KDP Says Audible Plus Virtual-Voice Listens Belong in Audible Royalties, Not KENP
KDP's October 31 FAQ says Audible Plus listens for virtual-voice audiobooks left the KENP count, including past months, and now sit with Audible royalties.
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Amazon's audiobook service; ACX is its audiobook production and distribution marketplace. Official site: www.audible.com
Audible Expands Its AI Ask a Question and Recaps Tools, and ACX Authors Can Opt Out
Two AI listening features move beyond a small beta, with a wider US rollout planned for December. Rights holders who want their titles left out can ask now.
Kindle+ Pays Once per Page, Whether Subscribers Read It or Listen to It
Amazon's help pages say a page read and then listened to counts once, and audio is paid from the KDP Select Global Fund with added money Amazon has not sized.
KDP Select Ebooks Can Go to Libraries, and Library Royalties Are Growing
Amazon's KDP Select terms allow public library distribution, and Draft2Digital says its library royalties grew about 24% year over year from January to April.
Audible Sets Dates for ACX Legacy Royalty Cutoff: Enroll by Dec. 31 or Lose Distribution
Audible says ACX titles not moved to its new royalty model by December 31 will start coming down January 1, 2027. Removed titles can come back with reviews intact.
He Who Fights With Monsters: Outworlder Gets a 2026 Reissue From Penguin
Shirtaloon's web-serial hit He Who Fights With Monsters, Book 1: Outworlder, returned in 2026 as a deluxe hardcover in the US and a Michael Joseph edition in the UK and Commonwealth.
Kindle+ Switch Leaves Authors Staring at Shrunken KDP Page Counts
Since October 21, authors have watched KENP totals and estimated royalties fall, including for past months. Amazon hasn't explained it. Here's what KDP's pages show.
Audible Brings Immersion Reading to Seven More Countries and Page Sync Abroad
Canada, India, France, Italy, Spain, Japan and Brazil get synced ebook-and-audio reading. Page Sync reaches the UK, Germany and Australia, and charts now show up in the player.
Louise Penny's The Black Wolf Wins Best Hardcover at the 2026 Anthony Awards
Bouchercon handed out the 2026 Anthony Awards in Calgary on October 24. Louise Penny, Laurie L. Dove, Tracy Clark and Mia P. Manansala were among the winners.
Women's Prize Trust Names the 2027 Fiction and Nonfiction Judges
Merve Emre will chair the 2027 fiction judges and Susie Dent the nonfiction panel. Longlists begin in February, and both winners are named on June 17.
Kindle Unlimited Is Now Kindle+, and It Includes Audiobooks
Amazon has renamed Kindle Unlimited to Kindle+ and added audiobooks, including KDP virtual-voice titles, paid per page from the KDP Select Global Fund. Here's what it means for indie authors.
Audible's Imagine Louder Will Give 15,000 Teens Free Premium Memberships
Audible's first global social-good programme gives six-month Premium memberships to young people aged 12 to 18 through seven nonprofits in the US, UK and Mexico.
Kobo Plus Audiobooks Launch for Subscribers in France
Kobo Plus in France adds audiobooks alongside ebooks, with Read at €9.99 and Read & Listen at €14.99, and a 14-day free trial for new subscribers.
Romantic Novelists' Association Names Its 2026 Romance Industry Awards Shortlists
Seven categories honour the publishers, editors, agents, narrators, booksellers and librarians behind romantic fiction. Winners are named in London on November 4.
Frankfurt Book Fair Closes Its 78th Edition With 236,000 Visitors
Frankfurter Buchmesse reports 236,000 visitors from 137 countries for the 78th fair, and names Chile as guest of honour for 6–10 October 2027.
Stephen Graham Jones, Kell Woods and Amal El-Mohtar Win at the 2026 British Fantasy Awards
The British Fantasy Society has named its 2026 winners at Fantasycon in Glasgow, from The Buffalo Hunter Hunter to NewCon Press as best independent press.
Indie Authors Can Now Advertise Audiobooks on Amazon, and ACX Adds Self-Service Pre-Orders
ACX says rights holders can now set audiobook pre-orders and run Amazon Sponsored Products ads on verified audiobook titles in the US, plus free promo cards.
Audible Brings Read & Listen to Seven More Markets as NielsenIQ Study Finds 34% Are Listening More
Audible says a NielsenIQ study of 18,000 listeners found 34 percent consumed more spoken-word audio. Read & Listen is coming soon to seven more markets.
Audible Launches Character Guide, Interactive Story, and Visual Explorer
Audible is introducing Character Guide, Interactive Story, and Visual Explorer, built with creators and using AI. The limited beta is for U.S. and UK customers.
Audiobook Distribution Choices in 2026
ACX exclusivity, wide aggregators, Spotify’s expanding indie tools, and digitally narrated lanes — 2026 asks authors to choose a door, not collect every keychain.
AI and the Publishing Industry: How Major Publishers Are Using and Fighting Artificial Intelligence in 2026
The intersection of artificial intelligence and commercial publishing has created a complex landscape where traditional houses act as both eager adopters and fi…
The State of Traditional Publishing in 2026: Big Five Mergers, Layoffs, and What Authors Need to Know
The traditional publishing ecosystem has undergone a radical structural transformation.
ACX's Two Royalty Cards, and Spotify's Free Audiobook Tool
ACX's legacy table still shows 40% exclusive and 25% non-exclusive. As of May 26, 2026, the new model is 50% and 30%. Spotify's September 9 tool makes five English audiobooks free, non-exclusive.
Big Five Publishers vs Amazon: How Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster Are Competing in 2026
The retail battlefield between the traditional publishing conglomerates—Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster—and Amazon has evolved past si…
How to Scale a Winning Amazon Ads Campaign Without Overspending in 2026
When indie authors launch their first KDP campaigns, the primary goal is validation.
The Paper Trail of Progress: Print-First AI Self-Publishing on Amazon KDP
Generative AI tools are now able to draft text, design covers and narrate audio.
Obama's 'A Great Book' and the Spread of Literary Curation
When a former president devotes six episodes of a podcast to discussing novels and essays, the publishing industry takes notice. A Great Book with Barack Obama, an Audible Original produced with Higher Ground, debuted on September 24, 2026.
How to Get a Book Into Libraries With OverDrive and Hoopla in 2026: The Indie Author's Guide
In 2026, the digital library landscape represents an increasingly vital channel for indie authors to reach new readers and expand their income streams.
BookFunnel vs. StoryOrigin for ARC Delivery: Which Tool Should Indie Authors Use in 2026?
BookFunnel and StoryOrigin both handle ARC file delivery — but they work differently and cost differently. Here is which one makes sense for your publishing setup in 2026, and why Google Drive is not the answer.
How the Big Five Publishing Houses Are Losing Authors to Self-Publishing
The author exodus from traditional publishing is not a trend — it is a structural shift.
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