Many of you will no doubt have already spent some time browsing your Spotify Wrapped. We can, of course, now do so as writers as well as listeners, finding out who spent time listening to our work. And even as listeners, we can now get the lowdown on our audiobook listening as well as music.
ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
Whilst I was having a flick through news items about Spotify Wrapped (200 million people have used it, apparently, already), I came across a really interesting article from the company outlining their insights into the year’s audiobook trends in Spotify’s analysis.
Romantasy Leads the Year
It will come as no surprise that the headline is around Romantasy and “spicy romance.” Nor that the two series dominating 2025 are Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing and Sarah Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses.
There are two other genres noted. First is music memoir, which is perhaps not surprising, as this has been a key part of Spotify’s strategy this year, though its prominence has been aided by the mass outpouring of enthusiasm following Ozzy Osbourne’s death. Also featuring highly is “dystopian anxiety.”
Classics such as 1984 and Brave New World get a mention. This is really interesting, because one of the dominant themes in the book world since the start of Covid has been the turn away from this kind of darker material toward something more cosy or escapist.
Genres to Watch in 2026
Indeed, cosies don’t even get a mention in the article, which I find very surprising but is clearly worth noting for authors wondering which direction to pursue. And talking of the future, there are three predictions for the coming year on Spotify (alongside the continued dominance of Romantasy). Taking up from the dystopian theme, the company foresees a growth in climate fiction and also in books about AI (including nonfiction).
And of most interest to me, as I sit here typing while watching the final season of Stranger Things, is an anticipation that horror will be on the rise.
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