Nancy Wu, a masterful voice actress and audiobook narrator, joins the NüVoices podcast this week to talk about her storied career.
She has narrated the “Avatar the Last Airbender” prequels by F.C. Yee and Michael Dante Di Martino, the “X-Men Mutant Empire” series for Marvel, and books by Amy Tan, Cixin Liu, Ken Liu and Sayaka Murata. You may also recognize Nancy’s voice in the audiobook for China Unbound, written by NüVoices board member Joanna Chiu!
In this episode, Joanna and Nancy discuss the importance of diversity in the audiobook industry, preparing for a studio session, navigating accents, pronunciation (especially nailing those Mando/Canto tones), cultural sensitivity, and more. Nancy also discusses the challenges of being pigeonholed as a “Chinese audiobook narrator” and how BIPOC voice actors should be given stories that encompass more than just their ethnicities.
You can see all of Nancy’s narrated audiobooks here.
Show notes:
Nancy Wu’s official website
Nancy Wu’s audiobooks on Audible
Chinese pronunciation online resources: Forvo, Youglish, MDBG Chinese Dictionary and Learn Cantonese Tools
I Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita
Avatar: the Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Lee
Number One Chinese Restaurant by Lillian Li
Made in China by Amelia Pang
To Hold Up the Sky by Cixin Liu
Recommendations:
Nancy: Dion Graham’s audiobooks, January LaVoy’s audiobooks, China’s Leaders: From Mao to Now by David Shambaugh, and The Subplot: What China Is Reading and Why It Matters by Megan Walsh
Joanna: Joanna recommends ALL of Nancy’s audiobooks and Te-Ping Chen’s Land of Big Numbers audiobook. (Click here for the NüVoices podcast episode with Te-Ping).
Self-care tips:
Nancy: Yoga and meditation. She recommends the Timeless Meditation app, which she created with her partner.
Joanna: Going out in nature and foraging for mushrooms.
Nancy’s Supplemental Audiobook Recommendations:
Last Boat out of Shanghai by Helen Zia
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Peasprout Chen: Future Legend of Sword & Skate by Henry Lien
Selected Poems of AiQing by AiQing translated by Robert Dorsett
Swimming Back to Trout River by Linda Rui Feng
The Majesties by Tiffany Tsao
Warcross by Marie Lu
Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh
Magruders Curiosity Cabinet by HP Wood
Dictionary of Mutual Understanding by Jackie Copleton
The Outside by Ada Hoffman
Gods, Monsters & the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson
Winter Pasture by Li Juan
Second Sister by Chan Ho-Kei
Saving Fable, Talespinner Series by Scott Reintgen