Jessica Levine

As publishers continue to set new benchmarks for the sophistication and quality of audiobook production, lending numbers of the print-enhancing format keep growing year over year. In fact, OverDrive data shows that libraries broke digital lending records in 2025, with 820 million checkouts and over one billion minutes streamed.

Even as dark fiction categories—psychological thrillers, dark fantasy, and horror—continue to trend alongside romance, according to data from Circana BookScan, some publishers are choosing to offer readers more wholesome alternatives.

As the community functions of libraries continue to stretch and evolve, so must their spaces’ ability to accommodate them. Designing for whole-community inclusivity was a common theme expressed by the architects and designers represented in this year’s Library Design feature. 

 Indie books account for about 40 percent of commercially available books, according to WordsRated, a company that creates research studies about books. With limited marketing dollars, how do they succeed? “The most important thing for success at an indie press is to know your lane.” says Angela Engel, founder of The Collective Book Studio.

The demand for audiobooks continues to grow year-over-year. Publishers are responding to consumers’ ever-increasing audiobooks appetite by looking beyond the latest front-list titles to expand catalogs and production in creative ways.

“Don’t trust the sanitized versions of history…We’ve got to get to the roots,” writes rapper Chuck D in the foreword to The Transatlantic Slave Trade, a new title from SelectBooks highlighted in this feature. That viewpoint is the guiding compass behind new Black history books on publishers’ lists for spring 2025.  

“Self-help had a bad rap in the past,” says Olivia Peitsch, marketing manager at Baker Publishing Group. “But a new generation is coming into the reading space, and self-help is becoming more widely accepted. It isn’t considered gimmicky anymore; it’s bravery.” 

In a mostly flat market, mystery and thriller sales are up in 2024 and holding their position as one of the top selling genres, according to data from Circana BookScan. That could be because the already-broad genre continues to expand and reinvent itself. 

Nearly half of current audiobook consumers had borrowed a digital audiobook from their library in the last year, according to the survey. “The BookTok/Bookstagram space has changed discoverability,” says Jolene Barto, marketing director of Dreamscape Media. “And with Spotify entering as a retailer this year, we’re seeing new opportunities.