Company acquires exclusive audio rights to Lightlark series

Landover, MD, June 20, 2022—RBmedia, the largest audiobook publisher in the world, today announced that it has acquired the exclusive audio rights for “Lightlark,” the debut young adult fantasy novel from author and TikTok sensation Alex Aster. “Lightlark” will be published in the UK and Commonwealth by the company’s international publishing brand and UK’s leading audiobook publisher, W. F. Howes Ltd, and throughout the rest of the world by Recorded Books—the company’s flagship imprint and audiobook home for the author’s award-winning Emblem Island series.

“Lightlark,” the first audiobook in the series, follows the story of six rulers competing in a grand high-stakes game set on a lush magical island, with 100 days to break the deadly curses that have plagued their realms for centuries.

Alex Aster said, “I am thrilled to continue working with RBmedia on the ‘Lightlark’ audiobooks. Audio is such an important part of TikTok, and RBmedia’s innovative marketing, as well as incredible narrator casting, make it the perfect home for ‘Lightlark.’ In fact, their first suggestion for narrator casting was so spot-on, I enthusiastically agreed within seconds of listening to the sample. I couldn’t be more excited for my audience to see (or hear!) everything that we’re working on.”

The Emblem Island series author, whose first middle-grade novel “Curse of the Night Witch” was chosen as one of Amazon’s Best Children’s Books of 2020, has become one of the most successful young writers on TikTok with over 800,000 followers.

Her first “Lightlark” trailer post on TikTok garnered 1.6m views and 350k likes, followed by a Times Square cover reveal for the book with a combined 3m views and 400k likes.

Director of Children’s and Young Adult Publishing at RBmedia Andrea Wollitz commented, “Alex is a rare and unique talent. Not only is she an incredibly gifted writer, whose captivating and imaginative novels are attracting both rave reviews and reader plaudits alike, but she is also somebody who has clearly demonstrated the indisputable power of BookTok. She has a deep-rooted understanding of her audience, readers, and fanbase and takes them with her on every step of her writing journey in a natural and engaging way. We are delighted to continue working with Alex to bring her fantasy worlds to life for audio fans around the world.”

Publishing Director at W. F. Howes Dominic White added, “‘Lightlark’ is pitch perfect for audio, a dazzling fantasy world filled with romance and dark twists—we can’t wait to introduce Alex Aster to audio fans internationally.”

“Lightlark” will be available everywhere audiobooks are sold in fall 2022, with the sequel to follow. Following a multiple publisher auction, the company secured the audio rights for “Lightlark” from Talia Behrend-Wilcox, Subsidiary Rights Senior Manager at Abrams Books.

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About RBmedia

RBmedia is the largest audiobook publisher in the world. With nearly 60,000 exclusive titles, our audiobooks continually dominate key literary awards and bestseller lists. The company’s powerful digital retail and library distribution network reaches millions of listeners around the globe—at home, in the car, and everywhere their mobile devices go. Our titles are available on leading audio platforms, including Audible, iTunes, Google Play, Audiobooks.com, OverDrive, Hoopla, and many more. RBmedia is owned by KKR, a leading global investment firm. Find out more at rbmediaglobal.com.

About W. F. Howes

W. F. Howes Ltd is the UK’s leading audiobook and large-print publisher, distributing its content through all leading consumer and library vendors. The company isknown for publishing bestselling authors such as Danielle Steel, Val McDermid, Dan Jones,and V. E. Schwab. W. F. Howes is the UK subsidiary of RBmedia. For more information visit www.wfhowes.co.uk or email [email protected].

About Recorded Books

Recorded Books is RBmedia’s flagship audio brand for bestselling authors and content spanning all high-demand fiction and nonfiction genres. Our exclusive catalog of premium titles, narrated by award-winning actors, includes works by Brandon Sanderson, J.R.R. Tolkien, Diana Gabaldon, Sarah J. Maas, Jenny Han, Jeff Kinney, and many other leading authors. Since our founding in 1979, we have been a pioneer in the industry and, as part of RBmedia, have achieved thousands of industry honors, including the National Book Award, Audiobook of the Year, Booker Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Hugo Award, and many more.