Every book deserves to be heard.

With Apple Books digital narration, now yours can be.

Empowering indie authors and small publishers

More and more book lovers are listening to audiobooks, yet only a fraction of books are converted to audio — leaving millions of titles unheard. Many authors — especially independent authors and those associated with small publishers — aren’t able to create audiobooks due to the cost and complexity of production. Apple Books digital narration makes the creation of audiobooks more accessible to all, helping you meet the growing demand by making more books available for listeners to enjoy.

Digital narration technology

Apple Books digital narration brings together advanced speech synthesis technology with important work by teams of linguists, quality control specialists, and audio engineers to produce high-quality audiobooks from an ebook file. Apple has long been on the forefront of innovative speech technology, and has now adapted it for long-form reading, working alongside publishers, authors, and narrators. For information on how you can take advantage of this new technology, see how to get started.

Digitally narrated titles are a valuable complement to professionally narrated audiobooks, and will help bring audio to as many books and as many people as possible. Apple Books remains committed to celebrating and showcasing the magic of human narration and will continue to grow the human-narrated audiobook catalog.

Voices

Our digital voices are created and optimized for specific genres. We’re starting with fiction and romance, and are accepting ebook submissions in these genres. Hear samples of voices available for these genres below, or check out the full books in our audiobooks store.

Find the full book here.

Our nonfiction and self-development narration program is kicking off and will be available more widely in the future. You can work with our preferred partners to get updates on the timing of when these genres and others will be available for use in digital narration. Hear samples of our nonfiction and self-development voices below, or check out the full books in our audiobooks store.

Find the full book here.

Production and distribution details

Easy to produce and deliver via preferred partners
Wholesale price limits will apply
Distribution solely via Apple Books and to public/academic libraries
Publisher/author retains audiobook rights, and there are no restrictions on producing and distributing other versions of the audiobook

What authors and publishers are saying

“I’m really excited about Apple Books digital narration. It’s an affordable and high-quality option for me. And as a listener, it’s easy to get lost in the story and forget that the book is digitally narrated. I’m surprised at how far the technology has come in such a short time and eager to see where it will go from here.”

Stacy Claflin,
USA Today bestselling author

“Apple Books digital narration increases audiobook accessibility for everyone. Independent publishers now have an affordable means to convert backlist and boutique titles to audio that otherwise could not have supported full-scale production, while still offering a high-quality listening experience.”

Kelly Peterson,
Independent Publishers Group director of digital strategy

Interested in Apple Books digital narration?

Learn how to get started