New Delhi World Book Fair: AI-powered audiobook booth turns readers into narrators

New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) An AI-powered audiobook booth at the New Delhi World Book Fair is inviting curious book lovers of all ages to cross over to the other side and become narrators of their favourite stories.

Bookswagon, an online bookstore, is giving readers a unique chance to step into the spotlight and experience audiobooks narrated in their own voice -- one passage at a time.

Readers are lining up to record a sample of their voice and viola, they’re the narrator of their favourite stories, from literary gems like "Moby-Dick or, The Whale" and "Kim" to Hindu epics like the "Ramayana" and "Bhagavad Gita".

The process is simple: record a short passage and then pick from over 100 titles on Bookswagon's platform to hear your voice narrating the audiobook.

"Only 30 second voice sample is all it takes. Bookswagon’s in-house voice personalisation technology lets users listen to any audiobook in their own voice or the voice of someone they love, transforming stories into deeply personal experiences filled with emotion, memory, and connection," said Shubam Jain, founder of Bookswagon.

Currently in its demo format, the feature allows users to listen to select excerpts read in their cloned voice. Jain said a fully developed version -- expected within the next month -- will enable listeners to experience entire audiobooks narrated in their own voice.

This means that beyond experiencing stories narrated in their own voice, listeners may soon be able to hear their grandmother reciting "Panchatantra" tales to children, a parent reading bedtime stories, or a loved one’s voice animating favourite books -- adding an intimate, nostalgic dimension to the listening experience.

Eager to hear her voice bring a story to life, 14-year-old student Varsha Punj described the experience as akin to “stepping into the story and starring in it yourself.” “I came here to browse books and just happened to chance upon this booth. Hearing my voice as an audiobook narrator was an amazing experience -- even if it was just for a paragraph.

“It’s mind-boggling to see what artificial intelligence can do in just a few minutes. It was truly a one-of-a-kind experience," she added.

The 2026 NDWBF, free to the public for the first time, features participants from over 35 countries, 1,000 publishers, 3,000-plus stalls, 600 events and 1,000 speakers, placing it among the world’s largest literary festivals. PTI MG MAH MAH