Head of Zeus announces W F Howes audiobook deal

Head of Zeus (HoZ) has announced a new 100-title per year audiobook production and distribution deal with W.F. Howes.

The publisher’s c.e.o. Nicolas Cheetham said audio was “integral” to the company’s future plans and audiobooks would be released at the same time as its print and e-book titles.

RBmedia company W.F. Howes is the country’s largest indie audiobooks publisher, currently pumping out around 100 a month. The firm’s digital arm lends to the library market using the RBdigital app and other platforms, while its audiobooks go out on audiobooks.co.uk.

Cheetham said: “This deal makes the most of Head of Zeus’ diverse publishing programme and W.F. Howes’ production experience, their unparalleled knowledge of the UK audio market and their global reach via RBmedia. Audio is an integral part of Head of Zeus’ future publishing strategy, and in partnership with W.F. Howes we look forward to publishing audiobooks across our fiction and non-fiction lists, throughout the world, simultaneously with our print and e-book outings.”

Dominic White, head of publishing and commerce at W. F. Howes, said: “We are thrilled to be working closely with Head of Zeus to publish a range of high-quality bestselling audiobooks."

The announcement follows a difficult period for HoZ which saw a number of redundancies made and the departure of several key figures, most recently Aria editorial director, Sarah Ritherdon.