The Next Chapter in Audiobooks

20 years ago, Ama Dadson’s mother lost her sight. Audiobooks became her lifeline for reading. Yet many of the African classics the elder Dadson grew up with, as well as titles by contemporary authors, were unavailable. So her daughter set about building an African-owned audiobook industry.Ama Dadson tells Christopher Kenneally why the next great opportunity in global audio publishing may come out of Africa.

For audiobook narrator and director Tavia Gilbert, punctuation is more than a set of grammatical rules. Like notations in a musical score, she says, punctuation guides the narrator and, likewise, the reader.Drawing on passages from William Faulkner and Jane Austen Tavia Gilbert shares with Christopher Kenneally how punctuation and pauses steer readers mindfully through the emotional landscape of a literary work.

NielsenIQ, the world’s leading consumer intelligence company, has conducted the first national study in Brazil of who reads, who doesn't, and why. “The Brazilian Digital Reader” reported a strong digital presence in publishing, especially for audiobooks.Following a presentation at the Frankfurt Book Fair by Luis Gaspar, Research Director with NielsenIQ, The Spoken World’s Christopher Kenneally moderated a discussion on the regional and global significance with Gaspar and Javier Celaya, founding partner of Dosdoce.com.

As the 2026 Frankfurt Book Fair opened 7 October, Spotify shared the latest news and developments in its efforts to bring more books, and more audiobooks, to more people around the world.In a program Wednesday morning, hosted by Christopher Kenneally of The Spoken World, Duncan Bruce,  Director for Audiobook Partnerships and Licensing, outlined announcements on Spotify’s audiobook programming for markets around the world.Joining them later for a panel discussion were Raúl Pérez, Director, E-books and Audiobooks for Grupo Planeta, in Barcelona, Spain, and Miriam Spinnato, who leads trade book digital sales at Mondadori Libri, in Milan, Italy.

What happens when you take the book out of the audiobook and you produce it, “audio first”?In 2026, a different kind of audiobook is emerging – one that’s not an adaptation from a book. Instead, this new content format goes straight to audiobook. These “audio first” narratives are designed especially for listening, using the full range of audio production possibilities.In a “live podcast” on LinkedIn, The Spoken World’s Christopher Kenneally discussed this emerging model with publishing and platform executives who have direct experience developing original audio content: Bethany Strout, Manager of Audiobook Licensing and Content Strategy with Spotify; Dan Zitt, Senior Vice President and Deputy Publisher with Penguin Random House Audio; and Aránzazu Núñez Velázquez, who previously headed the Storytel Originals team for Mexico and Latin America.

Audiobook listening continues to grow in popularity, yet much of the published book catalog remains unavailable in audio format. Closing this “catalog gap” will take publishers willing to experiment with AI and providers promising to protect the human role in audiobook production.Elredo Voice aims to develop what it calls a "second audiobook production economy." Milan Kolcun tells Christopher Kenneally that AI-powered technology and automated production workflows give books that might never be recorded a viable chance in the audiobook world.

Full-cast productions with original music and cinematic sound design have long represented the highest end of audiobook production and are usually reserved for bestselling titles. Midsummerr founder Anat Dayagi tells Christopher Kenneally how new technologies may soon change that equation and make immersive audio a realistic possibility for publishers of all sizes.

As audiobooks evolve beyond traditional storytelling, narrators, authors, and producers confront the challenge of making nonfiction work for the ear. Jeanne Bracken, founder of AudiSkills in Madrid, tells Christopher Kenneally why they may find lessons for their crafts in audio learning courses

Skeelo is a leading platform for audiobooks and e-books in Brazil, a Portuguese-speaking nation of 214 million inhabitants that is fast becoming one of the most dynamic audio markets in the world. Camila Leme, Skeelo Content Director, tells Christopher Kenneally how the Brazilian love of podcasts has shaped listener expectations for audiobooks.

Juliana Rueda is an audiobook producer, director, and sound designer and a leading voice in Spain’s audiobook production community. She has helped drive the industry’s growth as publishers invest to reach new audiences, in Spain, across South America, and in the United States.The founder of Miutbooks, based in Barcelona, Juliana Rueda tells Christopher Kenneally why accent and authenticity are both critical elements for Spanish-language audiobooks, especially when transforming first-time listeners into lifelong fans.