NielsenIQ, the world’s leading consumer intelligence company, has conducted the first national study in Brazil of who reads, who doesn't, and why. “The Brazilian Digital Reader” reported a strong digital presence in publishing, especially for audiobooks.

Following a presentation at the Frankfurt Book Fair by Luis Gaspar, Research Director with NielsenIQ, The Spoken World’s Christopher Kenneally moderated a discussion on the regional and global significance with Gaspar and Javier Celaya, founding partner of Dosdoce.com.

As the 2026 Frankfurt Book Fair opened 7 October, Spotify shared the latest news and developments in its efforts to bring more books, and more audiobooks, to more people around the world.

In a program Wednesday morning, hosted by Christopher Kenneally of The Spoken World, Duncan Bruce, Director for Audiobook Partnerships and Licensing, outlined announcements on Spotify’s audiobook programming for markets around the world.

Joining them later for a panel discussion were Raúl Pérez, Director, E-books and Audiobooks for Grupo Planeta, in Barcelona, Spain, and Miriam Spinnato, who leads trade book digital sales at Mondadori Libri, in Milan, Italy.

What happens when you take the book out of the audiobook and you produce it, “audio first”?

In 2026, a different kind of audiobook is emerging – one that’s not an adaptation from a book. Instead, this new content format goes straight to audiobook. These “audio first” narratives are designed especially for listening, using the full range of audio production possibilities.

In a “live podcast” on LinkedIn, The Spoken World’s Christopher Kenneally discussed this emerging model with publishing and platform executives who have direct experience developing original audio content: Bethany Strout, Manager of Audiobook Licensing and Content Strategy with Spotify; Dan Zitt, Senior Vice President and Deputy Publisher with Penguin Random House Audio; and Aránzazu Núñez Velázquez, who previously headed the Storytel Originals team for Mexico and Latin America.