NetGalley Community Spotlight: Audiobooks

In our 2026 Community Update, we shared that over 304,000 NetGalley members are interested in audiobooks. Plus, those members are submitting over 20,000 reviews on average each month! We love a deep-dive, so here’s even more information about these audiobook lovers.

📈 Audiobook Engagement at a Glance (Updated for 2026)

Recent site data and survey results highlight the continued surge in audiobook interest. Over the past year (Feb 1, 2025 – Jan 31, 2026), we’ve seen:

Member Interest: Over 304,000 NetGalley members (a 25% increase over last year) have expressed interest in the audio format as of January 2026.
Monthly Feedback: Approved members submitted approximately 20,430 reviews and feedback for audiobooks on average each month, growth of about 45%.
Feedback Rate: There is a whopping 57% average monthly feedback rate for audiobooks.
UK Growth: In the UK specifically, there are over 32,000 members interested in audio, with a 68% feedback rate for the format.

*Average monthly numbers from February 2025 – January 2026 on NetGalley.com*

💡 New Insights from the 2026 Community Update

The 2026 survey revealed deeper trends among our “Avid Listeners”. Nearly 12,000 respondents told us:

Daily Habits: Among members who listen to audiobooks, 45% listen daily, and 75% listen at least weekly.
Discovery Platforms: NetGalley (56%) is the top source for members to hear about new audiobooks, followed by Libby (55%), Goodreads (51%), and Instagram (50%).
Narrator Influence: Narrators remain a powerful draw—62% of listeners have selected an audiobook solely because of the narrator.
Multitasking Appeal: Among NetGalley members, the primary reason for choosing audio is the ability to multitask (80%), followed by the ability to listen while traveling (73%).
Opportunity for Discoverability: Members told us that they wish there were more audiobooks to choose from. They’re hoping audiobook publishers will add even more titles, particularly in niche genres!
AI Transparency: This year, NetGalley’s audiobook listeners have expressed a fierce demand for transparency regarding AI. 77% of members say it is “Extremely Important” to know if content (covers, voices, or text) is AI-generated.

Members told us that they wish there were more audiobooks to choose from. They’re hoping audiobook publishers will add even more titles, particularly in niche genres!

📣 Expanded Promotional Opportunities

Audiobook reach has expanded in 2026 to help your titles stand out:

Audiobook Newsletter: Our audio-dedicated newsletters now reach over 176,000 listeners (as of March 2026). Space is limited in the upcoming Audiobook Month newsletter (June 8), so secure your spot now to tap into this powerful community!
Participate in any Promotion: Audiobooks aren’t limited to format-specific promotions! You can submit your audiobooks to any NetGalley promotion, including category- or member type-based newsletters, on-site features, banner ads, and more!
Booktrovert: Since its successful launch, Booktrovert.com now has nearly 57,000 registered users. Audiobook publishers can run pre-order or buy now retail ad campaigns. It’s a great place to offer special pricing deals, or bundles.

🎧 APAC – March 30, 2026

Don’t miss the Audio Publishers Association Conference (APAC) on June 30, 2026! We’re thrilled to help present the session: Models and Methods—Adapting to Trends and Change in Audiobook Marketing

Every audiobook is created differently, and so is every marketing campaign. This session will include a deep dive into 3 case studies in audiobook marketing including a big 5 publisher, an audiobook-specific publisher, and a hybrid publisher focusing on micro marketing campaigns.

2026 NetGalley.com Community Update

Unless otherwise noted, all information is based on the Annual NetGalley.com Member Survey, conducted January 2026.

Every year, we ask NetGalley members to share insights about how they read, discover, and engage with books — and the response from our community keeps growing. In the most recent annual survey, more than 11,000 dedicated reviewers, booksellers, librarians, educators, media/journalists, and book trade professionals told us about their reading habits and preferences. We’re excited to bring you this latest snapshot of activity and trends across the community, and encourage you to explore the full report for deeper breakdowns and practical tips on connecting with different segments of the NetGalley community.

VIEW THE FULL REPORT | UK Report here

When we say NetGalley’s 700,000+ active members are highly engaged, we really mean it. In January 2026 alone, NetGalley.com logged a record-breaking 13.3 million pageviews — a 19% increase over January 2025 — and key engagement metrics from Requests to Feedback submitted continue to grow by the thousands (or even hundreds of thousands!).

Activity on NetGalley functions as a funnel — and understanding that funnel can help publishers make smarter promotional decisions. At the top are Impressions: the more visibility a title receives across the site and in promotions, the more likely members are to click through and submit a Request. Increased exposure directly fuels downstream activity.

Once Requests begin coming in, the next step is in the publisher’s hands. Strategic Approvals determine how many members move from indicating interest to active reading. A higher approval volume typically results in more overall Feedback — but thoughtful targeting (approving the right readers for your goals) can improve both the quantity and the quality of responses.

Finally, a percentage of approved readers will submit Feedback. While conversion rates vary by genre, format, and promotional timeline, on average we see a 38% Average Monthly Feedback Rate for DRCs, and a whopping 57% Average Monthly Feedback Rate for Audiobooks.

On average we see a 38% Avg Monthly Feedback Rate for DRCs, and a whopping 57% Avg Monthly Feedback Rate for Audiobooks

Speaking of Audiobooks, over 304,000 NetGalley members are interested in audiobooks, a 25% increase over last year!

Behind the scenes, NetGalley’s Community Growth & Engagement team is continually developing tools and programming designed to help books succeed — at every level. Whether it’s a debut from a small independent press or a lead title from a Big Five publisher, our goal is the same: empower members to become informed, enthusiastic book advocates.

Free resources like the NetGalley Reading Journal and the Book Advocate Toolkit are intentionally designed to drive meaningful engagement. They help members track their reading, craft stronger, more thoughtful Feedback, and confidently share titles with their audiences. Additional tools, including Book Club Kits, give members ready-made ways to amplify the books they love.

VIEW THE FULL REPORT | UK Report here

2025 NetGalley.com Community Update

Update: 680,000 active members, as of October 2025.

Unless otherwise noted, all information is based on the Annual NetGalley.com Member Survey, conducted January 2025.

Each year we ask NetGalley members to tell us more about their reading habits and preferences, and this year more than 11,000 highly-engaged reviewers, booksellers, librarians, educators, media/journalists, and book trade professionals answered the call. We are thrilled to share the latest update with you, and invite you to view the full report, which includes tips for engaging with specific segments of the community.

VIEW THE FULL REPORT | UK Report here

When we say NetGalley’s 605,000 active members are highly engaged, we mean it! NetGalley.com saw a record-breaking 11 Million pageviews in January 2025 alone, representing a 4% increase YOY, and all stats from Requests to Feedback submitted have grown by the thousands.

Activity on NetGalley is a funnel, which means that the more Impressions a book has, the more overall activity it will receive. Once members submit Requests, it’s up to the publisher to Approve requests so they can start to read. Depending on how many requests the publisher approves, a portion of them will result in Feedback.

Audiobooks continue to have an extremely strong Feedback Rate! 59% of members approved to listen also submit Feedback via NetGalley.

Click through on the images above to see more detail about the most popular Fiction and Nonfiction Categories that NetGalley members browse!

NetGalley’s Community Growth & Engagement team is always hard at work encouraging NetGalley members of all types to become even stronger advocates for publishers’ books. Free resources like NetGalley’ Reading Journal and the Book Advocate Toolkit give members the tools they need to track their reading, submit valuable Feedback, and spread the word about the books they’re reading. Browse all of the resources, including Book Club Kits, on NetGalley.

THERE’S MORE —
VIEW THE FULL REPORT | UK Report here

Unless otherwise noted, all information is based on the Annual NetGalley.com Member Survey, conducted January 2025.

NetGalley Community Update – May 2024

NetGalley.com Growth! 600,000 Active Members + Exciting New Stats!

NetGalley is proud to host our highly-engaged community of reviewers, booksellers, librarians, educators, media/journalists, and book trade professionals and to facilitate the relationship between this community and the publishers who want to reach them. It’s been two years since we introduced a re-engagement campaign with our members to give publishers better visibility into each member’s primary audience, and to provide more meaningful ways for you to find the right audience for your books. As part of that re-engagement campaign, we also began removing inactive accounts. This is both a security upgrade, as well as an assurance that the information we provide you about the size of our community is transparent. We are thrilled that, even with the cleanup of inactive accounts, the NetGalley Community has grown by close to 10% since last summer!

VIEW THE FULL REPORT

We are pleased to share this update about the NetGalley Community, and invite you to view the full report, which includes tips for engaging with specific segments of the community.

Activity on NetGalley is a funnel, which means that the more Impressions a book has, the more overall activity it will receive. Once members submit requests, it’s up to the publisher to approve requests so they can start to read. Depending on how many requests the publisher approves, a portion of them will result in Feedback. For Digital Review Copies (DRCs) we see a 36% Feedback Rate, while Audiobooks see an exceptional Feedback Rate of 58%!

NetGalley.com as a whole continues to see record-breaking activity. In Q1 2024, members submitted almost 400,000 reviews & feedback for books and audiobooks, representing 11% growth from 2023. Audiobook feedback saw a 43% increase!

*There’s more! Click to view the FULL REPORT*

NetGalley.com continues to see record-breaking activity. In Q1 2024, members submitted almost 400,000 reviews & feedback for books and audiobooks, representing 11% growth from 2023. Audiobook feedback saw a 43% increase!

NetGalley members read a wide variety of books, and can browse and sort the NetGalley catalog based on category, pub date, most-requested status, and more to find exactly what they’re looking for. Category or genre popularity on NetGalley closely mirrors the market as a whole. The charts below show the most popular fiction and nonfiction categories among members using NetGalley. Data includes NetGalley.com members who have indicated their interest in Categories as of April 2024.

Our members love to be notified about books that match their interests! 86% respondents to our Annual Member Survey indicated that NetGalley Promotions influence whether they Request or download a book or audiobook. Our popular promotions continue to deliver outstanding results while remaining at a competitive price. Learn more in our 2024 Media Kit. It includes more examples, stats, and pricing!

Just as we feel privileged to work with publishers, authors, and your books, it’s also our sincere pleasure to work with our reader members! They are passionate book advocates who are excited to participate in each book’s success. As our community continues to grow and evolve, we’re committed to continuing to support them in this endeavor—while also guiding them to provide valuable reviews and feedback, all with the goal to help other readers learn about a book, and decide whether they want to read it. With this in mind, we continually provide tips and best practices like the following, which you’re welcome to share with your readers, too!

There’s more! Click to view the FULL REPORT

All stats are for NetGalley.com and are from April 2024 unless otherwise noted.

*NetGalley.com members with activity since January 1, 2021