Audiobook sales in 2025 rose 9%, to $2.43 billion, from 2024, and publishers reported more than 750,000 active titles, a 43% increase over the previous year, according to the Audio Publishers Association Sales Survey.

In related news, the Audio Publishers Association 2026 Consumer Survey found that 58% of Americans age 18+--an estimated 157 million people--have listened to an audiobook, and among audiobook listeners, 63% listened in the last year and 35% in the last month.

The Sales Survey was conducted by Toluna, and the Consumer Survey was done by Edison Research, which conducted an online survey of 1,706 spoken-word audio listeners ages 18 and older.

Among other findings, the Consumer Survey determined that audiobook listeners averaged 3.8 audiobooks in the last year, and 26% listened to four or more titles in the last year. Some 45% of listeners have listened to an audiobook on YouTube, up from 35% in 2024 (many of those titles are pirated from legitimate copyright holders).

The fastest growing genres in 2025 in audiobooks were humor, general fiction, and children's--including YA--with general fiction accounting for the largest share of revenue (27%). Science fiction/fantasy, romance, and mysteries/thrillers/suspense made up the remaining top genres by revenue.

Sales revenue from audio-first publications has increased 50% in 2025, to $136 million. The share of audio-first publications also increased slightly, accounting for 6% of the total net revenue in 2025.

Among those who listened in the last year, many used multiple sources: 49% purchased directly from websites or apps, 48% listened via a subscription service, 46% borrowed through a digital library app, and 42% used credits from a dedicated audiobook service.

The consumption and number of AI-narrated audiobooks published has increased in 2025, though willingness to try AI-narrated audiobooks dropped year-over-year. Only 16% of audiobook listeners have listened to an AI-voiced audiobook, and AI sales revenue amounted to just .03% in 2025.

Storytime Bookshop, a new and used bookstore in Kennewick, Wash., is aiming to reopen later this month in a new downtown space at 220 W. Kennewick Ave. The bookstore was forced to close its previous location (at 107 W. Kennewick Ave.) after a fire in mid-March caused severe damage to the building and the loss of nearly all inventory. 

Owner Lorelei Kennedy posted on social media this week: "Out of the ashes we rise, we rise! Out of the ashes we rise! I am so excited to announce that Storytime Bookshop has a new location!! We've just started moving in to the old Impact Community space... and it's already shaping up to be better than ever!"

The bookstore had lost its inventory and soft goods, "most of our furniture and big portion of our sanity in the fire and what has come after," Kennedy added. "We are SO grateful for our community that has shown up for us in ways we couldn't even imagine."

The new location is designed to enhance the bookshop's mission of fostering a love for reading among children and families. With an expanded collection of primarily used books, interactive story times, and engaging events, Storytime Bookshop aims to be a cornerstone of the community's cultural and educational landscape.

"The reopening of Storytime Bookshop is not just about a new location; it's about the strength and spirit of our community," said Kennedy. "We are excited to welcome everyone back to a place where stories come alive and imaginations soar."

The priority is to open the front area featuring children's, middle reader, and YA books, along with the storytime area. The bookstore noted that this reopening "is a testament to the power of community and the enduring importance of literacy and education. Storytime Bookshop looks forward to continuing its mission of providing a diverse and inclusive space for all to discover the joys of reading."

The Raven's Quill mobile bookstore launched in April in the Pittsburgh, Pa., area. "Operating from a meticulously curated 6x12 gothic trailer," the bookshop specializes "in atmospheric tales for the romantic and the misunderstood, featuring hand-picked dark romance, gothic romantasy, and mystical fantasy. Step inside our black-clad haven for a curated 'blind date with a book' and a fated meeting with your next obsession, wherever the wind carries us," its website notes.

Owned by Becky Frazier, the Raven's Quill "pops up at local businesses, events and private parties every weekend," Pittsburgh magazine reported, adding that "bibliophiles will find everything from mafia love stories and mythological fantasies to literary role-playing games and a whole shelf devoted to dragon tales."

"I've always loved books; they're my escape," Frazier said. "I get lost in a world and get out of my head."

The Raven's Quill began when, "after 30 years of caring for animals and kids, the empty-nester decided to start a new chapter," Pittsburgh wrote. "Her husband, Drew, helped her transform the barebones trailer into a rolling wonderland of imagination. The bird that visits her every morning inspired the company's name."

The mobile bookstore launched April 18 at Dancing Gnome, a brewery. Frazier recalled: "People don't expect that when they go to a brewery they're going to walk into a fantasy bookstore. It's part of the magic."

Barnes & Noble will open new stores this Wednesday, June 10, in Orlando, Fla., and Turlock, Calif.

The Orlando store will reside in a newly constructed building at 6039 Lake Nona Blvd. in southeast Orlando. It will span 16,000 square feet and include a B&N cafe. Local author Kristin Harmel will be on hand Wednesday to cut the ribbon and sign copies of her book The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau (Gallery Books). It will be the third B&N to open in Florida this year, with two more set to open in the state before the end of 2026.

Located at 2693 Countryside Dr. in the Monte Vista Crossing shopping center, the Turlock store measures 18,000 square feet and does not include a cafe. Meagan Brandy, author of the Brayshaw Series (Bloom Books), will cut the ribbon before signing copies of her books. It will be the second B&N store to open in California's Central Valley this year, and the ninth new B&N to open in California since January 2025. The company plans to open five more stores in California before the end of the year. 

B&N plans to open more than 60 stores in 2026 after opening more than 60 in 2025 and more than 50 in 2024. It now has more than 700 locations nationwide.

Clevo Books, the independent bookstore and publisher in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, will close permanently later this month, Cleveland.com reported. 

Located at 1026 Euclid Ave., the bookstore emphasized women authors in translation and carried titles from Clevo Books and other publishers. Owner Cathryn Siegal-Bergman began selling books out of the Clevo Books office in 2021 before opening a storefront in 2022. In 2024, she moved the bookstore to its current home. 

Siegal-Bergman attributed the closure to a number of factors, including changing political and economic environments, a lack of foot traffic, and other difficulties. "We really thought we could grow in this space, and we were on track to do that," she told Cleveland.com. 

"Revenue was coming in at a solid clip in 2024," Siegal-Bergman continued. "In 2025, we had an election and a change in administration, and the policy that administration pushed really affected tourism in this city, as well as cities all across the country. Not being strict business people--not as strong as I thought I was--it caught me off guard, and I had no idea how to pivot."

Siegal-Bergman intends to close the bookstore by the end of June, and she hopes to sell as much of the store's inventory as possible before then. Looking further ahead, she floated the possibility of starting a nonprofit and even reopening as a bricks-and-mortar at some point in the future.

More than 500 people turned out to see Caro Claire Burke (l.) at the final tour stop for her debut novel, Yesteryear (Knopf), at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle, Wash. She was in conversation with event manager Sofia Brekkan (r.)

"For all of you out there who don't celebrate the holiday, we present... Fatherless Day," the Painted Porch Bookshop in Bastrop, Tex., posted on Instagram, noting: "(Don't worry, us fatherless employees thought of it, made the display and fully give you permission to laugh.) Whether you want to deep dive and talk about it or just dive into some fiction to forget it, we've got you covered."

The bookshop also shared a pic of its themed display ("Want to talk about it. Don't want to talk about it?"), featuring a sign that says: "Don't have a dad? Us either. 'Us' as in some of us who work here, typing this sign, not the bookstore. Anyway, here are some books."

At Putnam:

Nicole Biton is promoted to publicity manager.

Maggie Leone is promoted to associate publicist.

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At Sourcebooks:

Adriana Yochelson has joined the company as associate manager, international marketing & publicity.

Jennifer Eschrich has joined the company as senior director, audio acquisitions.

Marion: A Novel by Leah Rowan (St. Martin's Press).

Today:
Good Morning America: Matthew Scialabba and Melissa Pellegrino, authors of Lido: Recipes and Stories from Italy's Beach Clubs (Hardie Grant Books, $40, 9781958417744).

Today: Tia Williams, author of The Missed Connection (Grand Central, $29, 9781538770269).

The View: Laverne Cox, author of Transcendent: A Memoir (Gallery Books, $30, 9781668097755). She will also appear today on Live with Kelly and Mark and tomorrow on the Kelly Clarkson Show and Today. 

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: Amber Mayfield Hewett, author of Your Turn to Host: A Guide to Great Parties and Gatherings (Artisan, $30, 9781648294457).

Late Night with Seth Meyers: Jenny Hagel, author of Advice No One Asked For: Essays (Gallery Books, $29, 9781668079614).

Hugh Laurie (The Night Manager) "has landed a mystery role" in his second John le Carré adaptation, the BBC and MGM+'s Legacy of Spies, Deadline reported, adding that "filming is currently taking place and Laurie's role will be revealed soon." The project is is based on le Carré's 1963 novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold as well as his 2017 novel A Legacy of Spies.

Laurie joins an ensemble cast including Matthew Macfadyen as George Smiley, Dan Stevens as Bill Haydon, Felix Kammerer as Hans-Dieter Mundt, and Agnes O'Casey as Liz Gold. Legacy of Spies comes from The Ink Factory, run by le Carré's sons Stephen and Simon Cornwell. 

Diana McCaulay won the £10,000 (about $13,335) Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, which recognizes a distinguished work of fiction, nonfiction or poetry, evoking the spirit of a place, for her novel A House for Miss Pauline, published in the U.S. by Algonquin.

Emma Dabiri, one of the judges, said: "Humorous, horrific, poignant and profound, the past is far from finished in A House for Miss Pauline, Diana McCaulay's richly evocative novel about inheritances in multitude of forms, and the afterlife of slavery in Jamaica."

Claire Armitstead, another judge, added: "An evocative and powerful novel of belonging, with a fabulously eccentric protagonist, which complicates everything we assume about colonial history in all the right ways."

Paul Yoon (Run Me to Earth) follows the lead of authors such as Paul Auster and André Alexis by using a dog as his narrator in the novel Etna. It's a smart choice, given that themes of loyalty, perceptiveness, and home are integral to this excellent work on the suffering brought about by the ravages of war.

In an unknown country, a 12-month-old mixed-breed shepherd lives on a farm with other animals, where he often wakes up "to a den of pale noses surrounding me" and the sight of his mother, "the tall triangles of her ears pocketing the smell of the coast." His is a happy life, until a woman in uniform arrives and says she is "hoping to find dogs to join up with and assist the armies arriving from North America and Europe." Her name is Soojin, a doctor the Americans hired because she's good with dogs. Is she ever: she can hear dogs' thoughts and communicate with them. She names the protagonist Etna, after the volcano in Sicily, and tells him he's going to be a critical part of the war effort. "You're going to work hard," she says, "and save a lot of lives."

This exciting yet melancholy story begins with Etna's four years as a combat dog, in which he learns not only how to identify telltale smells but also how to attack a thigh artery or go for an enemy's throat. But Yoon has something deeper in mind than a simple wartime adventure. After hostilities end, Etna departs from camp in the hope of returning to the farm, which may or may not still exist. He encounters a troop of missionaries, meets a man named Hong who provides medicine to ravaged communities, befriends a fellow dog named Semeru, and gets involved in a mission to travel to a dangerous mountain region and deliver badly needed supplies.

A propulsive narrative of unrelenting sadness may sound oxymoronic, but that's the conjurer's trick Yoon pulls off. The ability to return home after tragic events sometimes requires a redefinition of home, as Etna and his compatriots discover in this elegant work. --Michael Magras, freelance book reviewer

Shelf Talker: Paul Yoon's Etna is a quietly thrilling novel told from the point of view of a combat dog who is taken from his farm to serve in a war and then attempts to return home once the conflict ends.