The end of the week sees two big stories involving Bookshop.org. First up is some audiobook news, which is a significant development from Libro.fm. This is the audiobook platform that has partnered with Bookshop.org to allow people to purchase audiobooks wherever they're based and benefit local booksellers.
ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
It has long been an à la carte platform, but in response to consistent demand and a market where subscription is increasingly the accepted model, Libro.fm has now launched an annual plan. This is for $149.99 in the US and £94.99 in the UK.
Annual subscription (you can also subscribe monthly) gets you twelve credits a year (with a thirteenth credit for a limited time). And all subscriptions support the stores backed through Bookshop.org.
Draft2Digital Partnership Opens Doors for Indies
Second up comes a big announcement for those who want their e-books to be available through Bookshop.org. The platform has partnered with one of the most popular distribution channels that many of us use, Draft2Digital. As well as a great line from Jane Friedman, the Draft2Digital press release has a really super endorsement of indie authors from Bookshop.org founder Andy Hunter: “Partnering with Draft2Digital means self-published authors, an essential and rapidly growing part of the publishing landscape, can now work with indie bookstores, and they can support each other.”
This really does underline Bookshop's desire to support indie culture on all sides. The release also contains some interesting insights into the titles that people are buying through Bookshop, which are heavy on indie content.
Scotland Eyes Artist Basic Income
Finally, a fascinating development in a story I've run a few times now. Back in 2022, Ireland introduced a basic income scheme for the arts. A pilot project provided 1,300 euros (around $1,500 or £1,100) per month to 2,000 artists (including writers) on an ongoing basis.
The scheme has been made into something permanent, which will be rolled out in 2026. But now Scotland is seriously considering a similar proposal along the same lines as the Irish scheme.
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