Proof of Love playwright and Newark native Chisa Hutchinson sits on a couch at her play's rehearsal.

Amplify Voices

The Power of Voice

At Audible, we take seriously our responsibility to amplify the stories and lived experiences of marginalized and underrepresented voices.

From incarcerated individuals rebuilding their lives to women activists fighting for justice, to immigrants and refugees rewriting history, and Indigenous, Black, Latinx and LGBTQIA+ creators speaking their truth, we curate editorial experiences that raise awareness of these important stories, and we support and promote new and emerging artists worldwide.

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There’s nothing I love more than amplifying new and exciting voices. I’m so grateful to Audible for giving us the space to do that.

”Lena WaitheEmmy Award-winning writer, creator, and actor and member of Audible’s Emerging Voices Advisory Board

The cover art for John Leguizamo's "Ghetto Klown" audiobook, features a black and white drawing of Leguizamo's head and shoulders against a red background with a grey line drawing of a New York City block.

The cover art for Kwame Dawes' poetry collection, "Nebraska," includes a round grey disc with grooves in it that is covered by what appears to be white twine or cobwebs.

This photo collage includes cover art for five audiobooks, including Tayari Jones' "American Marriage". The title and author's name appear in black letters against a light blue background with a gold tree etched on it. The "Oprah's Book Club 2018 selection" sticker also appears on it.

The cover art for "Don't Tell My Mother," with Nikki Levy, shows Levy with three yellow and grey phone receivers in her hands and a faux shocked look on her face--eyes wide, mouth agape. It has the feel of a stylized graphic poster, with Levy faded out in a light blue against a blue starburst pattern, and yellow layered behind that.

The cover art for Diana Nyad's "Find a Way," shows an open sea with a blue sky above it and Diana Nyad in a swimsuit, swim cap and goggles facing the sea with her arms raised triumphantly. The title and author's name appear in white letters against the blue sky.

Hear My Story

Stories transform people’s hearts and minds. Audible is dedicated to ensuring diverse voices are heard and experienced around the globe. This commitment is reflected in our People Principles: “We respect and celebrate the glories of the human spectrum. We embrace and work to protect inherent civil rights based on people’s gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, ethnicity, religious beliefs, birthplace, socioeconomic station, disabilities, and age.”

Hear My Story, one of our international initiatives, grew out of these ideals. It embraces inclusivity and elevates titles from a wide range of creators who explore what it means to belong. Our editorial collections cover topics from Latinx and transgender experiences to neurodiversity, mental health and body positivity.

This includes our Australian storefront, which features a collection of its top audiobooks by First Nations authors and has added a permanent Acknowledgment of Country to emphasize our commitment to reconciliation. Also Audible UK’s TwentyIn2020 series, which includes twenty standalone works by Black British writers during the year 2020, is part of its ongoing Black History Month collection, and Audible UK has raised up anti-racism titles and LGBTQIA+ stories as well.

Elevating Stories

A laptop sits open on a wood table, a person's hand on the keyboard. On the screen, which is the main focus of the photo, is Audible's website open to the Hear My Story page. A banner runs across with the top with a mosiac type image against a black background. Another banner shows the headline "Queer Stories by Queer Voices," and has a drawing of hands in a slew of colors (purple, blue, yellow, red) raised. Below that is a banner with a photo of white sand, and light blue sea and sky, with a bright pink and yellow house with the words "Celebrating Caribbean Voices" written across it.

Explore our inclusive Hear My Story collections.

The Indigenous Writers’ Circle amplifies the voices of Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Jessie Conrad, left, a member of Yellowknives Dene First Nation, and Shelley Willier, right, a member of the Sucker Creek First Nation.

Jessie Conrad and Shelley Willier are two talented female authors who were selected for the second cohort of Audible’s Indigenous Writers’ Circle.

This photo collage includes the cover art for five Audible Originals. This one, for JP Brammer's Authentically Mexican, has the title in white letters against a red background, including the subtitle in smaller letters, "A family history in six dishes." Drawings of hot sauce bottles, bags of takeout food, drink cups with straws, hot peppers and other items surround the title.

The cover art for Ishmael Reed's "Mumbo Jumbo" has bold block letters for the title and writer against a collage of colors. In between the two is a swath of orange. The words "National Book Award Finalist" appear in white against a purple stripe of color too.

This collage of several images includes the cover art for Charlie Josephine's Audible Original "Massive". In it, the title appears to be spray painted in large yellow letters across the pavement with someone's feet clad in flower Doc Marten boots standing on the curb right under the letters.

Sophia Chang stands in a power pose--legs spread slightly, hands on hips--and gazes directly into the camera. She is wearing a black leather dress, a white trench coat and gold jewelry. The background is read. The words "Audible Original" appear across the top in black and white. The title, "The Baddest Bitch in the Room" appear in white vertically.

An illustration of two women standing side-by-side, one white and one Black, against a dark grey background grace the cover art for the Italian Audible Original "Equalitalk".

Diversity Drives Originality

We spotlight stories from, for and focused on underrepresented voices and celebrate the breadth of lived experiences from emerging stars and top talent. Our original content also shines a light on societal and racial issues around the world, including racism in Italy and the struggles women face in the workplace in Japan.

We’re also focused on diversifying our audio narration and production talent pipeline. In the UK, we run workshops and training programs to find and teach new audiobook and drama directors, editors and sound designers, and we are the founding sponsor of the Content is Queen Podcast Studios, an organization that is making podcasting, audio storytelling and editing software more accessible for women, people of color and the LGBTQIA+ community.

Audible also works with schools, community programs and acting studios around the world to provide workshops and training programs for underrepresented youth in writing, narration, audio production and more.

Cultivating Emerging Voices

We’ve created a variety of methods to find, cultivate, produce and promote new, emerging and underrepresented voices, from our Podcast Development Program and Emerging Playwrights Fund to our Audible Accelerator Singapore and Indigenous Writers’ Circle.

To help us elevate underrepresented voices across the globe, we put together Audible’s Emerging Voices Advisory Board. The board consists of a cross-generational array of esteemed artists, podcasters, producers and writers, including Grammy-Award winning record producer, musician, and songwriter T Bone Burnett and best-selling author, “Revisionist History” host, and Pushkin Industries co-founder Malcolm Gladwell. The board helps attract, seed, develop, and advise on projects and talent, and works with Audible experts to define and further the creative vision of Audible storytellers.

Supporting Emerging Voices

Jaymie Campbell, an Anishinaabe from Curve Lake First Nation in Ontario, sits casually towards the camera with a lake and mountains behind her.

Meet Jaymie Campbell, an Anishinaabe from Curve Lake First Nation in Ontario and an alumnus of the Audible Indigenous Writers' Circle, who says her program mentor, author Tanya Talaga, encouraged her “to write as an Indigenous writer and not try to change it.”

Justin Buffalo, left, Clayton Thomas-Müller, right.

Read about Justin Buffalo, an author in the Indigenous Writers’ Circle. His personal experiences working at a casino, in oil field camps, and as an addictions counselor provide a unique perspective to his stories.

Odette Auger grins towards the camera, in front of a tree.

The Vancouver Sun profiles Odette Auger, a Canadian writer and journalist who is writing her first novel with the mentorship of the Indigenous Writer’s Circle.

January Rogers smiles while touching her chin.

January Rogers, a mentor with the Indigenous Writer’s Circle, describes what inspires her about mentoring emerging indigenous writers.

Monumental Storytelling

Audible leverages our expertise, technology, and deep roots in our communities to elevate underrepresented voices and powerful storytelling.

In March 2023, the City of Newark and Audible unveiled Newark’s new monument honoring Harriet Tubman and celebrating the city’s role in the Black liberation movement. Titled Shadow of a Face and designed by artist and architect Nina Cooke John, the monument forms the focal point of Harriet Tubman Square, directly outside Audible’s headquarters.

Audible curated and produced an interactive audio experience at the monument, featuring seminal stories of Harriet Tubman’s life intertwined with narratives about the Underground Railroad and the history of free Black communities in New Jersey. Audible’s first-ever permanent, site-based installation, the audio experience gives voice to the monument, amplifying Tubman’s story of liberation and celebrating an inclusive historical narrative. Monumental: Harriet Tubman and Newark’s Liberation Movement is also available for free to listeners around the world.

The project reflects our passion for excellent, immersive audio, our drive to amplify historically marginalized stories, and our commitment to the communities and cities we call home.

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