“Brentan’s narration is easily the stand-out element of the audiobook; her earnest delivery catches the ear. She captures character voices with aplomb while keeping the action taut and tense.”
LET ME TELL YOU A STORY…
I’m deeply passionate about the craft of audiobook narration. I’ve narrated nearly 250 titles, winning nine Earphones Awards for exceptional narration from Audiofile Magazine, voicing New York Times & Audible bestsellers, Reese’s Book Club picks, Libro.fm Audiobook-seller picks, Pulitzer-prize winning novels, SOVAS nominated audiobooks, FT and Oprah Daily ‘Best Audiobooks’ and Apple Books ‘Must Listen’ titles.
“Carlotta Brentan’s skill is remarkable. She conveys compassion, fear, and mounting dread simultaneously. HER performance fully embraces these heartbreaking moments layered with deep psychological reflection. The impact is dynamic and human.”
I first began narrating for Penguin Random House, working with & learning from terrific producers and directors, and I’ve since narrated for PRH, Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Macmillan, Podium, Tantor, Brilliance, Scholastic, Blackstone, Hachette, Disney Books, Dreamscape, as well as independent producers, from my Studiobricks booth & NYC recording studios.
“Talented narrator Carlotta Brentan delivers the story with a delightful array of accents, handily communicating the engaging wordplay.”
ACCENTS & LANGUAGES…
Born in Italy and raised all over Europe & the UK, I’m a bilingual, native speaker of Italian & English + conversational speaker of Spanish & French. I specialize in a wide range of authentic European accents: I’ve voiced characters - and entire books! - in dozens of accents including Italian, French, German, British RP, Russian, Bulgarian, Czech, Spanish, Polish, Dutch & more!
“Brentan’s ability to ramp up the tension to an excruciating level will have listeners squirming in their earbuds.”
GENRES I SPECIALIZE IN…
I specialize in fiction, and lend my youthful sound with gravitas, texture and a hint of mystery to Literary & Historical Fiction, Thrillers, Fantasy, Middle Grade & YA with an edge. I love voicing the stories of complex, enterprising, introspective women on journeys of self-discovery as they learn to own and wield their own power. I’m particularly drawn to opaque, mysterious characters with an edge, and stories with shades of darkness that unfold slowly and draw the listener in with subtlety.
“Brentan’s pitch-perfect narration is glorious, with accents and pacing that differentiate the range of characters while maintaining the dreamlike quality of the beautiful imagery.”
As a trained theater actor and storyteller - as well as a lifelong bookworm - I access a wealth of performance experience in bringing to life raw, authentically connected, emotionally truthful characters. My performing background includes training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and pursuing professional Meisner Technique training in NYC, as well as a BA in History in London.
Lots more info about my performing & producing work beyond audiobooks here.
“Earphones Award-winner Brentan uses her experience in narration and theater to draw the listener into the novel while realistically portraying the young grifter Alex. Her understated yet skilled performance will keep listeners on the edge of their seats. ”
LISTEN TO SOME DEMOS…
A fantastic podcast review of
THE MORNINGSIDE!
Thank you Audiofile for these glowing words about my storytelling skills and character work on this fascinating Literary Fiction title by New York Times best-selling author Tea Obreht!
“Brentan’s performance serves the plangent text perfectly. Her delivery is warm and intelligent, her Marget full of the courage of youth, her hope heartbreaking.”
The Morningside
PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE
Winner: Earphones Award
“Carlotta Brentan portrays the cast of characters smartly by subtly shifting tone, cadence, and timbre. She smoothly portrays the protagonist, who begins as a gangly 11-year-old. Brentan contrasts her size and temperament with those of her secretive and diminutive Eastern European-sounding mother.”
- Audiofile Magazine, Earphones Winner
“Expertly captured by Brentan's pitch-perfect narration. The narration is glorious, with accents and pacing that differentiate the range of characters while maintaining the dreamlike quality presented throughout the text's beautiful imagery.”
- Library Journal, starred review
“Brentan's nimble performance creates a dreamlike listening experience.”
- Booklist
Featured in Audiofile’s BEHIND THE MIC PODCAST - Listen Here!
Just A Girl
HARPER COLLINS
Winner: Earphones Award
“Carlotta Brentan delivers a glowing performance, capturing a child's gradual understanding. Brentan elicits further empathy from listeners as Lia's family members put on a brave face for her safety and comfort. Scenes of rare happy moments, brightly performed, give listeners hope for Lia's future.”
- Audiofile Magazine
The Secrets We Kept
PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE
Winner: Earphones Award / New York Times Bestsller / Paste Magazine Best Audiobooks / Audible’s Best Selling Audiobooks / Reese’s Book Club Pick
“Killer cast” - Paste Magazine
“The novel's interacting themes and parallels are wonderfully captured by the accomplished cast, who render these voices with such spirit and comprehension.” - Audiofile Magazine
Best Friends
MACMILLAN
Winner: Earphones Award
“A full cast enacts the drama of author Shannon Hale’s sixth-grade. A panoply of sound effects helps take listeners back to 1985, introducing them to such antique noises as a cassette tape clicking into place and a dot matrix printer at work. An empathetic antidote to sixth grade.” - Audiofile Magazine
“A stellar full cast presents a wonderfully immersive production, epitomizing the ups & downs of MG relationships.” - School Library Journal, starred review
Alchemy of a Blackbird
SIMON & SCHUSTER
Winner: Earphones Award
“Positively entrancing. Six narrators add unique layers to this well-researched novel featuring Surrealist artist Remedios Varo, adopting the native accents of the various expatriate painters and art collectors who make up the novel.”
- Audiofile Magazine
Her Daughter’s Mother
PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE
Winner: Earphones Award
“Amazing performances. The narrators maintain high emotions as stalking, paranoia, secrets, and betrayal keep things intense. The insightful performances and psychological twists will keep listeners guessing.”
- Audiofile Magazine
A History of Wild Places
SIMON & SCHUSTER
Winner: Earphones Award
“The listener will be transported between timelines and characters in a trance-like unraveling. The novel's point of view takes on multiple perspectives and hypnotically weaves aspects of fairy tales, isolation, and paranoia that will have the listener questioning who and what are real.”
- Audiofile Magazine
“Brentan melancholically voices a young woman who is both in control and in over her head. Listeners won’t be able to stop until the very end. A propulsive, unputdownable listen with excellent narration.”
“A heartwarming romance, compellingly presented... Brentan’s is a young voice that sounds eager for adventure. So listen, laugh, cry, ride in gondolas, climb church steps, and rejoice in enduring love. ”
The Eden Test
MACMILLAN
”Carlotta Brentan performs fascinating monologues in this psychological thriller, capturing the rhythm and the cadence of Daisy & Craig’s voices and doing fine job of revealing their distinct personalities. Brentan's ability to ramp up the tension to an excruciating level will have listeners squirming in their earbuds.”
- Audiofile Magazine
The Memory Thief
SIMON & SCHUSTER
“Carlotta Brentan's forceful tones add magnetism to Anderson's immersive adventure. Brisk pacing heightens the atmosphere of danger and urgency as Brentan transports listeners through Anderson's rich landscapes. As Rosie avenges her family, myriad characters take part in her journey, including her best friend, Germ; clever ghosts; sinister foes; and magical companions.”
- Audiofile Magazine
"A fine listen, enhanced by the fierce reading from Brentan”
- Providence Journal, Best Monthly Listens
This Vicious Grace
MACMILLAN
“Brentan brings listeners into the action with engaging shifts in intonation while maintaining the compelling romantic tension. This story of political intrigue, romance, and dark fantasy is elevated by Brentan's steadfast narration.”
- Audiofile Magazine
A Ceiling Made of Eggshells
HARPER COLLINS
“With deliberate pacing and a clear-toned Castilian accent, Carlotta Brentan transports listeners to 15th century Spain during the Inquisition… Voicing Loma's multigenerational family, her stern, harsh mother; her hypocritical older brother; her meek, dutiful sister-in-law; and her wizened grandfather. Loma's own voice reflects the youthful hope and heartrending injustice of her time.”
- Audiofile Magazine
An excerpt from GHOST LOVER (Simon & Schuster)
