Charles C. Igel

Audiobook & Documentary Narrator

Samples

A portrait of Dr. Charles Igel—teacher, professor, and narrator.

Narration & Storytelling

Nothing is quite as compelling as a well-told story. Since the inception of communication, humans have used the medium of story to share opinions, morals, ideals and ideas, to connect and convince, to search for meaning and to entertain. This is true across fields — at a level, Letters and Arts are no more influenced by narrative than the Sciences. As Jonathan Haidt argues in The Righteous Mind, “The human mind is a story processor, not a logic processor.” The upshot is that narrating non-fiction is little different than narrating fiction. The delivery should be just as compelling to the listener.

For most of my adult life I’ve been in the business of telling stories — as a teacher, university professor, and as a narrator. When people think about selecting a narrator, they often go straight to the voice.

A good voice is important, yes, but memorable narration requires a unique combination of technical skill and the ability to connect with an audience through the microphone; it captures the listener while fading into the story. This is the space I aim for when narrating.

You can find more on my approach to narration and storytelling in my Substack. The link at the top the site will take you there. And if you’d like to get in touch about a project or training, reach out using the contact form below.

Recent Projects

In agendo ~ Winter’s Bite: Book Two of Where the Pines Still Stand by Kelly Schweiger | Coming Spring 2026

In agendo ~ TrueShort Docuseries: Death Cult, The Solar Temple Murders in Quebec | Available on the TrueShort app

In agendo ~ TrueShort Docuseries: Medicine Hat Massacre, Canada’s Youngest Multiple Murderer | Available on the TrueShort app

Last Light: Book One of Where the Pines Still Stand by Kelly Schweiger | Available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes

TrueShort Docuseries: The Dylan Redwine Case | Available on the TrueShort app

TrueShort Docuseries: Belle Gibson, The Instagram Cancer Scam | Available on the TrueShort app

Where We Land, A Pilot’s Reflection at Altitude by Donald Osborn with Anna Henkins Schmidt | Available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes

Turiya, The Ultimate Guide of Pure Consciousness and Hindu Philosophy by Valeria Cruz | Available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes

Samadhi, Exploring the Ancient Teachings of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras by Valeria Cruz | Available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes

FAQs

  • Yes I do. In fact, I trained in production before becoming a narrator and have produced many of my projects.

    The balance between production and performance is critical. A big part of the listening experience is having another human tell a compelling story. The variation in tone, emotion, and pacing, and even the occasional imperfection, is what engages the listener.

    Given that, I approach production with a light touch, focusing on my delivery so audio doesn’t sound overly produced.

  • I narrate under Pay for Production or Royalty Share/Royalty Share Plus contracts. 

    Pay for Production

    Under Pay for Production (P4P), I am paid upfront for narrating/producing the audiobook. My typical rate is $250 USD per finished hour of audio. This is negotiable under special circumstances. This rate is consistent with the American Actors Union (SAG-AFTRA) base fee for Audiobook narration.

    Royalty Share/Royalty Share Plus

    If you are on the ACX platform, I can contract under Royalty Share or Royalty Share Plus. Here, I agree to take no upfront fee to narrate/produce the audiobook. In exchange, you (the author/rights holder) and I (the narrator/producer) will split royalties for all audiobook sales for 7 years after its release.

    Under Royalty Share Plus, I receive an agreed-up reduced per finished hour payment upfront, and then will continue the Royalty Share scheme described above.

  • A voice is only as good as the equipment carrying it so I’m particular about my studio setup. I mostly work from a dedicated home studio. The studio is fully sound treated, designed for neutral sound balance (-65db noise floor), and outfitted with high quality recording and mastering equipment. 

    Recording Equipment 

    Shure KSM-32 or Rode NT1 5th Gen Condenser Mic with ProCo Quad XLR cables, Volt 276 Audio Interface, Behringer Xenyx X1003B Analog Mixer, JBL 7Series 5" Monitors, and DT770 Pro Headphones - all running through a Power-1 Power Conditioner to reduce electronic noise and interference.

    Processing/Mastering

    Adobe Audition DAW, Izotope RX11 Production Suite, and the Pozotron content editor running on MacBook Pro with M2 processor.

  • Absolutely!

    My studio is equipped with a conferencing camera and I have access to all the standard platforms - Zoom, Google Meet, Brave Talk, Source Connect, FaceTime, etc.

  • Yes I do!

    You’ve put a lot of effort and creativity into writing your book. And bringing your project to market as an audiobook can be daunting. I regularly help new/independent authors navigate this process.

    If that’s you, connect using the contact form below.