Bookshop.org allows indie bookshops to earn full profit on audiobook sales for the first time

Bookshop.org, the ethical alternative to Amazon that supports independent bookshops, is today launching its new audiobook offer. For the first time, readers can buy books in all formats from indie bookshops.

Customers will be able to buy and listen to audiobooks on one easy-to-use platform, while financially supporting indie bookshops in their fight against Amazon (who owns Audible). Audiobooks will be available to buy on a subscription model priced at £12.99 per credit/month, which has been designed to generate the most revenue for indie bookshops.

The audiobook market in the UK is growing rapidly, with no signs of slowing down. The most recent data provided by the Publishers Association revealed that in 2025, audiobooks were worth £255 million, up 10% on the previous year – significant in comparison to the overall publishing industry which only grew by 3%. A 2025 study by YouGov has shown that 30% of readers listened to audiobooks in the previous year.

While the number of independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland has risen from 1,025 to 1,086 in the last year, reaching its highest level since 2012, bookshops are still struggling with surging operational costs. With audiobooks, Bookshop.org offers booksellers a meaningful, regular revenue stream, and a tool to advance their growth. Readers will now be able to support their local booksellers through audiobook subscriptions, while benefiting from human recommendations and the valued community that independent bookshops are uniquely positioned to deliver.

In our National Year of Reading, celebrating and encouraging all forms of storytelling – including audiobooks – is key to aiding access and development of a genuine passion for reading. Research by the National Literacy Trust revealed that 37.5% of children and young people said listening to audiobooks ‘sparked their interest’ in reading. There is also evidence that audiobooks support wellbeing, help close gender gaps in enjoyment, inspire interest in reading and widen access to stories. Bookshop.org’s new offering marks a crucial step towards diversifying sources for readers to find their reading fix.

In celebration of the momentous launch, audiobook listening stations will be installed in eight bookshops across the country as a pilot programme, in anticipation of a future where audiobooks are integral to the ‘physical bookshop’ experience. The biggest of these will be in Real Magic Books in Wendover (Aylesbury), where the listening station will be signposted by an eye-catch mural installation by artist and graphic designer Craig Oldham, created especially for the occasion.

Carl Gosling and Sophie Green, from Real Magic Books: “It has always been fantastic to work with Bookshop.org since we started Real Magic back in 2022, so we were honoured to be asked to help launch their audiobook campaign. It feels like the missing piece to what is already an amazing set up for indie bookshops, we’re excited to tell our customers they can now buy audiobooks through us, it should be a bit of a game changer. People don’t want to support these bigger billionaire owned platforms, they want to shop local and support shops that bring culture directly into their communities.

We knew when we initially discussed the idea of a mural in Real Magic that we had to talk to Craig Oldham. We have collaborated before, we love his work and his attitude, and we were certain he would not only understand the brief but the wider mission with this campaign. The Listen Up installation is bold and playful and embodies our creative spirit at Real Magic and the wider independent bookshop community. These spaces we run and work in are crucial for spreading the power of literature and the importance of books for empowering and inspiring people through these dark times.”

Craig Oldham, from Office of Craig and Rough Trade Books: “What Bookshop.org do for independents can’t be underestimated, and it’s more important than ever to support independent stores and publishers as the billionaire platforms encroach in more areas of our daily lives, so it’s an important project to be involved in and support. And we wanted to do that with a light and fun touch with a typographic pun. “Listen Up” is a call to action, sure, but we want people to listen up but also want to lift them up too.”

Nicole Vanderbilt, Managing Director of Bookshop.org UK, said: “We’re excited to be launching a whole new product that offers a significant, and importantly, regular revenue stream for independent bookshops. Audiobooks have become such an important part of the way we tell stories and a vital part of the book industry’s growth. We are excited to give the 30% of readers who have listened to an audiobook in the last year a better way to buy their audiobooks: there’s no reason for them to turn to Amazon now! With our new subscription service, indie bookshops benefit from every credit purchased.”

To mark the launch, Bookshop.org will offer exclusive audiobook content to listeners, which will be available exclusively when buying an audiobook from their platform. These “indie exclusives” include:

• A speech by Meta whistleblower and Careless People author Sarah Wynn-Williams, about the “analogue tenacity of books” in the face of powerful people trying to silence important stories.

• A conversation between best-selling thriller writer Adele Parks and her narrator, Kristin Atherton, answering questions collected from her readers & listeners.
• An exclusive new lecture from journalist and historian Max Hastings about bravery and valour across wars.
• An message directly from Cody Dahler, author of The State of This!
• An exclusive conversation between Ellery Lloyd, thriller author of Time to Burn, and narrator Louise Brealey.

For the latest developments, subscribe to Bookshop.org’s newsletter and follow them on social media at @bookshop_org_uk.

Image:

LISTEN UP. Audiobook listening station at Real Magic Books

Design by Craig Oldham. Photo by Carl Gosling for Bookshop.org