The Caribbean’s first-ever audiobook platform, Odiyo, officially launched at the recent 2025 Calabash International Literary Festival, is introducing a revolutionary way to experience regional storytelling through the vibrant, unfiltered voices of the Caribbean. Designed to preserve and amplify the region’s literary and oral traditions, Odiyo transforms how Caribbean stories are consumed, delivering them in immersive, culturally resonant audio formats that centre Caribbean voices, dialects, and soundscapes.
“This isn’t just about hearing stories, it’s about hearing ourselves, completely and unapologetically,” said Saeed Thomas, co-founder of Odiyo. “There’s something powerful about listening to a Caribbean story told in a Caribbean voice, surrounded by familiar sounds, maybe the low hum of a fan, the distant bark of a dog, or the chorus of crickets. These aren’t just background noises. They’re the soundtrack of our lives. And that’s what Odiyo is about, honouring the full audio landscape of our culture.”
A seasoned sound producer and CEO of M-One Productions, Thomas is also a 2020 Prime Minister’s Youth Awardee for Arts & Culture. His deep roots in audio storytelling shape Odiyo’s high production quality and immersive listening experience.
The app features narrators like Desmond Dennis and Dike Rostant of Trinidad and Tobago, whose unique vocal styles breathe new life into regional literature. Among the standout titles already available are A Different Me, A Better You by Janet Morrison, Riddim & Riddles by Owen “Blakka” Ellis, Girlcott by Florenz Webbe Maxwell, and All Over Again by A-dZiko Simba Gegele, all published by Blue Banyan Books and now available in richly narrated audio.

A Platform That Sounds Like Us
“Odiyo is a game-changer,” said Tanya Batson-Savage, publisher and editor-in-chief at Blue Banyan Books. “There’s an undeniable magic in hearing a Caribbean story told in a Caribbean voice; it feels personal, grounded, and real. We’ve always been an oral people. That’s how we’ve passed down knowledge and culture for generations. Odiyo gives us the chance to do that in a new format, one that meets listeners where they are, whether that’s on the road, in school, or half-way across the world.”
She added, “What excites me most is that Odiyo is homegrown. It’s ours. Too often, we wait for international platforms to make space for us. But Odiyo is that space. It gives us the freedom to sound like ourselves, and for our young people and diaspora to reconnect with what’s most familiar: Our voices.”
A Cultural Archive in Your Pocket
Odiyo’s launch at the recently held biennial Calabash Literary Festival couldn’t have been more fitting. The festival’s celebration of storytelling in all forms made it an ideal stage to showcase the app’s potential to bridge tradition and technology. Thomas shared the Odiyo vision during the Calabash Café Series, emphasising how digital platforms can be used to strengthen, not replace, cultural identity.
Now live in beta, the Odiyo team is working closely with regional publishers, authors, narrators, and educators to grow its catalogue and reach. Their long-term goal is to bring Caribbean stories into classrooms, diaspora homes, and digital platforms worldwide.
Co-founder Gibran Hutchinson summed it up, “Odiyo isn’t just an app, it’s a cultural archive. We’re capturing our voices, our histories, our rhythms in a way that’s never been done before. Every story on the platform is a piece of us, shared with the world, exactly as we sound. That’s the power of Odiyo, and that’s the legacy we’re building.”
Based in Jamaica, Odiyo is a cultural tech platform dedicated to preserving heritage, amplifying voices, and celebrating Caribbean identity, one story at a time. Download on the App Store, or visit getodiyo.com