 BBC Books logo | |
| Parent company | Penguin Random House BBC Studios |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters location | London |
| Publication types | Books |
| Official website | www |
BBC Books (also formerly known asBBC Consumer Publishing andBBC Publishing) is an imprint majority-owned and managed byPenguin Random House through itsEbury Publishing division. The minority shareholder isBBC Studios, the commercial subsidiary of theBritish Broadcasting Corporation. The imprint has been active since the 1980s.
BBC Books publishes a range of books connected to BBCradio andtelevision programming, including cookery, natural history, lifestyle, and behind the scenes "making-of" books. There are also some non-programme related biographies and autobiographies of various well-known personalities in its list.
Amongst BBC Books' best known titles are cookery books by former TV cookDelia Smith,wildlife titles by SirDavid Attenborough and gardening titles byAlan Titchmarsh. In the BBC Publishing days, it turned downThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,[1] a book which has now sold over 14,000,000 copies worldwide.
Since 1996, BBC Books has also produced a range of tie-in novels connected to thetelevision science-fiction seriesDoctor Who, the only full-length fiction to be printed by the company. Their first release related to the series was anovelisation of the1996Doctor Who telemovie published in the spring of 1996. Then, in 1997, BBC Books launched two concurrent series of books, theEighth Doctor Adventures (EDA) (featuring thethen-current incarnation ofthe Doctor), and thePast Doctor Adventures (PDA), featuring the seven previous incarnations. Between 1997 and 2005 approximately 150 original novels were published for both lines, combined. BBC Books also launched a short-lived line ofDoctor Who-related short story collections calledShort Trips;Big Finish Productions later obtained the rights to publish theShort Trips books and that series continues as of 2010.
In 2005, BBC Books began to phase out the EDA and PDA lines as it launched a new series of books (informally dubbed theNew Series Adventures) based upon the newly revived television series. Featuring theNinth Doctor, the new books were published in hardback (as opposed to the EDA, PDA andShort Trips lines that were exclusively paperback releases). The Eighth Doctor line was discontinued during the summer of 2005, followed by the final Past Doctor Adventure in November. Beginning in 2006, BBC Books continued the New Series Adventures, now featuring theTenth Doctor, with no word (as of September 2009) whether any more Past Doctor Adventures are planned. The books continue to be published in hardback, with the exception of fournovellas,I Am a Dalek,Made of Steel,Revenge of the Judoon andCode of the Krillitanes, which are paperback releases under a series calledQuick Reads. The 4th novella still featured the tenth doctorDavid Tennant, even though the eleventh has made his TV appearance.
In January 2007, BBC Books launched a new line of original novels based upon theDoctor Who spin-off series,Torchwood. These books are also being published exclusively in hardcover and, like the TV series itself, are aimed at an older audience.
In May 2008, BBC Books issued its first original made-for-audioDoctor Who adventure,Pest Control, which was released as part of the Tenth Doctor Adventures line and read byDavid Tennant. The Audiobook of the Year 2010 was a Tenth Doctor adventure called Dead Air byJames Goss and read byDavid Tennant.
In 2010, a series of threeBeing Human novels were published by BBC Books. These novels describe the adventures of the three main charactersAnnie Sawyer,George Sands andJohn Mitchell of theBBC Three television seriesBeing Human and are written bySimon Guerrier,Mark Michalowski andJames Goss.[2][3] All novels were also released as audiobooks.The Road was read byLenora Crichlow,Chasers byRussell Tovey andBad Blood byLucy Gaskell.
In 2006, theEbury Publishing division ofRandom House acquired a majority shareholding in BBC Books.[4]
In 2011, BBC Books launched a publishing programme around BAFTA-winning TV series,Sherlock, which was inspired by the adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle's Victorian detective Sherlock Holmes. The titles will each feature the show's branding and introductions by key members of the Sherlock team, including co-founders Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss.[5]
The first title,Arthur Conan Doyle'sSherlock:A Study in Scarlet, with an introduction bySteven Moffat was released on 15 September 2011.[6]Arthur Conan Doyle'sSherlock:The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, with an introduction byMark Gatiss, followed on 27 October 2011.[7]
Three booksSherlock:Sign of Four, Sherlock:The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes andSherlock:The Hound of the Baskervilles with introductions byMartin Freeman,Steve Thompson andBenedict Cumberbatch were released on 29 March 2012.[8][9][10]
In autumn 2012, BBC Books publishedSherlock: The Casebook as a hardback gift guide, revisiting all the mysteries solved throughout the TV series.[5]
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