A BLAENAVON born actor has been nominated for a global award for his recent audiobook and is up against Hollywood stars.

Matt Addis, 39, has been nominated for an award for his recent audiobook, The Stone Man - a Sci-Fi thriller by British author Luke Smitherd that had already topped the Amazon Horror Fiction chart when it was recorded by him in February.

The Audiobook of the Year Award 2015 recognises the finest audiobook productions made across the world, and Mr Addis 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.

Mr Addis, who now lives in Kenswick, Worcestershire, but was brought up in Blaenavon and still visits his family there, said: "We've been delighted by the sales of the audiobook this year.

“"The reviews have been consistently strong, but when Luke called me this weekend to tell me we'd been nominated amongst these household names, I was blown away."

The Stone Man tells the 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. They plan to record the final part of the trilogy and its prequel early next year.

As well as producing audiobooks, Mr Addis is currently appearing in The Snow Queen.

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

Voting closes Sunday 20 December at midnight.