Audible says its Harry Potter launch will usher in a new era in audiobooks and has backed its adaptations to surpass the whopping 1.8 billion hours of listening notched by previous audio versions of J.K. Rowling’s much-loved books.
The company launched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first of the seven Harry Potter audiobooks that are coming, today (Nov. 4). Subsequent instalments in the series will launch at a rate of roughly one per month (full release details below). The existing Jim Dale and Stephen Fry-narrated audiobooks are held in high regard and Audible has underlined its new version is intended to add to the canon, not replace it. Harry Potter: The Full Cast Audio Editions marry tech, talent and IP and have a full cast rather than a single narrator. Factor in cutting-edge spatial audio and it is a new kind of Harry Potter experience.
Audible brought the wizarding world to London for a glitzy launch event and Bob Carrigan, CEO of the Amazon company, told the crowd that the rollout of the new titles will reshape the whole sector. “It has huge implications for the format,” he said. “It’s a moment that will elevate and redefine what an audiobook can be. In that respect it’s a pivotal moment, not just for us, but for the entire audiobook category.”
Speaking to Deadline, Rachel Ghiazza, Chief Content Officer at Audible, said the new full-cast books will complement what’s already on the platform and can actually register more listening time than the previous versions. “My thought is that we’re going to surpass it,” she said.
Rachel Ghiazza, Audible Content Officer at the launch event of Harry Potter: The Full Cast Audio Editions
Audible
Ghiazza continued: “This is going to appeal to people who are interested in audiobooks and love the single narrator (versions) and love these stories. It’s also going to bring people in who maybe aren’t traditional audiobook listeners, people who maybe prefer film and TV, or maybe consider themselves listeners of podcasts, which tend to be multi-format and have a different sound design. And this will be an incredible way for families to have a shared listening experience.”
Audible and Pottermore Publishing are behind the new audiobooks, which took two-and-a-half years to pull together. The score was composed by Nitin Sawney and performed by a 60-piece orchestra, while a 200-strong cast plays over 500 characters across 198 chapters and 700-plus scenes.
Fourteen-year-old Frankie Treadaway voices Harry Potter in the first three of the new audiobooks, with Arabella Stanton and Max Lester playing Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, respectively. A long roster of established stars also lend their voices, including Hugh Laurie as Albus Dumbledore, Matthew Macfadyen as Lord Voldemort, Riz Ahmed as Professor Snape, Kit Harington as Professor Lockhart and Keira Knightley as Professor Umbridge. Cush Jumbo is the narrator.
Audible is banking on winning new subs and keeping existing ones happy with the tentpole launch, but there is also a message for the wider creative industry. “It’s like nothing that’s ever existed before in terms of breadth and depth,” Ghiazza said. “If you are a creator, in theater, film, or TV, it gives you a whole new world in which to create. Customers are going to be overwhelmed with what this does for them, but I also think for people who are creating, it opens up the power of how stories can be told in this format.”
Here’s the full list of release dates for the audiobooks in the series.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone released on November 4, 2025
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: December 16, 2025
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: January 13, 2026
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: February 10, 2026
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: March 10, 2026
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: April 14, 2026
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: May 12, 2026
