Bronx Masquerade Audiobook

About Nikki Grimes

Nikki Grimes is the recipient of the 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Her distinguished works include the ALA Notable book What is Goodbye?, as well as the novels Jazmin’s Notebook, Dark Sons, and The Road to Paris, all of them Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books. She won the Coretta Scott King Author Award for Bronx Masquerade. She lives in Corona, California.

About the Narrators

Jessica Almasy (she, her) is an actress, theater teacher, and award-winning audiobook narrator. She has recorded over eighty titles, including the Earphones Award–winning Clementine series and Operation Yes. She is the winner of two Audie Awards and several AudioFile Earphones Awards.

Cherise Boothe, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, has worked extensively in theater, film, television, and narration. She has appeared in numerous regional plays, as well as in television shows such as The Good Wife, Law & Order: SVU, and Gossip Girl. She holds an MFA in acting from New York University. She was a finalist in 2015 for the prestigious Audie Award for best multivoiced narration.

Kevin R. Free is an audiobook narrator and the winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and several AudioFile best narrations of the year selections. Known for his work with young-adult novels, he has read titles by Rick Riordan, Walter Dean Myers, and Joe Haldeman. In 2011 he was named a Best Voice in Young Adult and Fantasy from AudioFile magazine for his narration of Myers’ The Cruisers: Checkmate.

De’nesha Diamond burst onto the scene as the coauthor of the gritty Desperate Hoodwives tales. The Essence magazine recommended series has taken the street-lit game by storm and paved a brand new path for the edgy Memphis native. Understanding that there is a fine line between glorifying thug life and telling it like it is, De’nesha Diamond spins cautionary tales inspired by personal experience and the heartbreaking stories that make our nightly news. In the end, she aims to deliver hope, even if sometimes there are no rides in the golden sunset.

Sisi Johnson is “a storyteller for a storyteller’s story.” From folksy to urban, her warm blend of bite and sweetness wrapped in an accessible narration style sets the right tone in such award winning books as Francie and Feathers, and notable books like Romiette & Julio, for which she received the AudioFile Earphones Award, and Dr. Mr. President: Letter from a Slave Girl, for which she was selected to be an Audie Award finalist. A long time resident of New York City, she now resides in Los Angeles and happily travels between the two amazing metropolises.

Melanie Martinez has toured across the country with the National Shakespeare Company and performed with many other award winning New York City theatre companies including the Jean Cocteau Repertory Company (performing with them in Sao Paulo, Brazil), Target Margin, Salt Theatre Company, and Inverse Theatre Company. In 2005, Melanie became the first host of the PBS KIDS Sprout network’s original program The Good Night Show and by mid-2006 had achieved true pop icon status. Melanie continues to work on television, appears in print campaigns, narrates audio books, and performs in the variety show, Of The Moment. Melanie lives in downtown Manhattan with her husband and son. In her spare time, Melanie is an official Wish Granter and Wish Guide for the Make-a-Wish Foundation and volunteers with the Lower East Side Girl’s Club.

Nyambi Nyambi is an American character actor, best known for his role as Samuel in CBS’s Mike and Molly.

Robert Ramirez came to audiobook narration fresh from his MFA in classical theater. Initially answering a casting call for a narrator who spoke Spanish, Robert has used his Mexican-American background to imbue authentic flavor and dialogue in audio titles. His powerful command of language and rich voice reflect his interest in dialects. Ramirez is the winner of eight AudioFile Earphones Awards.

Susan Spain has appeared on stages in New York City, across the United States, and in Europe. Performances includes roles in an international production of The Best of Broadway and a staging of Little Shop of Horrors at the Smithsonian Institute’s Folklife Festival in Washington, DC. She has also appeared in Hair.

Myra Lucretia Taylor is an award-winning actress who has appeared on Broadway, off Broadway, in many theaters across the country, and internationally. Her television and film credits include Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Atlanta, The Big Sick, Bushwick, and Catfight.

Lee Samuels (SAG-AFTRA) has lent his deep, “whiskey-smooth” voice to over 200 romance audiobooks; from small-town to suspense, and rom-coms to erotica. With a background in theatre, Lee’s audiobook career began in New York City when his roommate, then working as an audiobook engineer at Recorded Books, offered to help him record a few auditions for her friends’ then-new studio (Brick Shop Audio) in 2011. In his other life, he’s also a New York Times-published writer and author.