Book Riot - The Podcast

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

Hosts: Jeff O’Neill and Rebecca Schinsky
Release Date: March 9, 2026

Episode Overview

This week, Jeff and Rebecca tackle a lively, wide-ranging batch of book and publishing industry news. Topics include digital distractions and reading habits, a major ACOTAR book announcement, the latest twists in the streaming audiobook wars, recent book sales trends, new book bans, the state of Black-owned bookstores, and personal reading recommendations. All delivered in signature Book Riot fashion: insightful, irreverent, and reader-first.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Challenge of "Screen Time" and Digital Distraction ([08:00]–[19:15])

• Discussion centers on a piece by Carlo Iacona, “Books and Screens," about how attention fragmentation is less about screens and more about how apps are intentionally designed to interrupt and monetize our attention.

  • Jeff’s Summary: "The central argument... is that it's not exactly [about] the medium necessarily, but rather the mode of interacting with these devices..." ([08:37])
  • Rebecca’s Take: Highlights the difference between "shallow content" (always existed) and "architectures actively engineered to prevent the kind of attention that serious thought requires” ([09:37]).
  • Both agree regulation isn’t coming soon, so personal boundaries & cultural shifts (e.g., “no-phone zones” at dinner) are more actionable:
    • Jeff: “Make it gauche to be sitting with other people in public and both be looking at your phones... Be the change you want to see in the world when it comes to your phone.” ([16:58])
    • Rebecca: “We don’t like that feeling that our time together... can be so easily redirected. So... practice with each other: if one of us is going to the restroom, the other one is not getting their phone out.” ([16:52])

• Memorable Moment: Jeff proposes a “ban on talking about things you just saw online” in real-life conversations ([19:08]).

2. Big ACOTAR Announcement—Sarah J. Maas Drops News on "Call Her Daddy" ([21:10]–[26:13])

• Sarah J. Maas revealed, during a live two-hour "Call Her Daddy" podcast (166k live viewers!), that there will be two more books in her A Court of Thorns and Roses series.

  • Book 6 drops Oct 27, Book 7 lands Jan 12, released only ~3 months apart.
  • No titles yet, but the manuscripts are done.

• Jeff is fascinated by the “media moment”:

  “Announced at the end of a two-hour long Call Her Daddy podcast... put it in the Louvre for media history.” ([21:17])

• Meta-Industry Interest:

  • Publishing is abuzz about dropping two blockbuster books so close together, especially with a lull in other Romantasy series.

• Rebecca: “No one else has cracked that ball. Yarrow and Maas are it.” ([24:16])

3. Audiobook Wars: Audible Drops Price, Spotify Competition Heats Up ([34:52]–[38:34])

• Audible has dropped its single credit monthly membership from $14.99 to $8.99—a major shift in response to competition from Spotify and other services.

  • Jeff: “This is a bigger deal than maybe a civilian might think. Am I wrong?”
  • Rebecca: “No, I think this is a big deal... Spotify has been successful in eating into Audible’s market share of audiobooks and Audible is having to respond.” ([35:46])

• User Experience:

  • The new lower price makes Audible’s one-credit model competitive with Spotify Premium (which includes music, podcasts, and a monthly 15-hour audiobook allowance).
  • Audible’s new 8.99 plan is "use it or lose it"—credits don’t roll over, which mimics Spotify’s model.

• Industry Impact:

  • Rebecca hopes this competition will pressure the industry on ebook pricing:

    “Can we do ebook pricing next, please?” ([38:17])

• Half-Baked Idea: Jeff floats the idea of The New York Times offering a curated free ebook per month as a member benefit, similar to what Spotify is doing with audiobooks. ([38:34])

4. Book Sales Trends & Industry Data ([29:19]–[33:36])

• Recap of Winter Institute’s report (via Brenna Connor):
  • Trends: Dark romance, escapist fiction, dystopias ("Orwell was among the top 20 fiction creators in 2025"), and cozy nonfiction (think comfort cooking, crafting) are most resilient.
    • Rebecca: “Cozy and dark is not two different veins of consumption—it’s the same consumer. All of it operates in escapism.” ([30:00])
  • Indie bookstores are outperforming the overall market, with higher intent to “shop local.”
  • Bible sales: Hit a 21-year high (19 million sold)—suggesting “the people who are Christian are leaning into it more.” ([31:24])
  • Store innovation: Suggestion for bookstores to create “analog living” or “cozy living” sections.

5. Audie Award Winners & Audiobook Narrator Economics ([41:54]–[47:55])

• Quick highlights from this year’s Audie Awards:
  • Audiobook of the Year: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins.
  • Nonfiction, performance, and full-cast categories mentioned.
• The hosts note the booming trend of celebrity narrators (e.g. Greta Lee, Michelle Williams, Blair Underwood).
  • Jeff: “I am unmoved by all of these audio awards. Have you ever picked up something because it won an Audie Award, Rebecca?” ([43:38])
  • Rebecca (on Britney memoir): “Finding out Michelle Williams was narrating it pushed me into I will definitely do this on audio.” ([47:05])
• Q: Do celebrity narrators drive audiobook sales, or just format choice? The hosts remain skeptical but curious.

6. Book Bans, Industry Diversity, and Black-Owned Bookstore Report ([48:33]–[52:51])

• Utah Bans Four More Books in Schools:

  • New bans: Bag of Bones (King), Breathless (Niven), The Carnival at Bray (Foley), The Handmaid’s Tale graphic novel, Red Hood (Arnold). ([49:04])
  • Ongoing trend: conservative states broadly banning controversial/diverse books.

• Lee & Low Diversity Survey Paused:

  • Instead, publisher is focusing resources on combating book bans and censorship.
  • Rebecca: “There does need to be a hierarchy of needs ... we’ve got to maintain the right to read and share ideas so we can have a publishing industry to worry about not making it diverse enough.” ([51:42])

• State of Black-Owned Bookstores:

  • National Association of Black Bookstores report reveals:
    • 306 Black-owned bookstores (about 8% of indies).
    • 14 states have none.
    • Most report under $250k annual revenue.
    • Black-authored book sales down 14%.
  • Rebecca: “Cool to see data collection, activism and advocacy... you can really go on a much deeper dive into the data.” ([52:51])

7. Frontlist Foyer: What Jeff & Rebecca Are Reading ([53:27]–[67:37])

• On Morrison by Namwali Serpell

  • Literary criticism focused on Toni Morrison’s novels, their “difficulty,” and resisting “saint” narratives.
  • Rebecca: “This is exactly what I want literary criticism to be. If more literary criticism were like this book, people would be less afraid of it.” ([54:30])
  • Jeff: “Liberating that the specificity of these great authors... we retain their idiosyncrasy and humanity.” ([56:11])

• So Old, So Young by Grant Ginder

  • A multi-decade, millennial twist on The Big Chill: friends, messiness, funerals, life snapshots.
  • Rebecca: “It really did deliver on Big Chill but for the millennial generation... set the bar high.” ([58:58])

• Heart to Lover by Lily King

  • A campus-to-adult-life story spanning years, centered on friendship, love, and growth.
  • Jeff: “It went down like a hot steaming cup of chamomile tea... true and tender... the kind of story about relationship and love I’m interested in reading.” ([61:22])

• Liturgies of the Wild by Martin Shaw (audiobook)

  • Mythologist’s incantatory blend of ritual, myth, religion & nature.
  • Jeff: “I am not sure I believed a minute of it... But I found existing in this mode did something to me.” ([65:51])

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:00–01:13 — Pre-Show Ads & Banter
• 01:13 — Show proper starts
• 08:00–19:15 — "Books and Screens" & Digital Distraction Discussion
• 21:10–26:13 — ACOTAR Major Announcement
• 29:19–33:36 — Book Sales Trends & “Analog Living”
• 34:52–38:34 — Audible vs. Spotify Audiobook War
• 41:54–47:55 — Audie Awards & Narrator Economics
• 48:33–52:51 — Book Bans, Diversity, Black-Owned Bookstores
• 53:27–67:37 — Reading Recommendations (Frontlist Foyer)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On phone habits and culture:

  “Make it gauche to be sitting with other people in public and both be looking at your phones... Be the change you want to see in the world.”
  —Jeff O’Neill ([16:58])

• On the ACOTAR reveal:

  “Announced at the end of a two-hour long Call Her Daddy podcast... put it in the Louvre for media history.”
  —Jeff O’Neill ([21:17])

• On industry trends:

  “Cozy and dark is not two different veins of consumption... all of it operates in escapism.”
  —Rebecca Schinsky ([30:00])

• On audiobook pricing war:

  “Audible is having to respond. That market pressure is real and it’s good for consumers...”
  —Rebecca Schinsky ([35:46])

• On Morrison/criticism:

  “This is exactly what I want literary criticism to be.”
  —Rebecca Schinsky ([54:30])

Tone & Language

Jeff and Rebecca mix sharp industry analysis with playful self-deprecation, wide-ranging curiosity, cultural commentary, and passionate advocacy for readers and bookstores. The conversation is brisk, sometimes irreverent, always deeply engaged with the material.

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