Reviews and Testimonials
"Zura has been a wonderful collaborator on audiobooks. Her impressive range of character voices and dialects make her a great choice for a wide variety of genres. When Zura is narrating I know she is going to give a book the attention it deserves."
- Erick Black
Production Manager at Dreamscape Media
"Zura has delivered performances that are nuanced, authentic, and carefully prepped. She is a superb collaborator and a talented actress. The cherry on top, is that you can hear in her voice how much she cares about each and every book she performs..."
- Pete Cross
Producer at Dreamscape Media
Audie Award-Winning Narrator
"Zura Johnson is a joy to listen to and work with! She finds the perfect timing for comedy and deftly handles the emotional nuances for dramatic pieces. When it comes to accents, she threads the needle of accurate portrayal while still being easy to understand. The cherry on top is Zura's professionalism and reliability when it comes to communication and delivering her work. She is an immediate go-to for almost any project and has my highest recommendation..."
- Khai Dattoli
Scripts and Casting Coordinator, Deyan Audio
"Insanely talented and a delight to work with, Zura Johnson doesn’t just narrate, she brings a story to life."
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-Jenny Hickman
Author of The P.A.N. Trilogy
"Zura is an absolute delight to work with. She has a knack for bringing characters to life in an authentic, enjoyable, and exciting way, and I can tell that she truly cares about my books. At every stage, she has been fully invested in making the audiobook fantastic. I’d highly recommend her for anyone looking for a talented, dynamic narrator with an impressive range."
RM Olson
Author of The Ungovernable Series
Zura Johnson, made my books sing. She brought passion, research, and palpable talent to her performance, voicing both the husky-tenored, wise crone and the vulnerable seekers in my Ask Baba Yaga series. I would recommend her to anyone looking for a voice of depth and range for their audiobook.
-Taisia Kitaiskia
Author of Ask Baba Yaga
2021 IAA Finalist
Best Female Narrator
Best General Fiction
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This audiobook includes 23 reimagined tales of the fabled Slavic witch Baba Yaga who can manifest in many forms. Each story is narrated by one of seven performers who carry listeners through a multitude of places and times. Both timely and timeless, the collection is enhanced by this stellar production. Whether a stereotypical crone, a misunderstood witch forced into hiding, or a misguided young woman, Baba Yaga is given a voice befitting the story. By capturing the intricacies of the characters through accents and tones, each narrator showcases her talents andbreathes life into her story, drawing one deeper into the forests of the mythological witch of the woods. A magical production for fans of fairy tales and folklore. A.L.S.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2023]
Narrator Zura Johnson is a perfect fit for the snark that infuses this lighthearted paranormal romance. Through her intonation, Johnson ensures that listeners won't miss a single inside joke. Violet "The Dud" Maxwell came to accept that she was a magic-less witch a long time ago, so it comes as a shock that something inside her sparks to life when she crosses paths with the one wolf-shifter in the world she can't trust. While Johnson tends to noticeably emphasize the pronunciation of words that begin with "wh," she doesn't miss an opportunity to infuse her performance with the sass of Asher's characters. She also keeps to the easy but snappy pace needed for this comedy-laden story. A.L. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2022]
The choice to cast Zura Johnson and Caitlin Kelly to narrate this debut novel elevates this audiobook. Both sound young and provide a good tempo. The two narrators, who play the parts of two sisters telling the story of their Russian-Jewish immigrant family, are able mimics of the parents' and grandparents' strong accents, sometimes to comic effect. Johnson portrays Masha, who is called home from Israel to help find her younger sister, Anna (Kelly), who has vanished from Milwaukee. Anna's disappearance is the heart of the mystery. The title refers to living in the middle of nowhere, in this case Wisconsin. Both narrators capture the challenges of immigrant life and the complexities of family. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2022]
Narrator Zura Johnson breathes new life into this vintage collection of interconnected whimsical short stories by famed poet Carl Sandburg. Rootabaga Country is home to denizens with names like Blixie Bimber and Jason Squiff. Residents "snizzle" and "sniffer" and find enchanted "whinchers." Johnson blithely treats nonsense words in the same way she treats actual words, making stories like "How the Hat Ashes Shovel Helped Snoo Foo" seem equally plausible and ridiculous. She creates distinct character voices for the entire population--many of whom live in the Village of Liver-and-Onions. As you would expect from Sandburg, the prose is poetic, and Johnson maintains a fun, upbeat tempo while highlighting the many instances of repetition, alliteration, and rhyme. L.T. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2020]
