W F Howes
Leicestershire audiobook publisher founded in 1998 as the UK arm of Recorded Books, now part of RBmedia, issuing unabridged recordings of books first printed by other houses.
- Editions tracked
- 59
- First editions
- 11
- Books
- 59
- Years
- 2003 to 2022
W F Howes is a publisher active from 2003. We track 59 editions it published between 2003 and 2022, 11 of them first editions across 59 books. Each book lists its first edition and the points that identify it.
About W F Howes
W F Howes is a British audiobook publisher in Leicestershire, founded in November 1998 to bring more unabridged audiobooks to the UK market, which began as a subsidiary of the American company Recorded Books and is now part of RBmedia.
Origins. Recorded Books started selling directly into Britain in 1997 and by 1999 had established W.F. Howes Ltd as its wholly owned UK company. The business began with two people in the village of Rothley and later moved to bigger premises at Rearsby. Its first unabridged title, released in September 1999, was A.S. Byatt's Possession, sold as a set of 16 cassettes for £52.95.
What it publishes. W F Howes produces complete, unabridged readings of fiction and non-fiction, so its name appears on audio editions of books whose first printed editions came from other publishers. For collectors, a W F Howes item is a recording, not a first printing of the text. By its 25th anniversary in 2023 it had released more than 6,500 audiobooks and employed 35 people.
Ownership. Recorded Books changed hands several times, passing from Haights Cross Communications to Wasserstein & Co. in 2014 and to Shamrock in 2015, and reorganised under the RBmedia name in 2017. W F Howes is now RBmedia's UK imprint; RBmedia describes its catalogue as the largest collection of audiobooks in the world.
We have not yet written the guide to W F Howes's first-edition conventions. Until we do, check each book's own page: we list its points where we know them. Know how W F Howes marked its firsts? Tell us.
Authors
Published by W F Howes
Frequently asked questions
How many W F Howes books does MyVolumes track?
We track 59 editions published by W F Howes, 11 of them first editions, across 59 books.
Where these facts come from
- W.F. Howes celebrates 25th anniversary, RBmedia, 2023 (rbmediaglobal.com)
- Recorded Books, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- W.F. Howes Ltd, a subsidiary of RB Media, Frankfurter Buchmesse exhibitor listing, 2025 (event.buchmesse.de)
Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 17 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.