FORMER Gwent Young Peoples’ Theatre actor Matt Addis is fighting off tough competition from stars like Stephen Fry and Maggie Gyllenhaal in a bid to win a prestigious global award for his recent audiobook of The Stone Man – a hit Sci-Fi thriller by British author Luke Smitherd that topped the Amazon Horror Fiction chart when it was first released earlier this year.

The Audiobook of the Year Award 2015 recognises the finest audiobook productions made across the world, and Matt has some serious competition from the other 11 finalists who include Hollywood stars Maggie Gyllenhaal and Stephen Fry, reading books as celebrated as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, The Girl on the Train and The Bell Jar, plus the latest bestsellers from authors Stephen King and Stieg Larsen. It is awarded by Audible, the world’s largest audiobook retailer.

The Stone Man tells the compelling story of a local journalist’s encounter with a huge alien being in his home town, and his pursuit of it across the UK as it destroys cars, buildings, roads, and anything else that stands in its path. As efforts by the police, the government and the army to halt its progress prove futile, our hero is determined to discover where it came from, where it’s going and what it wants, before it’s too late.

In the last six years, Mr Addis has recorded over a hundred unabridged audiobooks, and his production company Chocolate Fox Audio was established to produce recordings of Alexander Cordell’s thrilling Rape of the Fair Country and its sequel Hosts of Rebecca. He hopes to record the final part of the trilogy and its prequel early next year.

The company’s latest release is the best-selling The Letter for the King, the story of a young knight’s quest, suitable for older children and younger teens.

Blaenavon-born Matt who is currently appearing at the Theatre by the Lake is Keswick alongside his fiancée actress Jennifer English in a production of the Snow Queen and last year appeared in the award winning War Horse, said he was ‘blown away’ at the news of his nomination.

“The reviews have been consistently strong, but when Luke called me to tell me we’d been nominated amongst these household names, I was blown away,” he said.

To vote for Matt Addis, and help his chances of winning the award, you can visit www.audible.co.uk/email-form/abotyvote2015