October 2nd, 2023
19 comments
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Big Finish Doctor Who The Art of the Audio Adventures
Available to order from www.bigfinish.com
Doctor Who – The Art of the Audio Adventures
A glossy hardback book collecting together 100 Doctor Who audio drama cover artworks will be released in November 2023 from Big Finish Productions.
Big Finish has been producing original Doctor Who audio dramas since 1999 and, for many listeners, one of the great delights of each new adventure is seeing the cover artwork for the first time.
As Doctor Who celebrates its 60th anniversary on television, a selection of the finest cover illustrations from a range of artists has been compiled into a lavish new coffee table book, The Art of the Audio Adventures. Featuring contributions from Ryan Aplin, Lee Binding, Anthony Dry, Claudia Gironi, Clayton Hickman, Simon Holub, Lee Johnson, Anthony Lamb, Sean Longmore, Alex Mallinson, Christopher Naylor, Mark Plastow, Jim Sangster, Caroline Tankersley, Chris Thompson, Rafe Wallbank, and Tom Webster, plus commentary by the artists – as well as actors Colin Baker, Paul McGann, Jon Culshaw and Tim Treloar – this book is a 208-page visual feast.
Doctor Who – The Art of the Audio Adventures is now available to pre-order for just £39.99 (plus postage & packing) exclusively from www.bigfinish.com. Big Finish founder and chairman, Jason Haigh-Ellery said: “Over the past 25 years I have often been asked by fans of the Doctor Who audio dramas whether we would ever do a book featuring some of our best covers. “I am always amazed at the works of art that are created by the cover artists that work with Big Finish. Whether they are depicting a dystopian future, providing a glimpse of the past or strange and wonderful new worlds, they capture a moment contained within the audio drama and provide it as an invitation to come and join the Doctor and his companions on their adventures. This book pays tribute to these artists and to the productions they are depicting.”
Big Finish creative director and executive producer, Nicholas Briggs, added: “The cover artwork is the first encounter our listeners have with our stories, before they’ve even started listening to them. So, the artists who create them must capture the essence of what each particular story is, or, more importantly, the essence of it that we want to convey. “The covers must engage the imagination of the audience, and to do that they must also first engage the imagination of the producers. I’ve had some of my most interesting creative discussions at Big Finish with cover artists. We’ve been blessed with many brilliant artists who have the gift of bringing the essence of Doctor Who to life. “Recently, I’ve particularly enjoyed commissioning far simpler, but arguably even more evocative pieces which instantly sum up an era of Doctor Who. It’s where the audio inspires the visual, creating a gallery of imagination.”
All the above prices include the special pre-order discount and are subject to change after
publication.
Categorised under: Books, Reference books
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Fox
October 3rd, 2023 - 12:14pmDoes this open the door for Audio Novels in book form?
Rory
October 3rd, 2023 - 2:27pmI’d highly doubt it, as the cost of commission would be high. BBC books can only commission five or six novels a year, and that’s for the TV series.
The market for Big Finish stories is significantly smaller than for TV.
Fred
October 3rd, 2023 - 12:11pmIs that Tardis exterior a spoiler? It doesn’t look like Jodie’s and I wasn’t aware a new one had been revealed?
TK
October 3rd, 2023 - 4:44pmSeems to be the Smith-Capaldi Box png to me
Lewis Frisby
October 3rd, 2023 - 10:46amWhat other books have big finish done and are they still available
Rory
October 4th, 2023 - 9:49amThey did a few books of scripts for the audios, which didn’t sell well and still show up in sales.
They also did a series of books (short stories and novels) around Bernice Summerfield, and another series around Faction Paradox. Most of these are available as ebooks on the Big Finish site or Amazon, but the physical copies are out of print and quite hard to find.
They also did a whole series of Short Trips collections (29 in total, although the last one’s a collection of previous stories so I didn’t bother getting that one) featuring the 8 Doctors they had the rights to use. Those are long out of print, and some go for eye-watering prices.
Dave
October 4th, 2023 - 11:56amIn 2003 they did a rather nice coffee table book detailing the history of the audio range up to Zagreus, which is long out of print. It’s a shame they never did a follow up.
Lewis Frisby
October 3rd, 2023 - 8:13amWhat kind of books have big finish done and are they still available
Lewis Frisby
October 2nd, 2023 - 1:02pmHow do we get this because I pressed the link and it takes me to the home page also is it limited edition
Anita
October 2nd, 2023 - 2:06pmNot sure if it’s limited edition or not but here’s the direct link – https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-the-art-of-the-audio-adventures-2937
Andrew
October 2nd, 2023 - 7:17pmBig Finish Twitter says it is not a limited edition.
Bryan
October 3rd, 2023 - 11:04amThis looks gorgeous,be very interesting who chose which covers,to make up the 100. We all love our own favourites but will they pass the judges eye.
When I first saw this advertised, it did say Limited Edition 1.500 in bold .
But hat seems to have now disappeared from subsequent updates. Still 1.500 is a hefty number of books.
I think the stickler for buyers is postage £10 n the UK due to weight and size. But that’s the place we are in with even RM putting letters to £1.25. Overseas is (Inc Europe very expensive, if you wish items to A ) get there B ) get there in one piece c ) Get there and not have someone pay more at the otherside.
Steven Toon
October 2nd, 2023 - 12:12pmVery nice! As some have said some of the art work has been hit and miss, but looks like I’m going to have to get 2 copies so I can (carefully) remove some of the pages and frame some.
Loobop
October 2nd, 2023 - 11:13ami’ve always wished they’d release a photo book of the dr who photoshoots they could do one book for each doctor there must be so many images that never get used.
Deano
October 2nd, 2023 - 11:01amNice idea but an opportunity missed why not in volumes covering all released covers up to date in order of release with future issues made available as and when required so that you’ve got a complete reference index of your collection and what’s been released
Just my personal opinion but over the years I’ve heard many asking the same
Jackson Lake
October 2nd, 2023 - 11:05amGood idea – Volumes covering the Monthly Releases/different Doctor boxsets perhaps, then one covering Worlds of Doctor Who releases, one for Torchwood, etc.
AlbertoFrog
October 2nd, 2023 - 11:43amI don’t think they are ALL that great and worthy of being collected. Certainly many of them are lovely and it will be nice to have a collection of the best ones, but to do this for all would be costly and I don’t think would sell.
Whofan44
October 2nd, 2023 - 11:46amIts possible its a rights thing. Previously Jason Haigh Ellery has said they were unable to do it due to needing the BBC to let them have the rights to do it. Its possible the BBC may have allowed this as a 1 time thing.
AlexOswin
October 3rd, 2023 - 7:05amIt was likely due to how well it will sell.
They’ve never done a covers book or art book before so they’ll have an unclear idea of the exact level of demand. But some of the previous books from Big Finish have sold really badly (stuck in the sale years later for a few quid).
Going for something with a broader theme is a safer bet than something narrower. But if this sells well maybe they’ll do subsequent volumes with the rest.