Target Books

Target Books was a British publishing company, founded in the early 1970s as a subsidiary of WH Allen Limited. The company specialised in children's paperbacks, and became well known for their highly successful range of novelisations and other assorted books based on the popular science-fiction television series Doctor Who. The most prolific writer in this range was Terrance Dicks, while actor turned writer Ian Marter, Malcolm Hulke Philip Hinchcliffe and Nigel Robinson (who was for a time the editor of the range) were also contributors.

Related Topics:
British - Publishing company - 1970s - WH Allen Limited - Novelisation - Science-fiction television - Doctor Who - Terrance Dicks - Ian Marter - Malcolm Hulke - Philip Hinchcliffe - Nigel Robinson

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All in all, virtually every story from the Doctor Who series was produced in novelisation form; the exceptions being three scripts by Douglas Adams (Shada, The Pirate Planet and City of Death) and two by Eric Saward (Resurrection of the Daleks and Revelation of the Daleks). Saward was reluctant to novelise these scripts himself due to the large percentage of the author's royalties demanded by the agents of Dalek creator Terry Nation for the inclusion of the creatures, and other writers were similarly dissuaded for the same reason.

Related Topics:
Douglas Adams - Shada - The Pirate Planet - City of Death - Eric Saward - Resurrection of the Daleks - Revelation of the Daleks - Terry Nation

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The company also produced novelisations of various other films and television series, again aimed mostly at the child and teenage markets. They also published a number of original children's and teenage novels.

Related Topics:
Film - Television

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Target was purchased by the Virgin Group in the late 1980s and absorbed into Virgin Publishing, although the Target name and logo survived on Virgin's Doctor Who novelisations and reprints for a while into the early 1990s.

Related Topics:
Virgin Group - 1980s - Virgin Publishing - 1990s

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