Listen to clips from some of our lead audiobooks for the autumn.

Penguin Random House Audio Autumn Highlights 2023

A truly unmissable set of unearthed stories from the pen of Sir Terry Pratchett: award-winning and bestselling author, and creator of the phenomenally successful Discworld series. Featuring narration from David Tennant, Claire Foy, Paterson Joseph, Katherine Parkinson, Derek Jacobi and Indira Varma.

An exclusive collection of twenty early short stories by one of the world's best loved authors, these are rediscovered tales that Pratchett wrote under a pseudonym for newspapers during the 1970s and 1980s.

Whilst none of the stories are set in the Discworld, they hint towards the world he would go on to create in his award-winning and globally bestselling series, containing all of his trademark wit, satirical wisdom and fantastic imagination. These are tales which entertain, enlighten and, most importantly, make you laugh.

Meet Og the inventor, the first caveman to cultivate fire, as he discovers the highs and lows of progress; haunt the Council with the defiant evicted ghosts of Pilgarlic Towers; visit Blackbury, a small market town with weird weather and an otherworldly visitor; and travel millions of years back in time to The Old Red Sandstone Lion pub.

The final ever 'new' writing to be published from the late, great Sir Terry Pratchett, A Stroke of the Pen is a must-have collection of fantastic short stories for fans, old and new.

How It All Began - read by David Tennant

Gripping full-cast BBC dramatisations and riveting readings of four 'Shetland' tales, plus a bonus short story and interview

Ann Cleeves is well known for her 'Vera', 'Shetland', and 'Two Rivers' crime series, all of which have been adapted into hit TV shows. She was presented with the CWA Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement in 2017, and was appointed an OBE in the 2022 New Year Honours List for services to reading and libraries. This collection includes full-cast dramatisations of the first two 'Shetland' novels featuring Detective Jimmy Perez, as well as three short stories and a discussion with the bestselling author.

Raven Black - Midwinter in Shetland, and a young woman is found strangled in a snow-covered field. Suspicion falls on elderly loner Magnus Tait - but Detective Jimmy Perez has a hunch the solution is not that simple. Starring Grant O'Rourke.

White Nights - It is midsummer on the island, a time of white nights where the sun never quite leaves the sky. When a distressed stranger disrupts an art exhibition claiming amnesia, and is later found hanged, it seems a clear case of suicide. But Jimmy Perez has other ideas... Starring Steven Robertson.

'The Soothmoothers' - The tensions between three travellers on a business trip to Shetland spark a local woman's interest. By dawn the next day, DI Jimmy Perez is on the scene, investigating a violent crime. Read by Marnie Baxter.

'Secrets of Soil' - Written in collaboration with forensic soil scientist Lorna Dawson, this specially-commissioned short story sees Shetland detective Willow Reeves returning to her childhood home on the Scottish island of North Uist to confront a dark secret from her past. Read by Lesley Hart.

'The Queen of Mystery' - Attending the Malice Domestic crime convention in Bethesda, Maryland, award-winning mystery writer Stella Monkhouse fears her star is starting to wane... Read by Joanna Tope.

Phil Williams - Ann Cleeves talks to the Radio 5 Live presenter about the inspiration for her work, and why she's keen to encourage a national passion for reading.

Text copyright © Ann Cleeves 2006 (Raven Black), 2008 (White Nights), 2010 ('The Soothmoothers'), 2013 ('Secrets of Soil'), 2016 ('The Queen of Mystery')
All rights reserved

© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Ann Cleeves: Raven Black, White Nights & other Shetland mysteries

Glutton, written and read by Ed Gamble

The Twat Files, written and read by Dawn French

Penguin Books publishes blockbusting, prize-winning, celebrated, controversial, heart-warming, thought-provoking and inspiring books by a range of authors from Ali Smith to Zadie Smith, Jeremy Clarkson to Jeremy Paxman and Jamie Oliver to Oliver Goldsmith.

Glutton, written and read by Ed Gamble

Penguin Books UK