Michelle Williams' Audio Version of Britney Spears' Memoir Earns Audie Award Nomination (Exclusive)

Awards show season is in full swing. We have celebrated the Emmys, Golden Globes, Critics Choice and the Oscar nominations have been announced. The race for best actress this year is tough. But today, among the finalists for the 2024 Audies — honoring the best in spoken-word entertainment, including audio books — comes a nomination for one acclaimed performer who last year turned in what many called "the performance of a lifetime."

Michelle Williams narrated the audio version of Britney Spears' memoir, The Woman in Me. And, in doing so, added a Hollywood lift to what was already one of the hottest books of the year. (It's now a New York Times bestseller, sold more than 1 million copies in the first week of its release and hit No. 1 on Spotify.)

"This book has been a labor of love and all the emotions that come with it," Spears said in a statement shared with PEOPLE in October. "Reliving everything has been exciting, heart-wrenching, and emotional, to say the least. For those reasons, I will only be reading a small part of my audiobook. I am so grateful to the amazing Michelle Williams for reading the rest of it."

Williams' delivery went viral when the audiobook came out, with fans joking about her giving an "Oscar-worthy" performance, according to Entertainment Weekly. Other popular segments included her take on Mariah Carey and Spears' no-nonsense description of Jamie Lynn, her younger sister.

The Audie winners will be announced in a ceremony in Los Angeles on March 4. This year's nominees include many A-list actors: Lake Bell, Tom Hanks, Alfre Woodard, Patrick Stewart, Felecia Day, Neil Gaiman, Sean Astin, Rosamund Pike, Andrew Rannells, Daisey Ridley, Rita Wilson, Natalie Morales, Ego Nwodim, Daniel Kaluuya, Beau Bridges and Neil Patrick Harris are all nominated.

Sean McManus, president of the Audio Publishers Association, tells PEOPLE exclusively, "Last year, we witnessed the art of human narration through outstanding and diverse audiobook productions, showcasing the talents of Oscar winners like Meryl Streep, profound storytelling from public figures such as Michelle Obama and the literary brilliance of Neil Gaiman. We're also excited to announce our inaugural APA Choice recognition, a new honor celebrating some of the year's most compelling titles that became cultural phenomenons, including the The Woman in Me from Britney Spears."

He adds that in a change reflecting the APA's commitment to inclusivity and diversity, the Best Male Narrator and Best Female Narrator categories — two of the top awards that recognize the importance of performance in audio storytelling — have been transformed to Best Fiction Narrator and Best Non-Fiction Narrator.

The list of finalists for the 2024 Audie Awards are below.

Bono, author and narrator of "Surrender.". Photo by ShowBizIreland / Getty Images

AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR

All the Sinners Bleed

By S.A. Cosby

Narrated by Adam Lazarre-White

Published by Macmillan Audio

Inside Voice: My Obsession with How We Sound

Written and narrated by Lake Bell

Published by Pushkin Industries

Sing a Black Girl's Song

By Ntozake Shange, edited by Imani Perry, foreword by Tarana Burke

Narrated by Alfre Woodard, D. Woods, Regina Taylor, Lynn Whitfield, Okwui Okpokwasili, Ifa Bayeza, Imani Perry, Robin Miles, Tarana Burke, and Savannah Shange

Published by Hachette Audio

Surrender 

Written and narrated by Bono

Published by Penguin Random House Audio

Tom Lake

By Ann Patchett

Narrated by Meryl Streep

Published by HarperAudio

AUDIO DRAMA

None of This Is True

By Lisa Jewell

Performed by Nicola Walker and Louise Brealey with a full cast including Kristin Atherton, Ayesha Antoine, Alix Dunmore, Elliot Fitzpatrick, Lisa Jewell, Thomas Judd, Dominic Thorburn, and Jenny Walser

Published by Simon & Schuster Audio

Once Upon a Time in Nazi Occupied Tunisia

By Josh Azouz

Performed by Laila Ayad, Tara Lynne Barr, Patrick Heusinger, Daniel David Stewart, Simon Templeman, and Pej Vahdat

Published by L.A. Theatre Works

Rising

By Pierce Brown

Performed by Stewart Crank, John Kielty, Richard Rohan, Stephanie Nemeth-Parker, Jenna Sharpe, Kay Eluvian, Jon Vertullo, Ian Russell, Alejandro Ruiz, Andrew Colford, Bradley Foster Smith, and a full cast

Published by Graphic Audio

Star Wars: The Battle of Jedha (The High Republic)

By George Mann

Performed by Raphael Corkhill, Kristen Sieh, Christian Barillas, Jonathan Davis, Sean Kenin Elias-Reyes, James Fouhey, Neil Hellegers, Philip Hernandez, Catherine Ho, David Lee Huynh, Sullivan Jones, January LaVoy, Saskia Maarleveld, Kathleen McInerney, Brandon McInnis, Cassandra Morris, John Pirkis, Salli Saffioti, Marc Thompson, and Shannon Tyo

Published by Penguin Random House Audio

Third Eye

By Felicia Day

Performed by Felicia Day, Neil Gaiman, Sean Astin, Lily Pichu, London Hughes, Wil Wheaton, Hudson Yang, Danny Pudi, Alan Tudyk, and Christopher Judge

Published by Audible Originals

Dolly Parton, author of "Behind the Scenes". Shannon Finney/Getty Images

AUTOBIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR

Behind the Seams

Written and narrated by Dolly Parton, Holly George-Warren, and Rebecca Seaver

Published by Penguin Random House Audio

La Finca: Love, Loss, and Laundry on a Tiny Puerto Rican Island

Written and narrated by Corky Parker

Published by Lantern Audio

Making It So

Written and narrated by Patrick Stewart

Published by Simon & Schuster Audio

A Place for Us

Written and narrated by Brandon J. Wolf

Published by Brilliance Publishing

Saved

Written and narrated by Benjamin Hall

Published by HarperAudio

BEST FICTION NARRATOR

Billie Fulford-Brown for The Last Lifeboat

By Hazel Gaynor

Published by Penguin Random House Audio

Ethan Hawke for The Eyes and the Impossible

By Dave Eggers

Published by Listening Library

Marni Penning for Johanna Porter Is Not Sorry

By Sara Read

Published by Harlequin Audio

Meryl Streep for Tom Lake

By Ann Patchett

Published by HarperAudio

Eunice Wong for Land of Milk and Honey

By C Pam Zhang

Published by Penguin Random House Audio

BEST NON-FICTION NARRATOR

Edoardo Ballerini for The Art Thief

By Michael Finkel

Published by Penguin Random House Audio

Dion Graham for King: A Life

By Jonathan Eig

Published by Macmillan Audio

Dion Graham for The Lost Sons of Omaha

By Joe Sexton

Published by Simon & Schuster Audio

Dion Graham for The Wager

By David Grann

Published by Penguin Random House Audio

Michelle Williams for The Woman in Me

By Britney Spears

Published by Simon & Schuster Audio