Hachette Audio & Wax Audio Group Announce Partnership

Vinyl Audiobook Series to Launch with David Foster Wallace Release

Forthcoming titles are set to include HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION, and work from Jerry Garcia, Nelson Mandela, Amanda Palmer, Steve Jones, Wayne Kramer, and David Sedaris

New York, NY — February 27, 2018

Hachette Audio, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, today exclusively announced via Billboard that it will produce a series of vinyl + digital audio titles in 2018 starting with the release of David Foster Wallace’s This Is Water, which is available today in two limited collector’s editions. The vinyl series will be distributed and product managed by Wax Audio Group, an independent record label that specializes in unique vinyl releases.

According to Anthony Goff, SVP & Publisher of Hachette Audio, “As we’ve all seen recently reported across major media, the dramatic and sustained rise of audiobooks continues, so there is no better time than now to expand our catalog with an audio format that has seen amazing resurgence with a greater dedication of retail space and online merchandising. Though we published our first vinyl record, David Sedaris’s Live For Your Listening Pleasure, in 2010, we’re thrilled to be able to announce a new, more extensive publishing partnership with Wax Audio Group, and a full list of A-list releases planned through 2018.”

“On the business side it’s rare that a new vertical presents itself and even rarer that it is such a collectible and tactile format. Vinyl audiobooks bridge the gap between retail book and record stores but more than anything else, it’s cool and when you have something you’re proud to be a part of ­— it’s the most rewarding part of any release,” added David Bason of Wax Audio Group.

This is Water originated from a commencement speech given by Wallace at Kenyon College on May 21, 2005, and was later published in book form as This Is Water: “Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life.”  Time magazine has ranked it among the best commencement speeches ever delivered. Other titles confirmed for vinyl release this year include Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin Manuel-Miranda and Jeremy McCarter, Jerry on Jerry by Jerry Garcia, edited by Dennis McNally, Lonely Boy by Steve Jones, The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer, The Hard Stuff by Wayne Kramer, Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales and multiple titles from David Sedaris. All of these releases will also include complementary digital download codes for the full version of the audiobook (for titles too long to fit on one or two LPs).

“The Coalition of Independent Music stores is very excited to be partnering with Wax Audio Group and Hachette Book Group in the release of audiobooks on vinyl. With the resurgence of the vinyl format we think the day has come for spoken word records to find their place in the modern record store and bookstore alike. The caliber of artists surfacing through our partnership is unbelievable and a real representation of the power of the modern author to reach a new and bigger audience through a format that is both historical and ground breaking at the same time.” -Michael Bunnell, Executive Director, Coalition of Independent Music Stores

“There’s a new opportunity to curate a unique offering on vinyl that appeals to the fan and collector that is crossing over between these two listening experiences. This is especially true when you add exclusive content, limited editions, and the incredibly high production value that is the touchstone of an important publisher such as Hachette Book Group.” – Jeff Bowers, Wax Audio Group

“Think Indie is thrilled to be teaming up with WAX Audio and Hachette Book Group—we’re looking forward to connecting the world of audiobook lovers with the world of vinyl lovers.  The possibilities are endless for this format and we think these releases are going to make fans of the authors extremely happy and allow our company to broaden its reach into the marketplace and help bring vinyl into outlets that have never offered it to their customers before. ” Scott Register, Think Indie Distribution

About Hachette Book Group
Hachette Book Group is a leading trade publisher based in New York and a division of Hachette Livre, the third-largest trade and educational publisher in the world. Hachette Audio is a publisher of a variety of popular genres in audio form, which matches HBG material with talented actors, composers, and producers to find its fullest expression. Their audiobooks are primarily based on material published in print and online by Grand Central Publishing, Little, Brown & Company, FaithWords, Center Street, Orbit, JIMMY Patterson, Hachette Books, Black Dog & Leventhal, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and Perseus, and have been recognized for the highest quality of content and production with numerous GRAMMY, Audie, Listen Up! And Earphone awards. Unabridged and abridged titles are available on CD and as digital downloads.

About Wax Audio Group
Wax Audio Group is an independent record label and brand offshoot of the Wax Record Fair (established in partnership with Capitol Music Group in 2015) who specializes in unique vinyl releases for book, music, and lifestyle retail.

Wax Audio Group is a brand unit of the WAX family of companies, established in cooperation with Think Indie to produce and distribute unique audio productions for fans of the vinyl format.