PUBLISHING NEWS
W. F. Howes, RBmedia’s UK publishing brand, has signed a major new deal to publish legendary novelist and playwright Daphne du Maurier’s catalogue, featuring 25 works, many of which have never been released in audiobook format before.
Spanning du Maurier’s most celebrated novels, such as Rebecca, Frenchman’s Creek and Jamaica Inn, as well as her short story collections and biographies, the ambitious project aims to give the author’s work a new lease of life in audio and attract new audiences to her writing legacy.
A star-studded voice acting line-up has been assembled for the first four audiobooks in the series, which are due to be published in November. Bridgerton’s next leading man, Luke Thompson, will perform My Cousin Rachel and several short stories, while Holliday Grainger (The Borgias, Strike and The Capture) is set to perform Rebecca. Annabel Scholey (The Sixth Commandment, The Split and Dead and Buried) will voice Frenchman’s Creek, and Kathryn Drysdale (Bridgerton, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps) will lend her voice to Jamaica Inn. Drysdale was recognised for her voice talents at this year’s British Book Awards with an audiobook nomination for Poor Things.
The new du Maurier audiobooks will also have striking and distinctive cover designs developed by the award-winning book artwork designer Luke Bird.
The UK and Commonwealth audiobook rights were acquired from Becky Brown, Co-Head of Curtis Brown Heritage, and Felicity Blunt. Brown commented: “Daphne du Maurier is a writer who needs no introduction. Her unmistakeable literary voice and cinematic writing style have been captivating readers for decades. Few writers can claim to have been so loved both in their lifetime and far beyond it. Building on du Maurier’s incredibly rich legacy, this new audio series will allow her work to be discovered by new audiences and enjoyed through a format that feels like a truly natural fit for her writing.”
Laura Smith, who acquired the rights for W.F. Howes, added: “It is almost tragic that there are still so many important, classic works written by literary heavyweights that don’t exist in audio. Yet uncovering gems in Daphne du Maurier’s back catalogue and bringing them to audio for the very first time is one of the most satisfying aspects of my job. I am thrilled to be working with Becky and the team on this and to have such a talented group of voice actors already confirmed to finally help lift Daphne’s writing off the page and to finally be enjoyed in audio format.”
Photo credits:
Kathryn Drysdale (top left) – credit: Joseph Sinclair
Luke Thompson (top right) – credit: Lee Malone
Annabel Scholey (bottom left) – credit: Joseph Sinclair
Holliday Grainger (bottom right) – credit: Lara Jade
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