Spotify’s audiobook service is here! But what does it mean for independent authors? We dive into the publishing news. Plus, we celebrate two unsung women from history who finally get their due!

Warning: We swear in this episode. Leigh Bardugo’s protagonist has to put up with some bulls***.

You can support us and see our transcripts on our LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/inksinkpodcast

Our sources for this episode:

• A breakdown of high fantasy and low fantasy from Book Riot: https://bookriot.com/high-fantasy-vs-low-fantasy/

• Spotify boosts popular audiobooks: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/audio-books/article/94253-spotify-reports-exponential-audiobook-growth.html

• As the publishing industry digests Spotify's audiobooks program, independent authors notice the terms have shifted: https://writerbeware.blog/2024/02/19/outrage-over-new-terms-of-use-at-findaway-voices-forces-change/

• This sad but necessary story about what librarians have to put up with: https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/story/School-and-Public-Librarians-describe-on-the-job-harassment-censorship

• Very cool new literature prize: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/04/books/inside-literary-prize.html

• A long-overdue congratulations to Hannah Bond, whom you can now read about in depth: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/14/books/hannah-crafts-biography-gregg-hecimovich.html

• Celebrations: Ángela Ruiz Robles invented an early e-reader: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/10/obituaries/angela-ruiz-robles-overlooked.html

Read the books we talked about in this episode: Disclaimer: If you purchase a book through one of our Bookshop links, we receive a commission. But more importantly, Bookshop also supports independent bookstores with every book sold. They’ve raised over $30 million so far!

• Harrow the Ninth: a devastating, dizzying book written in second person that Annie will love til her dying day: https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9781250313218

• The Ninth House: dark academia meets gritty urban detective meets magic secret societies, it’s every bit as good as it sounds: https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9781250751362

Chapters:

00:00 Intro 03:35 Corrections corner 06:37 Spotify boosts audiobooks, what’s it costing independent authors? 15:52 Librarians are still dealing with bulls*** 19:29 A new literary prize for incarcerated people debuts 22:22 Celebrating two amazing women who never got their due 28:44 Annie is reading The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo 35:28 Kali Koda – No, wait, it’s the outro