German independent audiobook publisher Audio-To-Go is launching a new English-language imprint for the US and UK called Caleb and Kyle Publishing. The imprint is headquartered in Ireland. The list will combine English-language originals with previously unpublished English translations of successful German titles and will debut in May 2026. First titles include THE LION’S CLAWS by Mac P. Lorne, from his bestselling Robin Hood series, narrated in English for the first time by John Lee. The first audio originals include Catriona Shine’s HABITAT, Estelle Birdy’s RAVELLING, and Mark McCrum’s THE FESTIVAL MURDERS.
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Spotify Shares Page Match Stats; Bookshop Partnership Goes Live
Spotify provided updates on their Page Match feature that they debuted in February, which allows users to scan a physical page to keep their place and switch between audio and print books. The company states that 62 percent of the books that listeners use Page Match to access are books they haven’t streamed before, suggesting that readers are moving from print to audio. In addition, the Bookshop.org partnership that the company previously announced, in which users can purchase a title through Bookshop, which is linked from its Spotify page, is now live on Android devices. It will be available on […]
Audible to Launch NYC Pop Up
Audible will launch a pop up listening lounge in New York from May 1–31. Audible Story House is a three-floor “bookless bookstore,” according to a release, and will feature listening spaces with headphones where customers can sample audiobooks. People can browse audiobooks in the form of “story tiles” and the space will host events including panels, book clubs, and crafting activities, plus a cafe. “Story House arrives at a cultural inflection point where audio storytelling is one of the fastest-growing formats in entertainment, and passionate fan culture around books and audiobooks has never been more alive,” a release states. “At […]
Brendan Curry on the Nonfiction Market and Current Publicity Challenges
Brendan Curry, director of the trade group at Norton, is on the Open Book podcast this week speaking to David Steinberger about changes in the nonfiction market since 2020 and current publicity and marketing challenges. Black Lives Matter triggered an unexpected hunger for nonfiction, he explains. “We started to see mass curiosity at a level of more mass culture, a real hunger for understanding about pretty deep and painful and complex issues in American life,” he says. This resulted in “really large sales results from books that you wouldn’t expect,” like The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, which began […]
Eleven Labs to Produce AI-Narrated Audiobooks from Bookwire
Ebook distributor Bookwire and AI voice company Eleven Labs have partnered to create AI-narrated audiobooks for Bookwire’s publishing clients. The books will be available in the Eleven Reader app in more than a dozen languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic, Polish, French, and German. “At Bookwire, we are driven by one clear goal: to help publishers achieve maximum reach and success for their titles worldwide,” Bookwire co-founder and co-ceo John Ruhrmann said in a release. “Innovation and the intelligent use of new technologies are essential to that commitment. Through our partnership with ElevenLabs, publishers who choose this model can […]
Spotify Launches Audiobook Charts
Spotify has launched audiobook charts of the top audiobooks on the platform based on users’ “listening behavior and engagement” in the US and UK. Similar to podcast and music charts, the lists are updated weekly with the top overall titles and top titles in select genres. In the US, genres include Romance, Mystery and Thriller, Self-help, Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Biography and Memoir, Business and Careers, Teen and Young Adult, Religion and Spirituality, History, and Parenting and Relationships. “As we’ve proven with music and podcasts charts, when content is easier to access, discover, and enjoy, the demand grows,” director of partnerships and […]