As audiobooks increase in popularity and podcasts attract more listeners—more than half of US adults have listened to a podcast in the past year, and a third of US adults say they have gotten news from podcasts at least sometimes, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center in September 2025—the publishing world seems to be tuning into the trend.
A growing number of well-known industry leaders and organizations host podcasts to discuss publishing news, strategies, and topics important to indie authors. Some invite prolific authors or publishing experts regularly as guest speakers. Others are hosted by those authors and experts themselves, giving listeners a chance to hear their lessons in their words—truly.
Pro Tip: The Indie Author Magazine Podcast offers brief summaries of important publishing topics and the latest articles from IAM in a bite-size format. You can listen to the latest episodes or scroll through the archives at https://indieauthormagazine.com/podcast, or subscribe on any major podcast channel.
Whether you’re looking for publishing advice, lessons from thought leaders, or industry news, listeners can find several author podcasts worth a listen, including IAM’s. Read on for eight top publishing podcasts from other author organizations, creators, or spokespeople to add to your playlist as well.
The Creative Penn
Listen at: https://www.thecreativepenn.com/the-creative-penn-podcast-for-authors
With nearly nine hundred episodes as of publication and more than 10 million downloads as of April 11, 2026, it’s understandable why Joanna Penn’s podcast for author-entrepreneurs is one of the most well-known in the independent publishing world. New episodes of The Creative Penn drop every Monday, offering advice, information, and inspiration for independent authors at every stage of their publishing careers. Penn frequently invites guests to the podcast to share lessons from their businesses and openly shares her own publishing strategies as well. Penn also makes a point of incorporating industry-adjacent news into her discussions—what updates may be coming to Spotify Music, for example—to highlight changes that may affect indie authors down the road.
Helping Writers Become Authors
Listen at: https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/podcast-episodes-archive
For authors looking for lessons on craft and some extra writing inspiration, K.M. Weiland, author of several writing guides and an award-winning craft blog, hosts Helping Writers Become Authors. The podcast echoes many of the lessons on Weiland’s blog and in her books in its weekly thirty-minute episodes. Installments focus on writing technique and story structure while also often touching on how authors can find motivation and inspiration when working through their drafts.
Self Publishing Insiders
Listen at: https://draft2digital.com/blog/category/self-publishing-insiders-podcast
Although Draft2Digital leaders host Self Publishing Insiders, the company’s podcast is useful for more than just those who use the platform. In the weekly hour-long episodes, Mark Leslie Lefebvre, Jim Azevedo, and Lexi Greene interview industry leaders on craft, production topics, marketing, and general business strategies. Many episodes center on insights and advice shared via D2D Spotlight, a series of live-streamed interviews on Facebook and YouTube. Additionally, some episodes highlight updates to Draft2Digital or explore industry changes that may affect the platform’s users.
The Self Publishing Show
Listen at: https://www.learnselfpublishing.com/podcast-sps-audio
The Learn Self Publishing courses and the annual Self Publishing Show Live have offered plenty of lessons for authors for the past two years; as of the start of this year, The Self Publishing Show is bringing those lessons directly to authors once again. After an eighteen-month hiatus, James Blatch relaunched the podcast in February and introduced his new co-host, Cecilia “Cissy” Mecca. The two publish new episodes weekly—running forty-five minutes to an hour long, installments include discussions about popular publishing strategies, such as what to include in your front matter and back matter; interviews with guest authors; and conversations about popular topics in the industry, including marketing strategies and the use of AI.
Self-Publishing with ALLi
Listen at: https://selfpublishingadvice.org/podcast
The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) hosts The Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, an industry-focused podcast that publishes multiple times a week. Sunday’s episodes feature inspirational interviews with guest speakers, discussions about creative strategy and goal setting with ALLi founder and director Orna Ross, or a member Q&A that spotlights ALLi’s services for authors. Wednesday’s episodes feature deep dives into publishing strategies on a list of rotating topics: editing and design, production and distribution, marketing and promotion, and publishing for profit. Friday’s episodes, hosted by Dan Holloway, include a brief overview of publishing news and updates from the previous week. The variety of hosts and their backgrounds—many are from countries outside the US, including Ross—gives authors an even broader look at the industry.
The Self Publishing with Dale Podcast
Listen at: https://selfpublishingwithdale.com/index.php/podcast
Dale L. Roberts has been a full-time independent author since 2014, according to his website. Now, he shares what he’s learned on his podcast, The Self Publishing with Dale Podcast, and on his YouTube channel of the same name. Through both outlets, Roberts covers news and popular topics within the industry, including platform changes to Amazon and publishing headlines such as the Anthropic settlement. Episodes are only fifteen to twenty minutes long, and new episodes air weekly.
Sell More Books Show
Listen at: https://www.sellmorebooksshow.com
Hosts of the Sell More Books Show podcast, Bryan Cohen and H. Claire Taylor, keep the spotlight of their show on book marketing. New episodes air every week, each one covering a topic related to boosting your sales and strengthening your readership. Covering topics such as direct sales for audiobooks, reader magnets, and avoiding book marketing burnout, Cohen and Taylor approach each topic with both new and experienced authors in mind and frequently feature guest speakers from across the industry.
Writers, Ink
Listen at: https://writersinkpodcast.com/episodes
J. D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Kevin Tumlinson, and Jena Brown host Writers, Ink, a weekly conversational podcast with a collection of prolific authors from both traditional publishing and indie publishing circles. Episodes begin with discussions about entertainment headlines and publishing news from the industry, including occasional behind-the-scenes updates on topics important to authors, such as updates to platforms like Draft2Digital or Scrivener. The hosts then shift to discussions with guest authors, such as V. E. Schwab, Johnny B. Truant, James Patterson, and A.G. Riddle, about their journey to publishing, their writing process, and more. Episodes are an hour long, and new episodes are published weekly.
