W F Howes bags exclusive library audiobook rights for Trump exposé

W F Howes has bought exclusive rights to sell the audiobook of Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff into libraries.

The Leicester-based audio and large-print specialist has fast-tracked production of the Trump exposé to enable delivery to hundreds of library authorities. It will be available to loan from 15th January on CD, MP3 CD, Playaway and Download formats. The company has also been granted the exclusive rights for retail CD.

A spokesperson for the publisher said that “following the phenomenal global response to the early release of [the] inside account of life in the White House, W F Howes moved quickly to acquire exclusive audiobook rights”. Both US publisher Henry Holt and Company and UK publisher Little, Brown moved forward the publication by four days to 5th January after Trump attempted to ban its publication by issuing cease and desist notices to the publisher and author.

Senior acquisitions editor Ellis Moore acquired the UK and Commonwealth rights to publish the bestseller in audiobook and retail CD formats directly from Andy Hine, rights director of Little, Brown.

The spokesperson added: “Initial demand for this book has been dramatic, with over a million sales in print in under a week".

Little, Brown said the response to the explosive insider’s account of Trump's presidency had been "extraordinary", with the publisher fulfilling orders of 330,000 print copies and with "tens of thousands" of e-books and audiobooks already sold. Tim Whiting, the book's UK editor, said that Little, Brown team had been working "at pace" since it brought the publication date forward with the orders "exceptionally high" across all editions.

On Thursday (11th January) it was revealed that US sales had topped 29,000 hardcover copies in its first weekend, according to NBD BookScan figures. Jon Sargent, c.e.o. of Fire and Fury's US publisher Macmillan, told the Washington Post that digital sales were already in excess of 250,000 copies while audio sales had exceeded 100,000.

The insider's account is based on more than 200 interviews and also calls into question Trump's suitability for office.

Dominic White, W F Howes’ head of publishing and commerce, said: “I’m thrilled that we are able to deliver Fire and Fury so quickly to help libraries meet the huge demand for this audiobook. Now library members can access this global bestseller in their preferred choice of format. Demand for audiobooks continues to experience explosive growth in the global market.”

Moore was promoted to her current role in August shortly after being named a Bookseller Rising Star.

Library authorities can purchase Fire and Fury now from the W F Howes website.