Good news for Kobo owners who want to support local bookshops. Bookshop.org says its long-awaited Kobo eReader integration is back on track for 2026.
The partnership was originally promised for 2025. Then it got pushed to 2026. Earlier this year, things looked uncertain — Bookshop.org changed its website to say “sometime in the future” instead of a specific year.
But founder and CEO Andy Hunter now says progress has been made. The Kobo integration page once again reads “later this year.”
“The Kobo integration is something both Kobo and Bookshop.org want to make happen,” Hunter said. The delay came down to hammering out business terms and allocating engineering resources — especially around digital rights management requirements.
Bookshop.org’s engineers have been focused on improving the mobile app, which launched about 15 months ago. Now they’re turning back to Kobo support.
No firm launch date yet. Hunter: “We have recently settled on business terms with Kobo, and we are confident the collaboration is going to happen, but can’t promise a specific launch date until the engineering work is further along.”
Until then, Kobo users can read DRM-free books, borrow from libraries via Overdrive, or use eBooks.com which supports Kobo’s DRM format. Android-based e-readers like Boox or Meebook can run Bookshop.org’s app directly.
But for those who bought a Kobo specifically to support indie bookstores — this is the integration worth waiting for.
