MAY 2025 News Roundup

May’s Audiobook Club celebrates mothers with a lineup of audiobooks in English and Spanish, DC Comics announces a talent-fueled cast for All-Star Superman and People Magazine resolves an age-old debate. But this month, AI dominates the news. Audible aims to expand its catalog with AI-produced audiobooks with select publishers. Public libraries are reporting an infiltration of AI-narrated audiobooks through Hoopla and also having to make difficult decisions as federal grants are suspended. Advances in AI technology are delivering more production options. AI is even transforming how we work. But audiobook popularity continues to enjoy momentum. Meet some of the humans involved in the audiobook process from authors to publishers to narrators in the Interviews & Podcasts section below. After you take in the news, slow your roll with a New Yorker poem that will change the way you see yourself in a steamy mirror.

General News

Libraries are cutting back on staff and services after Trump’s order to dismantle small agency

E-book and audiobook programs are especially vulnerable to budget cuts, even though those offerings have exploded in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic. [Source: apnews.com]

365 Questions to Ask Book Lovers on Social Media Every Day

Here, you’ll find one thought-provoking prompt for every day of the year, so that you never run out of interactive and unique Bookstagram ideas to ask your audience. [Source: theliterarylifestyle.com]

Of Course Listening to an Audiobook 'Counts' as Reading

Why the Debate Just Distracts Us From What Matters [Source: people.com]

The business of audiobooks

Spotify Breaks Apple’s App Store Barriers: iPhone Users Can Now Buy Audiobooks Directly In-App

Spotify has introduced direct audiobook purchases within its iPhone app, ending years of disputes with Apple over App Store policies. [Source: webpronews.com]

Slovenia’s Evolution: Digitization Drives a Market’s Rights Contours

Rising markets for ebooks and audiobooks are opening new rights opportunities in the 2023 Frankfurt guest of honor, Slovenia. [Source: publishingperspectives.com]

Audiobooks in Q1: Storytel Has 2.5+ Million Subscribers, New Management

Storytel’s new CEO Bodil Ericsson Torp says both streaming and publishing are showing ‘strong momentum.’ [Source: publishingperspectives.com]

Google is giving Amazon a leg up in digital book sales

With its own one-click e-book and audiobook purchases in Android apps, Amazon doesn't seem to be paying Google a fee. [Source: washingtonpost.com]

FEED YOUR EARPODS

The Mother-Daughter Listening Club: Bond with Mami Over Audiobooks, Chisme, and Healing

Mother’s Day might be behind us, but the bond with Mami—and all the mujeres who raised us—deserves to be celebrated all month long. [Source: wearemitu.com]

The classic DC comic book All-Star Superman will be available on audio for the first time

Audiobook fans will recognize many of the acclaimed voices in the cast, including the voice of Superman himself, narrator Marc Thompson. [Source: dc.com]

A.I. News

Audible Expands Catalog with AI Narration and Translation Services

This month, Audible announced it would begin offering AI-powered narration to select publishers. AI translation services will launch in beta later this year. [Source: publishersweekly.com]

Public libraries confronted with influx of AI-generated audiobooks

Some Baldwin Public Library patrons may have been disappointed recently while using Hoopla. [Source: candgnews.com]

Audiobook voice options expand in 2025: professional live human, pro cloned, author voice or author cloned with AI

The tools/sources for AI voices for audiobooks include Google, ElevenLabs, Descript and Amazon (in ßeta). Each one has different strengths and weaknesses, as covered here. [Source: provideocoalition.com]

Turning Pages with Tech: How AI is Reshaping the Future of Book Publishing

Industries that once seemed untouched by technological advances are now being reshaped, and book publishing is no exception. [Source: thefutureofthings.com]

interviews & podcasts

In Conversation: Natalie Naudus and Jenna Voris

Audiobook narrator turned author Natalie Naudus and YA author Jenna Voris share unexpected common ground: books about queer girls navigating their relationship with religion. [Source: publishersweekly.com]

Allison Light: Princeton Alumni 'Tiger of the Week'

‘I’m trying to combine the things that I know and the things that I love,’ Light says. [Source: paw.princeton.edu]

Why actor Park Jeong-min became a publisher and put audiobook first

"If there are people who want to tell stories from overlooked places, I wanted to give them the chance to speak," Park said, explaining the reason for starting the publishing company. [Source: m.koreaherald.com]

Something outside the booth

Make the Audiobook Before the Book Is Made

Poetry by Terrance Hayes. [Source: newyorker.com]