A Love for Storytelling through Audiobooks: Accessible and Engaging 

28 May 2026

I am a Programmes Officer across multiple strands of the Primary Arts Programme – an entirely free offer which aims to increase creative opportunities for schools, teachers and students throughout London. I work closely on the Masterclass strand with the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE). These high quality CPD sessions give teachers the space and skills to grow their creative knowledge, discovering different ways of teaching literacy. After attending Jan Blakes’ mesmerising Masterclass, Transforming Literacy through Storytelling, I was moved by the immersive experience she created – using call and response, percussion, singing, varying her voice to suit the moment. I was reminded how much I enjoyed hearing stories as a child, but I also noticed how that has translated into my adult life, where I attend live storytelling events and listen to audiobooks daily.

I also work as an audio-describer, so I not only see the enjoyment value in audiobooks but also the fact that they are an accessible format, supporting blind and partially sighted people to enjoy storytelling and literature, alongside their sighted peers. Go All In for The National Year of Reading 2026 is a campaign which aims to encourage people to grow their love of reading in whatever way sparks their curiosity – based on their interests, hobbies, communities, or preferred formats – there is no wrong way to read. For me audiobooks are an invaluable tool to make books accessible and engaging, fostering a lifelong love of storytelling.

Storytelling in Childhood

As a child I loved bedtime stories, my mum or dad coming in to read something to my sister and I. Some stories were read as they were, others embellished, acted out, or re-written – always interrupted by excessive questions from my sister and I. It was a great way to connect, I enjoyed hearing my parents be a little silly and use their imagination. Reading stories with children does quite a bit of heavy lifting – it’s a moment to wind down, spend quality time together, while developing vocabulary, listening and oracy skills. The immersive nature of storytelling made it all feel effortless and enjoyable.

For me bedtime stories didn’t instantly translate into an innate love of reading – in school I was a ‘reluctant reader’. I struggled to read quickly, often getting frustrated with being slow and getting bored. However, this awkward relationship with literacy didn’t dull my love of storytelling. Audiobooks were key in keeping me engaged. A great memory I have is listening to audiobooks in the car with my family – the whole car silent listening in suspense to Bram Stoker’s Dracula on a long drive, having in-depth debriefs afterwards then eager to get going again just to find out what happens next! It was the shared listening experience; the captivating quality of the readers voice and eerie sound effects all helped me immerse fully in the story. Also, it helped me advance my reading level, listening to words and themes perhaps my reading level wasn’t quite at – piquing my interest and growing my literacy confidence. In many ways this led me to become an audio-describer. Once I overcame my fear of public speaking, I loved the challenge of capturing the subjective experience of visual imagery into words, making descriptions that were accessible, accurate and engaging.

History of Audiobooks

Audiobooks were first used to make written media accessible for people who are blind or partially sighted. In 1932 The American Foundation for the Blind established a recording studio specifically to record books onto vinyl records. This offered another reading alternative to learning braille, which people who lose their sight later in life can find difficult to learn. At first, audiobooks were not widely available – shared between people in the blind community before incrementally becoming a core part of the US National Library Service. Even today, UK libraries stock an extensive collection of free audiobooks which can be accessed through the Libby app. Audiobooks have proved an invaluable resource to blind and partially sighted people, enabling them to more easily learn, stay informed, and enjoy books alongside their sighted peers.

Curb-Cut Effect

Audiobooks are a perfect example of how accessible tools for one group of people can benefit the wider population, this is known as the curb-cut effect. Coined in relation to curb cut slopes on paths, aiding wheelchair users to easily mount paths has also increased access for people using buggies, scooters, or walking aids. The underpinning ideas is that what increases access for one group of people can also support many more!

As technology advanced audiobooks became more prevalent and popular as listening to books had hidden benefits for many people - including neurodivergent people or those who find reading challenging, to people who are learning a new language. Often people also describe listening to a book as calming, a way to relax, or simply more engaging. Many people enjoy when a book is narrated by a well-known actor or even the author themselves. This extra dimension is one of the reasons audiobooks have become increasingly popular– particularly since the introduction of digital devices and streaming services such as Audible and Spotify. Practically speaking many people find audiobooks more convenient to listen to a story on the go or make dull tasks more interesting. This increased popularity has improved availability of audiobooks, coming full circle and better accommodating blind and partially sighted people.

Although for sighted readers there are other benefits to reading unaided, but audiobooks can be used as tool to foster a love of reading for pleasure. For children, listening to audiobooks can help them develop their vocabulary, listening and speaking skills, sparking their curiosity. This is particularly useful in relieving some of the pressure ‘reluctant readers’, like me felt when starting out. The Go All In National Year of Reading campaign is centred on demonstrating that there is no right way to engage in reading as long as you find a way that is accessible and enjoyable. For me audiobooks nourished my love for great storytelling, whether it is written or spoken.

References

Audiobooks and the accessibility revolution | The Curb Cut Effect

Audiobooks and literacy, National Literacy Trust

Go All In, The National Year of Reading, 2026

Libby, The Library Reading App