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.