The global audiobook market is expected to exceed $35 million by 2023, with audiobooks projected to contribute over 21.3% of global book publishing revenue. The MENA region has a forecasted growth rate of 31.9% between 2022 and 2030.”

The Professional Training Programme for Arab and African Publishers, a collaboration between the Sharjah Book Authority and New York University, got the Sharjah International Book Fair professional days session underway this weekend.

This excerpted summary from Sharjah24:

“The primary objective of the programme is to enhance the skills and expertise of Arab and African publishers by imparting global best practices in the publishing industry, as well as modern technologies for book marketing.”

“The Power of Podcasts and Storytelling for Publishing Profit” was the first session, ran by Brendan Francis Newnam, who noted that 120 million people listen to at least one podcast each month. 

“In the MENA region, podcasts are gaining a growing audience, and these are not once-off listeners, these are over 10 million dedicated listeners who tune in for extended periods, averaging five to seven hours of podcast consumption each week.”

Per Newnam, “the global audiobook market is expected to exceed $35 million by 2023, with audiobooks projected to contribute over 21.3% of global book publishing revenue. The MENA region is poised to be a driving force in this growth, with a forecasted growth rate of 31.9% between 2022 and 2030.”

David Walter, Executive Director at Circana Books, led the second session, “Data-Driven Success Strategy for Publishers.”

“Data offers publishers precise insights into the readers’ interests and preferences. When data indicates that the number of elderly people increased in a specific community, for example, it encourages publishers to boost publications that meet the needs of this age group. Besides, data contributes to identifying what readers are looking for and the type of content they prefer, offering a key to success in the publishing industry.”

At least so far as this reportage goes, Walter kept the discussion format-agnostic, but it might have been helpful for these publishers to realise that digital and especially subscription models offer far richer streams of data than print can hope to match.

Read the full Sharjah24 report.