Audio Publishers Association: US Audiobook Sales Reach $2.22 Billion
publishingperspectives.com – Tuesday June 3, 2025
Digital audio accounted for 99 percent of 2024’s US audiobook revenues, per newly released survey results.
General Fiction Holds the Largest Genre Usership
Always helpful in observing the evolving strength of the audiobook market in the United States, the Audio Publishers Association (APA), led by executive director Michele Cobb, has released its annual surveys on sales and trends in 2024—cheering many audiobook fans with a 13-percent gain over 2023.
Digital audiobooks—the “born again” format that has given audiobooks new life after dark decades of unwieldy tape cassettes and CDs—are the clear vehicle of success here: the association’s information indicates that in 2024, digital audio accounted for 99 percent of 2024’s US audiobook revenues, growing year-over-year by 14 percent.
Those points are from the APA’s Sales Survey, which was conducted by Toluna.
The APA’s 2025 Consumer Survey, conducted again by Edison Research, reports that 51 percent of Americans responding who are aged 18 and older—representing an estimated 134 million people—told researchers that they have listened to an audiobook.
New Magazine Listing: The Bee
firstwriter.com – Monday June 2, 2025
We welcome work from writers who are working class or from working-class origins.
All submissions must be the original work of the writer.
We are interested in work of all lengths and in fiction, non-fiction, commentary, essays, and journalism. We are also interested in visual arts and photography submissions. Work will be published on the website and considered for a forthcoming print edition.
Any work submitted for consideration must not have been published online or in print previously.
Thrillers celebrated as crime writers tour county
bbc.co.uk – Monday June 2, 2025
Crime novelists will be visiting libraries across East Yorkshire in June to talk about writing thrillers.
Eight authors, including Hull's Nick Quantrill, will be taking part in a series of talks as part of National Crime Reading Month.
Hayley Clark from East Riding Libraries said the county was "so lucky to have such brilliant local authors" and she was excited to be involved in the events.
The free talks take place between Wednesday 4 June and Friday 27 June.
National Crime Reading Month is an initiative by the Crime Writers' Association and is funded by Arts Council England.
Eight writers will appear at the county's libraries, including Mr Quantrill, who authored the Joe Geraghy series of crime novels.
Rockpool Publishing unveils Sweet Hearts Press gift imprint
thebookseller.com – Tuesday May 27, 2025
Rockpool Publishing has launched Sweet Hearts Press, a new imprint that is aiming to "revolutionise the gift industry".
Sweet Hearts Press will feature a range of gift products, including reading journals, mindfulness puzzles, niche books and wrapping-paper books.
The new imprint will officially launch on 1st July 2025 and its books will be available globally through Simon & Schuster’s distribution partners.
Readers Annoyed When Fantasy Novel Accidentally Leaves AI Prompt in Published Version, Showing Request to Copy Another Writer's Style
futurism.com – Sunday May 25, 2025
Readers were annoyed to discover something galling: evidence that an author used AI, right in the middle of a novel.
The novel, titled "Darkhollow Academy : Year 2," penned by author Lena McDonald, falls under a romance subgenre called "reverse harem," which conventionally follows a female protagonist with multiple male partners.
But as eagle-eyed fans of the genre were irritated to discover, the author left glaringly obvious evidence of not only using an AI chatbot to write portions of the book — but also of a naked attempt to copy the style of a real fellow writer.
"I've rewritten the passage to align more with J. Bree's style, which features more tension, gritty undertones, and raw emotional subtext beneath the supernatural elements," a since-deleted passage in chapter three of the novel reads, as seen in screenshots posted to the ReverseHarem subreddit earlier this month.
J. Bree is the human author of an internationally bestselling series of romance and fantasy novels.
The instance is yet another illustration of how Amazon is being flooded with self-published AI slop, a trend that has been going on ever since the tech went mainstream a few years ago. It's a real problem for human authors, too, with AI-generated books drowning out their work in search results pages.
Literary conference coming to North Vancouver brings authors and publishers together
nsnews.com – Thursday May 22, 2025
A major literary gathering with a focus on connecting authors with the publishing world is coming to North Vancouver in June.
The Vancouver International Publishing Conference (VIPC) will be held at the Wallace Venue at The Shipyards in North Van on June 8, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
With panellists from major publishing houses, literary agents and authors from across North America, this is an event to be on the calendars of both publishing professionals and aspiring authors.
Megan Williams, North Shore based CEO and founder of the Self Publishing Agency, Inc., is organizing the event with members of her team. She’s hoping to provide information and expertise not typically accessible in the Vancouver area.
How to Make a Living as a Writer
thewalrus.ca – Tuesday May 20, 2025
Horse stories in the morning, erotica in the afternoon
When people ask what I do for a living, I’m faced with two choices: either I can lie or I can bore them with the truth, which is too complicated to explain succinctly. While those around me have normal, definable jobs—accountant, journalist, engineer—my work requires headings and subheadings to get it across properly: a map of overlapping gigs and contracts.
“What do you do?” It’s a simple question that often gets asked on first dates. No matter how much I pare down my reply, it’s always long winded.
“Well, I’m a freelancer,” I start, “so I have a million little jobs . . .”
The first of my million little jobs is what I call “Horse News.” It works like this: every weekday, I wake up at 6 a.m. and make my way to my desk, stumbling and still half asleep. I flick on an old lamp and wince as my eyes adjust to the light. I turn on my computer and use a piece of software that shows me all of the American horse racing–related news from the past twenty-four hours. It pulls up radio clips, Fox News segments, and articles from publications called BloodHorse or Daily Racing Form—anything that could be relevant to my interests.
I sift through countless story summaries, many of which sound fake. Army Wife defeats Crazy Beautiful Woman in race! Another doping scandal emerges in Northern California! A disgraced-but-very-good trainer is no longer banned from the track! A famous YouTuber has invested millions into a betting app! I compile the important stuff into a newsletter: stories about track renovations, big events, the series of horse laws that were passed, then repealed, then approved again in 2023.
New Magazine Listing: Insurance Post
firstwriter.com – Tuesday May 20, 2025
Publishes news and articles of interest to insurance professionals in the UK, Europe, and Asia.
New Literary Agent Listing: Ed Wood
firstwriter.com – Saturday May 17, 2025
After twelve years publishing some of the biggest and best commercial fiction authors, I’m thrilled to take on clients in crime, thriller, mystery and book club fiction – and to be their creative and commercial champion.
New Publisher Listing: Broken Sleep Books
firstwriter.com – Saturday May 17, 2025
A working-class, small, innovative press, who publish a range of poetry and prose, from a range of writers. Our primary focus is in increasing access to the arts, in ensuring more people are able to engage with creativity regardless of their socioeconomic status. We particularly wish to dismantle the gentrification of creative arts, and we encourage more working-class, LGBTQ+, and POC writers to submit. Politically we are left wing, and have no interest in misogynists, racist, sexists, or the alt-right. Submissions accepted during specific windows only (see website for details).
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