How one nonprofit is pushing the envelope
By Katelin Stecz
During the pandemic, the audiobook industry exploded. With people forced to stay at home, the earbuds went in. According to the Audio Publishers Association, its 28 member companies saw a revenue increase of 12 percent in 2020 and an additional 25 percent in 2021, topping out at $1.6 billion that year. Large companies have also bought in, with Amazon, Apple, and Google developing their own digital book platforms; annual double-digit growth is expected for the next decade.
Now comes Miami-based Audiobook World Awards Academy (AWAA). Founded in 2021, AWAA is a nonprofit organization that promotes audiobooks as an educational tool, looking to increase their availability in disabled and disadvantaged communities worldwide. Co-founder and president Marzia Lavinia Di Pietro gives the example of a nursing home. Many elderly don’t have easy access to physical books or have conditions that limit their ability to read. Audiobooks provide them with a way to enjoy literature. “These individuals can just lay down in bed and let the story flow through their mind,” Di Pietro says.
AWAA is taking their mission overseas to provide educational tools to disadvantaged communities. Currently, they’re partnering with Lions Club International, an organization that builds schools in Africa, by providing students with access to audiobooks. “Paper books are susceptible to a lot of damage,” says AWAA co-founder and CEO Massimiliano Biasiol. “But even in Africa, it’s pretty easy to find a Wi-Fi center to download audiobooks. So, essentially, we can create a paperless school for these kids who live in remote villages.”
AWAA opened a European branch in Monaco last March and plans to extend its influence with a YouTube channel, podcast, and TV channel on CIBORTV. “If we can increase access to information through audio, then we’re putting together an effort for a brighter future,” says Biasiol.
