The Spoken World
THE SPOKEN WORLD brings you the latest global audiobook news, trends and insights. If you’re in the publishing or audio industry, this podcast is a must-listen. Every other week our host Christopher Kenneally interviews industry leaders, providing insights about global audiobook opportunities, innovations and challenges. What’s new in production, distribution and marketing? Where are the best worldwide opportunities for growth? We’ll also bring you highlights from major international book and audio conferences. Contact spokenworldpodcast@gmail.com or visit spokenworld.media.
Episodes
As we complete Season 1 of The Spoken World, host Christopher Kenneally reflects on our global coverage of audiobook events at London Book Fair, PARIX Audio Day and the US Book Show. We look forward to the launch of Season 2 this Fall with our coverage of Frankfurt Book Fair.
Check out this infographic that wraps-up our Season 1.
As demand for high-quality audio content grows, Publishers Weekly’s Ed Nawotka asks a US Book Show panel how audiobook publishers are adapting strategies to keep up. Featuring Audible, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, and more.
Which public institution has more branches than McDonald’s restaurants or Starbucks coffee shops? Your local library. At Parix Audio Day in Madrid, Johanna Briton with Overdrive tells Arantza Larrauri of De Marque how libraries spur growth for audiobooks because they expand awareness and opportunities for discovery.
Children’s content is an important and growing segment of global audio publishing. In Madrid at Parix Audio Day 2025, Juliana Ruedo spoke with Kiyeun Baek from Yoto, and Stephanie Simonin of Bayard Audio, about their approaches to innovative audiobook production and content development for kids and teens.
A Multilingual World Tour of Audiobooks is a panel discussion moderated by Nathan Hull, Beat Technology, with guests Videl Bar-kar, Bookwire (Germany); Carlo Carrenho (Nordic countries); Liza Faja, Editis (France); and Raúl Pérez, Grupo Planeta (Spain). Recorded in Madrid at Parix Audio Day, 2025.
RBmedia International managing director Miles Stevens-Hoare tells Mariana Féged, Bookwire general manager, why a push into non-English markets, such as Spanish and French, has played well with audiences around the world in a conversation recorded in Madrid at Parix Audio Day, 2025.
How can publishers build bridges to connect listeners across multiple formats? In his Parix Audio Day 2025 keynote presentation, Tom Webster with Sounds Profitable suggests ways that podcasting monetization models might be transferable to the audiobook market.A 25-year audio research veteran, Tom Webster has been a co-author and driver behind some of audio’s most influential studies, including the Infinite Dial® series; Share of E...
The Audio Publishers Group (part of the UK Publishers Association) and the US-based Audio Publishers Association have published international guidelines for identifying and labeling AI-narrated audiobooks. In his Parix Audio Day keynote presentation, Jon Watt explained why and how the standards were created: to give consumers clear information and allow them to make informed choices when purchasing audiobooks. Jon Watt is Business ...
Among monthly audiobook consumers in the US, 60% listened to a podcast in the last week. At the 2025 London Book Fair, Audible’s Lisa Higginson and BBC Audio’s Nicola Holloway told The Spoken World’s Christopher Kenneally why authors and publishers should look closely into working with both formats.
Audiobooks are on front stage at the London Book Fair this week. The fastest growing segment of trade book publishing deserves the attention, says Nathan Hull, CSO at Beat Technology, creators of audiobook and ebook subscription apps across Europe. He tells The Spoken World’s Chris Kenneally that all the London programs reflect the soaring state of audiobooks in 2025.
In a keynote address at Parix Audio Day in Madrid on February 13, Amanda D’Acierno, President of Penguin Random House Audio, Global, addressed the worldwide state of the audio publishing industry in 2025. In a follow-up interview with The Spoken World’s Christopher Kenneally, she also offered a forecast for the next generation of audiobook growth.
Amanda D’Acierno was named President of Penguin Random House Audio, Global, overseein...
Luis González, General Director of Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruipérez / PARIX School, led the Parix Audio Day 2025 in Madrid with 250 professionals and 40 speakers from ten countries. González told Christopher Kenneally, host of The Spoken World podcast, why a conference on audiobooks supports efforts to promote reading and the book industry.
Welcome to The Spoken World, a new podcast that brings you the latest global audiobook news, trends and insights. Every other week our host Christopher Kenneally will interview industry leaders, providing inside information about global opportunities, innovations and challenges in the fast-growing audiobook world. The Spoken World podcast will report on all aspects of the $7 billion audiobook industry, including production, distrib...
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