Audiobooks are emerging as a bright spot for the beleaguered publishing industry. Overall, sales of audio versions of books grew 1% in the year through October after rising more than 20% in 2024; by comparison, print book sales through the first 11 months of 2025 were down 1% compared to the same period the year before, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In some cases, audio versions of bestsellers outperformed their print counterparts, from biographies narrated by their authors to crime novels recounted by professional voice artists: The actor Jeremy Renner’s publisher secured the actual 911 call made following a life-threatening snowplow accident that became the basis of his memoir, inserting the drama of the incident into the audiobook.