Radio audiobook is a radio programming format for audiobooks. The programming is usually in series format due to the length of the books. The books may be abridged or unabridged, sometimes as dramatisations. The productions may be for radio only, or also distributed through other media such as vinyl record, cassette tape, CD-ROM and digital download. Books include all genres such as fiction and non-fiction. They are read by an actor, the author or a full-cast.
Channels which have regular audiobook programming include BBC Radio 4, BBC 6Music, Oneword and BBC World Service in the UK, RTÉ Radio 1 in Ireland, National Public Radio in the US, and ABC local radio and ABC Radio National in Australia.
The concept is differentiated from the radio reading service, which also consists of reading books in an audio format, in that the radio reading service is designed for accessibility to the visually impaired, illiterate and others unable to read, whereas the radio audiobook format is designed as entertainment for a general audience. The radio reading service is thus more restricted because it must read its material verbatim and lacks the artistic licence available to a radio audiobook format.