Listening Library to Publish Jason Reynolds’ Full Cast Audiobook Original SOUNDTRACK

This June, press play on SOUNDTRACK (Listening Library) by the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author, MacArthur Fellow, and former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Jason Reynolds.

Releasing on June 3, 2025, his new literary work, which has been produced as an audiobook original, Reynolds transports us back to the early 2000s, where a group of young and gifted New York City friends will use their talent and love of music to lift them to unexpected heights.

Reynolds says: “I’m excited that the story I wrote years ago finally gets to be experienced through a medium I never imagined. It’s a story that celebrates the creative genius of children, especially those who are willing to express themselves at all costs.”

In SOUNDTRACK, we meet Stuy, a young Black teen who wants to play the drums just like his mom, a founding member of the punk band The Bed-Stuy Magic Dusters. With his mother as his teacher, Stuy starts busking in the subway with his friends Dunks on guitar, Alexis on bass, Keith on trumpet, and Frankie as hype man under the name Soundtrack. To everyone’s surprise, including their own, they become an underground sensation, and their success changes the course of their lives.

Recorded by four-time GRAMMY^® Award-winning producer Dan Zitt, SVP of Content Production for Penguin Random House Audio, and 2025 Odyssey Honor-winning producer Brian Ramcharan, SOUNDTRACK shows us a found family coming of age in a wonderfully complex city.

Ramcharan says: “Working on the SOUNDTRACK audiobook original has been unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Jason Reynolds has a way of storytelling that ignites the senses, and Dan and I worked tirelessly to ensure this audio original immerses the listener within Jason’s brilliant writing. It is a story combining friendship, family, and most importantly, music that translates perfectly to audio.”

The production team auditioned more than a hundred actors to cast twenty voices for the project. The cast members include: Nile Bullock as Stuy; Mekhi Hewling as Dunks; Jade Williams as Keith; Brandon Miles as Alexis; Ryan Vincent Anderson as Uncle Lucky; Amir Royale as Frankie; Jasmin Richardson as Stuy’s Mom; Christopher Grant as Dom; Khaya Fraites as Ashley; Nadine Simmons as Mrs. Dyson; Robb Moreira as Mr. Garcia; Wé Ani as Lisa; Rocky Anicette as Dylan; Brandiss Seward as Frankie’s Mom; with Tyrell Buckner, Gina Daniels, Karen Murray, Jonathan Beville, and Karla Moore.

In addition to the full-cast narration, SOUNDTRACK is scored by GRAMMY ^® Award-winning composer, sound design artist, and Yale lecturer in sound design Justin Ellington, whose credits include working with music legends Usher (Raymond vs. Raymond) and Nicki Minaj (Pink Friday).

To celebrate the release, join Books Are Magic and PRH Audio on June 3 at St. Francis College for a live reading by some of the audiobook’s cast members, including Nile Bullock, Mekhi Hewling, Brandon Miles, Amir Royale, and Jade Williams. This event, in partnership with Libro FM, offers bundled tickets with audiobook redemption codes, and a book signing will follow the talk.

Event Details
Tuesday, June 3
7-8:30 p.m.
St. Francis College, 5th Floor Auditorium
179 Livingston St., Brooklyn, NY 11201
Click here to purchase tickets.

For the inside scoop on the making of SOUNDTRACK, including interviews with author, producers, narrators, and scenes from inside the studio and around New York City, watch SOUNDTRACK’s five-minute featurette.