream, Ill.—The Audio Publishers Association (APA) hosted its 19th Annual Audies Gala on May 29 at the New York Academy of Medicine in New York City to announce the winners of the 2014 Audie Awards®. According to the APA, these awards are “often referred to as the Oscars of spoken word entertainment,” and the awards gala attracts a gathering of publishers, narrators and authors. At this event, Oliver Twist, a Radio Theatre® production from Focus on the Family, received the Audie Award in the Audio Drama category.

Dickens’s unforgettable story of the orphan boy named Oliver Twist, victimized by a broken system, was first published as a complete book in 1838. Focus on the Family rejuvenated this classic story as a Radio Theatre® performance, appealing to young and old alike. Recorded on location in London with an award-winning cast and a full-sound original music score, this Radio Theatre® production ofOliver Twist has stolen listeners’ hearts and taken them back in time as the characters are brought to life in this exciting audio drama.

Paul McCusker, the creative genius behind this adaptation of Dickens’s classic, believes that Oliver Twist is much more than just a story of a little boy. When originally penned by Dickens, it was his commentary on what was going on in England at that time—the troubling abuse and neglect of orphans and widows. Dickens was motivated to write Oliver Twist to bring attention to these issues. This Oliver Twist Radio Theatre® production provides an exciting and creative window into an age-old issue that still exists to a great extent today.

Since joining the Focus on the Family staff in 1988, Paul McCusker has written over 300 half-hour episodes for the Adventures in Odyssey audio series, 18 tie-in novels, and two screenplays for the animated series. Paul and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Colorado Springs with their two children.

Oliver Twist is read by Joe Holgate, Henry Goodman, Lee Boardman, Geoffrey Palmer, Roy Hudd, Finty Williams, and a full cast. 

Oliver Twist, Focus on the Family’s Radio Theatre® edition of the Charles Dickens classic. Adapted by Paul McCusker. Tyndale House Publishers/November 2012, ISBN 978-1-5899-7713-6/5 CDs and 1 Bonus DVD/$39.99/ ~www.tyndale.com/olivertwist ~