W F Howes acquires science fiction titles from Schwab

W F Howes has signed two major titles from American fantasy author V E Schwab, as it continues to invest heavily in the burgeoning science fiction and fantasy audio genres.

The publisher has secured UK and Commonwealth audio rights for the forthcoming YA title, Gallant, as well as an adult backlist title, Vicious, the first in the Villains series. The UK and Commonwealth audio rights were acquired from Heather Baror-Shapiro of Baror International, Inc Literary Agency by Craig Thomson, acquisitions editor at W F Howes.

The publisher said: "With Nielsen BookScan reporting 47% growth over the past 12 months, the science fiction and fantasy genres are among the fastest-growing in the UK audio market. In recent years, W F Howes has focused on supporting the growth of this genre, with acquisitions of new titles and re-releases of backlist classics, picking up 98 major science fiction and fantasy titles in the last year."

Schwab said: “As someone who listens to many, many audiobooks each year and appreciates them not only for their accessibility but also the ways in which they can enrich and heighten a story, it’s so important to me that fans in the UK and Australia have access to quality audio editions of my work. I’m delighted to have signed this deal with W F Howes, who has already published two of my titles—A Darker Shade of Magic and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue—and I can't wait to see how they bring Gallant and Vicious to life."

Dominic White, head of publishing and commerce at W F Howes, commented: “It’s no secret that sci-fi and fantasy audio are on the up and we are proud to be at the forefront of this category growth, with an ambitious publishing programme and high-profile author acquisitions. V E Schwab is an extremely talented author who deserves to headline our plans, having already achieved so much success and devoted fans across the world. We are excited to be adding these fantastic titles to our growing catalogue and can’t wait to start promoting them to even bigger audiences in the UK and beyond.”