Book Riot – The Podcast

Episode: The Audiobook Wars Rage On, Big ACOTAR Announcement, and More

Date: March 9, 2026
Hosts: Jeff O’Neal & Rebecca Schinsky

Episode Overview

This week, Jeff and Rebecca dive into a news-packed episode, dissecting major happenings in the world of books and the reading industry. Highlights include industry shifts in audiobook pricing, a major Sarah J. Maas ACOTAR series announcement, current book sales trends, the ever-raging screen time debate, and a robust Frontlist Foyer segment with several rich recommendations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Banter & Project Hail Mary Movie Buzz

• [01:04] Hosts mention their episode on Project Hail Mary, reflecting on the book’s legacy and the upcoming movie adaptation.
• Jeff shares a personal story about spotting the movie marquee, getting (possibly) over-excited, especially since the release would align with his birthday:

  “I started floating like Ryan Gosling in zero G. I got... It was so visceral, I got motion sick.” — Jeff [02:41]

• Rebecca marvels that the movie used no green screen, noting her excitement for the IMAX experience and seeing it with family.

2. Upcoming Markus Zusak (The Book Thief) Interview

• [04:04] Announcement of a special episode where Kelly Jensen will interview Markus Zusak for the 20th anniversary of The Book Thief.

3. Screen Time vs. Attention Architecture: Discussion of “Books and Screens” Essay

• [07:04] Jeff introduces an essay by Carlo Iacona, shifting the conversation from “screen time panic” to the real problem: how apps and devices relentlessly fragment our attention.
• Rebecca highlights (quoting the article):

  “What’s different now isn’t the existence of shallow content, which has always been abundant. What’s different is the existence of delivery mechanisms actively engineered to prevent the kind of attention that serious thought requires.” — Rebecca, referencing Iacona [09:13]

• Both hosts discuss the importance of creating personal “architecture” (e.g., disabling notifications, putting phones in another room) to regain focused time.

  “I’ve used this metaphor for years at this point, but they're attention cigarettes.” — Jeff [14:21]

• Socially, making phone use at gatherings “gauche” and establishing group norms is suggested as more effective than legislation.

4. ACOTAR Bombshell: Sarah J. Maas Announces Two New Books

• [20:53] The major book news: Sarah J. Maas revealed, at the end of a two-hour Call Her Daddy podcast, that books six and seven in the ACOTAR series are coming (Oct 27 and Jan 12). Titles not yet released.
• Hosts discuss how this impacts the ongoing “romantasy” race with Rebecca Yarros, and note the timing fills a current lull in the genre.
• Rebecca comments on the lack of a “third face” on the romantasy Mount Rushmore, reinforcing Maas and Yarros as the only two with this level of attention.

  “It’s still just Yarros and Maas that have actually accumulated this kind of concentrated attention for a romantasy series. No one else has cracked that book.” — Rebecca [24:09]

5. Upcoming IP Adaptations & Fall Book Season Preview

• [25:08] The fall will be loaded: New ACOTAR books, a new Hunger Games movie, and a Narnia film potentially line up for Zero to Well Read coverage.

6. Publishing Market Trends from Winter Institute

• [27:20] Report by Brenna Connor:
  • Dark romance, dystopia, and escapist fiction are holding up adult fiction sales.
  • Orwell is in the top 20 most-read authors for 2025.
  • Cozy, comforting nonfiction (cooking, crafting) is surging.
  • Bibles hit a 21-year sales high—Rebecca speculates existing Christians are leaning in deeper.
  • Indie bookstores continue to outperform the market.
  • Bookstores are encouraged to build “analog living” (cozy living, crafting) sections.

7. Audiobook Wars: Audible Drops Price

• [34:50] Jeff and Rebecca break down Audible’s reduction of their single-credit plan to $8.99, undercutting their own previous pricing and increasing competition with Spotify Premium.
• Both agree:

  “Market pressure is good for consumers. Competition is good for consumers.” — Rebecca [35:45]

• Still, Rebecca doubts Audible will lure new users versus Spotify, but they may slow user attrition.
• Jeff wonders whether similar competitive forces might ever hit ebook pricing.

8. Half-Baked Ideas: Ebooks-as-Perks

• [38:32] Jeff proposes: What if The New York Times included a curated ebook each month as part of their subscription? Both engage in how it might work, referencing earlier flat-rate ebook experiments like Oyster and the ongoing appeal of curated, limited-time digital book offerings.

9. Audie Awards Recap

• [41:52] The Audies took place:
  • Audiobook of the Year: Sunrise on the Reaping (Suzanne Collins, narrated by Jefferson White)
  • Matriarch (Tina Knowles) wins in memoir, The Correspondent (Virginia Evans, full cast) gets ensemble performance
  • They ponder whether celebrity narrators move sales, with Rebecca citing Michelle Williams narrating Britney Spears as an example that convinced her to choose audio over print.

10. Book Bans & Industry Response

• [48:50] Utah banned four additional books (Bag of Bones, Breathless, The Carnival at Bray, The Handmaid’s Tale graphic novel, Red Hood), continuing a trend of book bans affecting diverse titles.
• Lee & Low, a multicultural children’s publisher, announced they will suspend their Diversity Baseline Survey to focus on fighting censorship, citing the urgency of the moment.

11. Survey of Black-Owned Bookstores

• [52:01] New data: 306 Black-owned bookstores now exist (8% of indies), but 14 states have none and most stores have revenues under $250k per year.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “Our technology were designed in ways to support paying attention rather than interrupting attention...that’s the way to think about it.” — Rebecca [09:13]
• “Most of us don’t want to be doing most of the stuff we’re doing on our phone most of the time.” — Jeff [14:21]
• “Let's positive peer pressure each other...talking about what your own structures are.” — Rebecca [17:53]
• “I don't need the clip of Benedict Cumberbatch talking about his…If that's all you've got, no, I don't want that.” — Jeff [20:27]
• “Dystopias are doing well too…George Orwell was among the top 20 fiction creators in 2025…which is wild.” — Rebecca [27:44]
• “If you had to pick up one craft, what would you pick?” — Jeff [31:02] (Leading to discussion on analog hobbies/crafts and how they relate to ‘analog living’ bookstore trends)
• “Let’s…not make a saint out of Toni Morrison. She was not and never wanted to be seen that way.” — Rebecca [55:39]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:54 – Hosts check in; Project Hail Mary movie chat
• 04:04 – Markus Zusak 20th Anniversary Interview announcement
• 07:04 – Deep dive: “Books and Screens” essay & attention economy
• 20:53 – Sarah J. Maas’ ACOTAR series announcement dissected
• 25:08 – Fall IP/adaptation season preview
• 27:20 – Winter Institute: Book sales trend findings
• 34:50 – Audible drops price; the audiobook war continues
• 38:32 – “Half-baked ideas” segment: The future of ebooks?
• 41:52 – Audie Awards winners & impact of celebrity narrators
• 48:50 – Book bans: Utah’s new titles; Lee & Low adjusts focus
• 52:01 – Survey: The State of Black-Owned Bookstores
• 53:27 – Frontlist Foyer: Book recommendations & reflections

Frontlist Foyer: Book Recommendations & Reflections

1. On Morrison by Namwali Serpell

   • Deep, essay-driven engagement with Morrison’s work and persona.
   • “Serpell threads a really difficult needle...there’s been a real surge in Toni Morrison nostalgia and admiration...she was not and never wanted to be seen that way.” — Rebecca [55:39]

2. So Old, So Young by Grant Ginder

   • A “Big Chill for Millennials”: Traces a messy, decades-long group friendship.
   • “[It’s] get-the-gang-back-together, just Apex Mountain.” — Rebecca [59:58]

3. Heart the Lover by Lily King

   • Literary fiction tracking romance and relationships over years.
   • “It doesn't have to be a romance—I'm not going to say if it ends happily—which means it’s not a romance. Right. That’s the weird sort of feedback loop.” — Jeff [63:05]

4. Liturgies of the Wild by Martin Shaw

   • Incantatory mix of mythic storytelling, nature immersion, and spiritual reflection.
   • “I'm not sure I believed a minute of it...but I found existing for a little while in this mode did something to me.” — Jeff [65:47]

Tone & Style

The episode features witty, warm repartee, thoughtful cultural and industry analysis (especially around attention and technology), and a lively blend of humor and sincerity. Jeff and Rebecca are unafraid to question conventional wisdom and comfortable admitting what they don’t know, inviting listeners into both granular industry insight and the personal pleasure of reading.

For Further Listening

• Check out “Zero to Well Read” for deep dives on significant books and upcoming adaptation tie-ins.
• Next week's Patreon: Bonus episode on Lauren Groff’s “Brawler” (short story collection).
• Special Markus Zusak interview (The Book Thief at 20) drops March 11.