We start with some big news in the audiobook sphere. That news comes from the world of Nordic audiobook companies, where Sweden’s Bonnier, owner of the BookBeat platform, has fully bought audiobook platform Nextory. That this was positioned in the Publishing Perspectives report on the story as a challenge to Storytel is a suitable reminder of just how dominant companies in that part of the world are in the audiobook market.
ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
Mark Williams has an interesting article on the takeover, as he usually does. What matters for us is that he doesn’t see this acquisition leading to an easing of direct access to Nextory for indie authors, who will, in all likelihood, still need to market via recognized distribution networks such as StreetLib.
CDs Make an Unexpected Comeback
That’s the news on streaming services, but I came across a very interesting story on analog media. It fits very well with the stories we’ve seen recently about the resilience of print and bookstores and the physicality of the reading experience. And while it’s not about books, it is suggestive of a genuine trend, meaning the current health that print is enjoying may be more than just a fad.
CDs are, it seems, making a comeback in 2026. The first half of the year saw a 45 percent rise in the number of CDs sold in the US, from 12 million to 17.5 million.
A New Goodreads Scam Targets Authors
Our final story is a salutary reminder of the environment in which we create. LitHub has a fascinating piece about a new scam, this time promising to get authors’ books highly placed in Goodreads Listopia lists. Those are the topic-specific curated lists where readers interested in particular subjects can go to find all the good things they could possibly want.
The article in question had a humorous tone, in large part because the author of a nonfiction book on George Orwell had received a “Dear George” email offering to do wonderful promotional things for Homage to Catalonia. That’s worth a chuckle. But the scam is all too real, so look out for it.
Thoughts or further questions on this post or any self-publishing issue?
If you’re an ALLi member, head over to the SelfPubConnect forum for support from our experienced community of indie authors, advisors, and our own ALLi team. Simply create an account (if you haven’t already) to request to join the forum and get going.
Non-members looking for more information can search our extensive archive of blog posts and podcast episodes packed with tips and advice at ALLi's Self-Publishing Advice Center.
