NetGalley has announced a new audiobooks arm along with a new app, NetGalley Shelf, making audiobooks available on the service for the first time and bringing the platform to its users' smartphones. Both services are now available in the U.S. and U.K.
While NetGalley has provided a space for publishers to distribute review copies for more than a decade, audiobook publishers had, until this point, been left out. That will change at a time during which digital audiobook consumption continues to grow year after year. Audiobooks by a number of publishers, including Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, Andrews McMeel, and Lerner Publishing, have already been made available.
"We’re thrilled to broaden the service to support audiobook publishers," Kristina Radke, v-p of business growth and engagement at NetGalley, said in a statement. "We believe early feedback about new books (no matter the format) is good for all books, and we’re honored to be the place where over 550k reviewers, booksellers, librarians, educators and media discover and review.”
In addition, NetGalley Shelf, a free app for NetGalley members and the first made available by the service, will allow users to both read digital review copies and listen to audiobooks available on the platform. It is available for download from both the Apple and Google Play stores.
“NetGalley members and publishers who utilize the service (and our own team) have long been asking for an app,” NetGalley CEO Fran Toolan said in a statement. “The NetGalley Shelf app, combined with the existing web platform, now provides our members with the entire value chain from the discovery of new works through the reading and listening experience.”
