Spoken v1.09 Release Notes: ePUB Support, AI Intelligence Upgrades & Workflow Acceleration
Industry-grade inputs. Smarter analysis. Faster paths to narration.
Stepping boldly into 2026, Spoken v1.09 introduces one of our most important upgrades to date: full ePUB support for manuscript uploads, alongside major intelligence and workflow enhancements across Studio.
This release closes the gap between professional publishing prep and audiobook production, giving authors a cleaner, more direct path from finished manuscript to narrated work.
ePUB Manuscript Support — A Direct Path from Publishing to Narration
Spoken now supports ePUB files for manuscript upload.
This means your industry- and distribution-grade manuscript preparation can flow directly into Spoken — no reformatting, no manual restructuring, no special tags required.
With ePUB uploads:
Chapters are automatically identified and structured
The <INSTALLMENTMARKER> tag is no longer needed
Non-narration elements (images, metadata, formatting artifacts) are intelligently removed
Only the content required for narration moves forward
Your professionally prepared ePUB is now the cleanest, fastest, and most reliable way to bring a book into Spoken for narration.
Smarter Studio — Intelligence at Every Step
Spoken Studio now operates with a significantly more advanced, context-aware intelligence system.
This upgrade enhances how Studio understands your work end to end — from story and character analysis to tone detection, pacing, emotional cue tagging, and even high-level “uber summaries” of your narrative.
These improvements touch nearly every part of the creative workflow.
Selective Confabulation — Build Only What You Need
After uploading your manuscript and completing analysis, you can now select exactly which installments (chapters) you want to confabulate before moving into voice casting and narration.
Confabulate — the stage where Spoken parses your text, identifies characters, and prepares narration structure — is no longer all-or-nothing.
This gives you:
Fine-grained control over how and when parts of your book are prepared
A powerful workflow for serialized releases
An easy way to create first-chapter teasers or samples
Less manual work separating manuscripts upfront
You decide how your project unfolds — chapter by chapter, at your own pace.
Improved Playback — Faster Proofing, Less Interruption
Installment-level playback has been significantly improved.
Previously, if narration was in progress anywhere in your project, playback could be blocked across the board. Now, if narration is happening outside the installment you’re viewing, you can still preview and proof your content freely.
This makes review faster, smoother, and far less disruptive — especially in larger or more complex projects.
Narrate Multiple Chapters at Once
For authors ready to move quickly, Spoken now allows you to initiate narration for multiple installments in parallel.
This means:
Faster overall production
Less waiting between chapters
A smoother path from draft to publish
Perfect for ambitious authors looking to complete and release their work efficiently.
Closing Credits — Distribution-Ready by Default
Every Spoken project now automatically ends with a static Closing Credits installment.
This clearly signals the end of the work and provides a dedicated chapter MP3 required to pass quality control for several digital narration distributors.
Getting your audiobook everywhere it needs to go — cleanly, correctly, and without friction — remains one of Spoken’s highest priorities.
Listen to this example of our new Closing Credits
Looking Ahead
Spoken v1.09 is about meeting you where you are — with smarter systems, more flexible inputs, and fewer blockers along the way.
Spoken in 2026 is faster, more intelligent, and more author-driven than ever before.
And this is just the beginning.
