The Spoken World

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...

The Spoken World recently presented “The Next Chapter in Audiobooks,” a “live podcast” on LinkedIn. Christopher Kenneally spoke with Robin Whitten, founder of Voices to Know, and Tom Webster, a partner at Sounds Profitable, to learn how changing audience listening habits are shaping what audiobook publishers will produce, and the content that platforms will offer.

Shorter listening sessions, shorter audiobook...

Audiobook listening is closely associated with “brand name” platforms, but another driving force in the format’s rising popularity is your public library.  According to the new Audio Publishers Association 2026 Consumer Survey, nearly half of listeners have borrowed audiobooks through a digital library app.

On June 23, for a special “live podcast” on LinkedIn, Christopher Kenneally and The Spo...

When people listen to audiobooks instead of reading books in print or digital, does reading itself win or lose?

Duncan Bruce, Director of Audiobook Partnerships and Licensing at Spotify, is helping shape how millions of people discover stories through audiobooks. He tells Christopher Kenneally that innovations like PageMatch, which lets readers move seamlessly between page and audio, and Spotify’s new partnership with Boo...

Adam Fritz, CEO of Pozotron, and Robin Lai with John Marshall Media, tell Christopher Kenneally why audiobook production requires an alignment of AI tools and human expertise.

With publishers facing intense financial pressure in audiobook production, they say,  AI-assisted workflows will help to hold down costs and reduce turnaround times.

And when producers automate pre-production tasks, they free up time for creative human wor...

Audible’s ambitious new “Audible Story House” in New York City’s lower Manhattan is a three-floor “bookless bookstore” that offers a glimpse into the future of audiobook discovery.

James Finn, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Brand and Content Marketing, tells Christopher Kenneally that the month-long “pop-up” in the Bowery invites visitors to browse “story tiles,” ...

The success of audiobooks with consumers has already been transformative for bottom lines across the publishing industry. Next, authors, publishers and readers alike can expect to see audiobooks influence the strategic direction of the global book business. 

That’s the takeaway from a pair of keynote presentations at the 2026 Parix Audio Day conference in Madrid.

Survey data challenges a long-standing industry myth that au...

As audiobook providers expand into new markets, they confront a basic challenge: Building audio catalogs with strong appeal worldwide.

At the 2026 Parix Audio Day in Madrid, Christopher Kenneally asked three European publishers and an African-wide platform provider about their global development strategies. They spoke about business models and language investment; battles over rights and licensing; and the role of AI in production, ...

On Monday, March 30, 2026, 500 attendees for the Audio Publishers Association virtual conference learned about top audiobook industry topics including consumer listening trends; prospects for multicast and other expanded audio formats; and whether diversity in stories and voices remains a goal.

The Spoken World’s Christopher Kenneally reports that APA Executive Director Jim Dinegar asked a keynote panel, “Who gets a voic...

On March 12, 2026, at the London Book Fair, Christopher Kenneally, host of The Spoken World, moderated “The Great Audiobook Debate.”

The growing popularity of audiobooks compels all stakeholders in publishing to ask, “What does it mean to be a reader?”

Speakers included Marc Boutet, President and co-founder of De Marque; Javier Celaya, Founder & CEO, Dosdoce.com; Luis González, Director General, GSR F...

The Spoken World podcast is embarking on a new season for 2026. 

Every other Thursday, Season 2 of The Spoken World will feature interviews with top industry figures and analysts from markets around the world sharing insights on the opportunities, challenges, and innovations coming to the audiobook industry, the fastest-growing segment of book publishing.  

In this episode, in Madrid, Luis González, Managing Director o...

In 2025, the global audiobook industry saw exciting changes in audiences, products, and markets. The US remains the sales leader with double-digit annual growth, while demand is rising around the world for new languages and new catalog offerings.

To close out 2025, Christopher Kenneally spoke with leading audiobooks industry analyst Javier Caleya, founder of dosdoce.com, for his review of the year’s top stories in audiobo...

The French like a good laugh; Italians love adventure; and Germans want to know whodunit.

Those are key findings of the Audible Compass, an annual review of listening habits commissioned last July by the world’s largest audiobook retailer.

Audible’s Barbara Knabe tells Christopher Kenneally that mysteries, thrillers, fantasy, and romance are all popular across the European Union.

Market differences in individual countries,...

Three audiobook leaders from across Europe shared a stage on the opening day of the Frankfurt Book Fair 2025 to discuss the latest data and trends in listener behavior as well as the opportunities for publishers to grow readership through the audiobook format.

The European audiobook market is growing rapidly, with millions of new listeners discovering the format every year. Looking beyond consumer engagement with high-quality conten...