Kobo Plus expands into European countries
28 May 2026 (Good E-Reader)
The platform has just expanded into Czechia, Greece, Luxembourg, the Philippines, Poland, and Romania
Spotify is adding long-form articles to its audiobook library
27 May 2026 (Engadget)
The articles included in this rollout include pieces from Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, Vogue, Variety, Billboard, Vibe, GQ, WIRED, Vanity Fair and Pitchfork.
Spotify Audiobooks+ Add-On Draws Users, Drives Revenue
26 May 2026 (Publishers Weekly)
The company said that it is now on track to take in $100 million in recurring revenue from Audiobooks+ alone this year.
Spin this dial to scroll through your ebooks
25 May 2026 (New Atlas)
I’ve always felt like the Kindle could do with a better way to flip ebook pages. DuRoBo might have solved exactly that problem, with a little dial on the side of its compact E Ink device.
Audiobook Piracy Enters the AI Era
25 May 2026 (Publishing Perspectives)
AI-generated audiobooks are spreading on YouTube, where unauthorized synthetic versions of bestselling titles—including John Grisham’s The Widow—are attracting large audiences.
ElevenReader Lands 200,000 Human-Narrated Titles: $11 Subscription Takes Aim at Audible
22 May 2026 (Tech Times)
ElevenLabs, the voice AI company valued at $11 billion, has struck licensing agreements with major publishing houses covering 200,000 human-narrated audiobooks for its ElevenReader app.
FBReader Launches Readino ebook store in the United States
21 May 2026 (Good E-Reader)
Readino is an independent ebook shop created by the FBReader team, offering over 1.5 million English titles. Designed with an “open” philosophy, it sells books with standard, non-exclusive Readium LCP encryption.
Storytel unveils tracking tools for authors
21 May 2026 (Trading View)
“With this platform, authors receive immediate feedback on how their books are being received…”
Barnes & Noble to stock shelves with books written by AI
21 May 2026 (The Sun)
CEO James Daunt said, “I actually have no problem selling any book, as long as it doesn’t masquerade or pretend to be something that it isn’t, and that it has an essential quality to it, and that the customer, the reader, wants it.”
Kobo Integrates with Reading Tracker Storygraph
20 May 2026 (Publishers Weekly
With the integration, Kobo e-readers and apps will automatically sync with a user’s StoryGraph account.
Pirate Site Anna’s Archive Hit With $19.5m Default Judgment and Global Domain Takedown Order
20 May 2026 (Torrent Freak)
A coalition of thirteen major publishers has won a massive $19.5 million default judgment against shadow library Anna’s Archive. A New York federal judge fully approved the publishers’ requests, issuing a broad permanent injunction that orders more than twenty specific global registries, hosts, and service providers to immediately disable the site’s remaining domains.
EU Goads Kindle to include user-replaceable batteries
19 May 2026 (Good E-Reader)
Amazon plans to release new e-readers soon, and they will feature user-replaceable batteries to extend the Kindles’ lifespans. This is due to a new European Union law taking effect in February 2027, which requires all smartphones and tablets sold there to have batteries that are easily replaceable without special tools.
US audiobook narrators sue Google for ‘using their voices in AI training’
19 May 2026 (The Bookseller) Subscription required
A number of audiobook narrators, podcasters and journalists have filed a class action lawsuit against Google for allegedly using their voices to train its AI models.
US March Quarter Trade Sales Stats Are In
19 May 2026 (Publishing Perspectives)
Digital audio up 17.3% for the quarter, accounting for 18.4% of total revenue in the adult segment. Ebook revenue down by 6% for the quarter, representing 15.4% of total adult trade revenues.
