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 audiobooks. Could it also mean expanded audiences?

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 Spoken World welcomed guests Heather Booth (Booklist), Sarah Hashimoto, (Library Journal/School Library Journal), Brad Rose (Hoopla Digital), and Jennifer Rubins (Penguin Random House) for a discussion on the role public libraries play to expand access to audiobooks, encourage reading habits in children and adults, and open new pathways into books for communities of all backgrounds.

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 Bookshop dot org, are introducing books to wider and younger audiences and even driving renewed interest in physical books.