My Oxford Year author Julia Whelan reveals how she wants to change the audiobook industry. The romance novel was Whelan’s debut work. It focused on the story of a young woman named Anna who sets out to go to school at England’s Oxford University. There, she meets a young man who will change both of their lives.
This year, My Oxford Year was developed into a movie of the same name. The film was directed by Iain Morris and was released on Netflix on August 1. My Oxford Year starred Sofia Carson and Corey Mylchreest in the lead roles, with a supporting cast that includes Dougray Scott, Catherine McCormack, Harry Trevaldwyn, and Poppy Gilbert.
Speaking with The Rolling Stone, Whelan explains how she wishes to change the audiobook industry through the romance genre. This stemmed out of her own work playing the voice of Amy in the audiobook for Gone Girl, where she only got paid $2,500. The author noted that audibooks are “a multibillion-dollar industry.”
Despite the money in the industry, Whelan feels that narrators are not being fairly compensated. So, she is taking matters into her own hands and trying to change the industry through her creation of Audiobrary. Check out the full quote from Whelan below:
“I always joke that that’s my villain origin story.”
“When you’re dealing with books about emotional connection, about relationships, audiobooks are unmatched,. But narrators are not part of the system of success. We’re so far beyond it’s not fair. It’s actually unethical.”
“[Audiobooks are] a multibillion-dollar industry with double-digit growth year over year for the last decade, [but] the audiobook narrator’s rates have not followed that kind of growth. It was getting to the point where I was so resentful of that, I was having a hard time getting in the booth and doing my job. So I had to feel like I was doing something. Audiobrary is just literally coming out of righteous rage.”
What This Means For Julia Whelan
Whelan came at authorship from an interesting angle, because she actually got her start as an audiobook narrator. This includes her reading for Gone Girl, as well as the hit Tara Westover memoir Educated. Her experience has earned her several Audie Awards nominations and wins.
In 2024, before the release of My Oxford Year on Netflix, Whelan launched a service called Audiobrary, which she mentioned in her quote. More akin to a model that would be found on streaming, Audiobrary pays voice artists royalties based on their books’ performances. She has used the romance genre to catapult this service, which also includes other genres.
Now, Whelan will likely have an even more elevated voice because of My Oxford Year. While the film is getting mixed reviews from critics, the movie is finding a significant viewership base. It was the no. 3 movie worldwide for the week of July 28 to August 3, despite only being on the platform for half of the data period.
Our Take On Julia Whelan’s Audiobook Plan
Whelan is responding to the needs of an industry that is not deeply understood by many. Due to the creation of readily available sources like Audible and Spotify, audiobooks are becoming a more popular method to read. The romance genre is also increasingly popular, so the My Oxford Year author has chosen the right genre through which to help improve the medium.
My Oxford Year
3/10
- Release Date
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August 1, 2025
- Runtime
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112 minutes
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Sofia Carson
Anna De La Vega
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Corey Mylchreest
Jamie Davenport
