Ulverscroft signs library distribution deal with Verve

Ulverscroft has signed an exclusive library distribution deal with publishing house Verve Books, the sister company to Oldcastle Books. 

Starting in 2022, Ulverscroft will be distributing Verve’s fiction to its global library market through monthly releases of physical audiobooks as well as e-audiobooks. They will be available through the uLibrary digital platform as well as via digital retail channels including Audible, Storytel and Google Play. 

Isis Audio, the Oxford-based audiobook publishing arm of Ulverscroft, will record and produce Verve’s range of titles, launching with a trio of novels including Nicola Monaghan’s cold case investigation Dead Flowers which will be released under the Oakhill Publishing imprint and Jane Jesmond’s debut novel On The Edge – the first in a new thriller series featuring the daredevil protagonist Jen Shaw – which will be read by Emma Powell and released through the Isis Audio imprint. Heather Young’s The Lost Girls – a decades old mystery of a missing six-year-old – will be read by Laurel Lefkow and Liza Ross and also released under the Isis Audio imprint in the first quarter of 2022. 

Going forward, Verve’s frontlist novels will be published in audiobook on a simultaneous release schedule following the three launch titles. 

Becky Hobson, group publishing manager, said: “The Verve list is full of diverse and interesting titles, and we're thrilled to be bringing them to listeners everywhere. Audiobook fans are in for a treat with the 2022 offerings!”

Ellie Lavender, publishing controller for Oldcastle Books, said: “We are all delighted with this new partnership. Ensuring that our books are accessible to as many readers as possible is really important to us, and we know that Ulverscroft's high-quality audio production and narration will help our authors' work to shine. We have a really strong list of titles lined up for 2022 and can't wait to introduce Verve to a whole new audience.”