The Spoken World

Recent innovations by audio platform Spotify are makinglistening and reading more appealing to new audiences.At the Parix Audio Day Conference in Madrid earlier thisyear, Spotify executive Duncan Bruce explained how these new tools redefine engagement with books and audiobooks throughout the day.

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 audiobooks compete with books and reading, says Audible’s Barbara Knabe, and independent industry consultant George Walkley details the role of AI in lowering audiobook production costs and ultimately, redefining the listening experience.

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, marketing, and distribution.From Paris, Nataly Villena Vega is Head of Editorial at Audiolib, the leading audiobook publisher in France, that is a joint venture of Hachette Livre and Albin Michel.From Berlin, Julia Balogh is a Business Affairs Specialist for Parkum Publishing, which launched in 2025.From Copenhagen, Lasse Korsemann Horne is the Publishing Director of Danish-based Saga Egmont and leads the company’s audiobook expansion.From Accra, Ghana, Ama Dadson is Founder & CEO of AkooBooks Audio, a digital streaming platform for Black/African audiobooks and the spoken word.

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 voice on the future of audiobooks?” Four senior US audio publishing executives told him, “Authors and influencers do.”

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 Foundation; Richard Lennon, Audio Publisher, with Penguin Random House UK; and Dr. Carina Spaulding, Head of Research & Evaluation, The Reading Agency.The Spoken World is sponsored by Penguin Random House Audio, the team behind some of the most talked about audiobooks in the industry. 

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 of the Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruipérez and organizer of the Parix Audio Day Conference, recently gave Christopher Kenneally a hearty defense of book reading. His role at Casa del Lector – the Reader’s House – affords Gonzalez a distinctive perspective on whether listening to a book is the same as reading it. We are also proud to welcome Penguin Random House Audio as our first sponsor. We thank everyone at Penguin Random House Audio for their foundational support of our podcast, and especially for their leadership in the global audiobook industry.On March 12 at The London Book Fair, host Christopher Kenneally will moderate, “The Great Audiobook Debate.” The growing popularity of audiobooks compels all stakeholders in publishing to ask, “What does it mean to be a reader?”  We’ll publish a recording of this discussion as our March 19 episode. 

In the closing days of 2025, Christopher Kenneally, host of The Spoken World, reviews our coverage of the global audiobook industry throughout the year. The Spoken World debuted in March at the London Book Fair. In our first season, we featured interviews and panel presentations from the US Book Show in New York; the Frankfurt Book Fair; and the Parix Audio Day Conference in Madrid.

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 audiobooks.The Spoken World debuted this year in March at the London Book Fair. Since then, we’ve reported news and inside information on the worldwide $7 billion audiobook industry from London, Frankfurt, Madrid, and New York.In 2026, The Spoken World will return with Season 2 and all new podcasts. 

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, however, lend support to a basic rule that, “audiobook publishing is not a one size fits all.”

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 content, game-changing new technology is in the early stages of transforming the audiobook landscape, especially the prospect of narration and translation enabled by AI.Speaking with The Spoken World’s Christopher Kenneally were Barbara Knabe, Head of Content Acquisition, EU, at Audible; Dr. Anke Susanne Hoffman, Director, Strategy & Digital Management Audio, at Penguin Random House; and Lasse Korsemann Horne, Publishing Director with Saga Egmont.

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 Ear®; and The Podcast Landscape.

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 Development and Business Audio Director at Bonnier Books UK; he is also president of the Audio Publishers Group, part of the UK’s Publishers Association.

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, overseeing the U.S. audio business and expanding Penguin Random House’s audio publishing worldwide, in August 2024. Since 2008, she has guided the PRH US audio business through a period of strong growth, expanding the audio catalog from 500 titles in 2008 and now publishing nearly 2,000 titles annually.

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, distribution, and marketing.  We’ll also feature exclusive recordings and interviews from international book fairs and conferences. From AI-generated narration to immersive soundscapes… new markets to new languages… piracy to platforms… You’ll learn about it first on The Spoken World. Subscribe today on your preferred listening platform or on the web at SpokenWorld.media.