Short, Bite-size Listens, Now Free on Alexa. Just Ask, “Read a Story.”

Imagine getting whisked away on an unexpected journey, whenever the mood strikes. With the Audible Stories skill on Alexa users will be treated to a free selection from Audible’s new, dedicated catalog of original shorts, created for a range of ages and situations, and all can be finished in one sitting.

For the US launch, dozens of creators contributed nearly 60 stories, each ranging from three to nine minutes long, exclusively for the skill. Contibutors include acclaimed authors like Nebula Award-winning sci-fi writer Premee Mohamed, New Yorker humorist and Pushcart Prize-winner Seth Fried, and novelist Annie Hartnett, whose debut was listed among Kirkus Reviews’ best books. Listeners who ask, “Alexa, read a story,” will be given a choice of 11 genres, including family, romance, fantasy, nighttime, scary, funny, adventure, sci-fi, feel-good, relaxation for sleep, and meditation. Or go straight to a genre of choice, such as, “Alexa, read a sci-fi story.”

The Stories skill is also available in the UK and Germany, each with their own catalogs, genres, and story lengths, as well as country-specific Alexa commands.

“We hope these stories create more ‘kitchen table’ moments for families,” says Christina Harcar, Audible’s senior director of consumer content, noting this is commonly where Alexa devices are placed in households. The new catalog, which is free for anyone with an Alexa-enabled device, joins Audible’s extensive offering of listens intended to “accompany the moments of people’s daily lives with stories and ideas,” Harcar says. Customers can also explore listening to a longer-form audiobook by asking, “Alexa, what’s free from Audible?”

To learn more, visit the Audible Stories page for the US, UK or Germany.