Audiobooks are the fastest growing segment in digital publishing. All of the major publishers are very bullish about the format and they are expanding their divisions, producing more content and investing in studio production. In the UK, the London Book Fair has announced they launching the first ever Audio HQ summit. Open to all LBF attendees, the summit will feature insight, research and views on the global audiobook revolution.
The sessions include new statistics on the size of the UK market from book insight experts Nielsen Book and international trends information from Michele Cobb of Audio Publishers Association US. It will also discuss the challenges of casting, the subscription economy and the commissioning side of audio – what is being commissioned in audiobooks and podcasts.
Jacks Thomas, Director of The London Book Fair said: “Audio’s double-digit growth over the past few years is another example of where technology and the craft of storytelling have come together to great effect. Audiobooks have expanded the reach of books bringing in new book consumers and providing another format for regular literary lovers to enjoy. This Audio summit is a chance to get under the skin of key areas of the audiobook success story from subscription models to the expansion of new audio content. We are delighted to welcome US speakers including Michele Cobb from Audio Publishers Association and Dan Zitt from PRH as the US market has led the way in the audio revolution and I can’t wait to hear what is next for this exciting format.”
The London Book Fair is different than Book Expo America, which occurs every year in New York. It is basically an event where all of the different publishers bid on the rights for emerging authors or big name titles. Various publishers bid on distribution in English for the UK market and also sell them in the United States. Other publishers bid on the translation rights to market the books all across Europe. Audio HQ is a solid event that should produce new data on the audiobook market, not seen before.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
