Netgalley is an online platform that major publishers have embraced. It allows book reviews and bloggers to get early access to upcoming digital titles, so they can read them in advance and post a comprehensive review, close to the publication date. The company has just added support for audiobooks, but only for people living in the United States and United Kingdom.
Audiobooks by a number of publishers, including Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, Andrews McMeel, and Lerner Publishing, have already been made available.
“We’re thrilled to broaden the service to support audiobook publishers,” Kristina Radke, v-p of business growth and engagement at NetGalley, said in a statement. “We believe early feedback about new books (no matter the format) is good for all books, and we’re honored to be the place where over 550k reviewers, booksellers, librarians, educators and media discover and review.”
Netgalley has also just released their first app for Android and iOS. It is called NetGalley Shelf, and will provide easy access to request audiobooks and ebooks from the service, get approved and then start reading or listening.
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.
