Tunis, June 17 (QNA) - The Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) announced a plan to produce 100 audiobooks as part of efforts to establish the first unified Arab audiobook library.

In a statement Wednesday, the Union said a meeting of the founding committee of the Arab Audiobooks Group, held virtually, agreed on a set of implementation steps and timelines to move from planning to execution, enhancing Arabic audio content and strengthening cooperation among member organizations.

The plan will form the foundation of a unified Arab audiobook library and a starting point for future audio content projects in the Arab world.

The committee approved dividing production into two main categories: fiction and non-fiction, while postponing children’s audiobooks to a later phase as a separate specialized series.

The fiction category will include novels, poetry, and short stories. For non-fiction, five main areas were adopted: self-development, including modern education, biographies, history books, simplified philosophy, and psychology.

Each member state will nominate at least four books across both categories to build a diverse initial list of titles for production. Selection will be based on criteria including alignment with Arab cultural and ethical values, avoidance of controversial religious or political content, and emphasis on works of high literary and intellectual value, particularly those that have received awards or regional and international recognition.

The committee set July 30 as the deadline for submitting audio samples of candidate narrators for evaluation and selection, in preparation for approving the voices that will record the audiobooks. (QNA)