Target Books Target Books were a children ' s publishing imprint , significant for being the dominant publisher of " Doctor Who " prose fiction and non - fiction from the 1970s to the early 1990s . They were most famous for their line of novelisations of " Doctor Who " serial s , in part because the novelisations were the principal route by which some fans could experience missing episode s . Technically an , and not an independent publisher , they were owned by several houses . However , the " Doctor Who " line is most associated with W . H . Allen & Co , who owned Target from 1977 – 1989 , and Virgin Books , who bought them in 1990 and extended and reprinted the line until 1994 . Overview . Target Books was a publishing imprint set up in 1972 as a range of paperback fiction for readers of approximately 14 years of age . It was for its long lived and highly successful range of " Doctor Who " novelisations that Target became best known . Target almost exclusively published paperbacks , but their novelisations did occasionally get first printings in hardback by related publishers Allan Wingate and W . H . Allen & Co . Many of the hardcovers are considered rare , given that they received far smaller distribution than the paperbacks ( especially outside the UK ) . The Target imprint changed hands many times over its history but up until the end , when it adopted a more modern monochrome version , retained its distinctive , brightly - coloured logo . By the end of the series , they had novelised almost every " Doctor Who " television story and adapted every one of the First , Second , Third and Seventh Doctor s ' on - screen adventures . The importance of the " Doctor Who " novelisations to maintaining interest and knowledge in the franchise cannot be overestimated . Prior to the 1980s , it was usually impossible to obtain recordings of previously aired stories . Reruns were rare and sporadic , and many episodes from the 1960s were destroyed and believed lost forever . The novelisations were ( and in some cases remain ) the only venues for reliving past stories or catching up on stories never seen before by fans . They also provided opportunities for many stories to be presented in a form unhampered by TV budgets and special effects technology limitations . See also : The 1970s . " Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks " and " Doctor Who and the Crusaders " , adapted by David Whitaker , and " Doctor Who and the Zarbi " , adapted by Bill Strutton , saw publication as hardbacks by Frederick Muller in the mid - 1960s . In 1973 , Target began its run of " Doctor Who " novelisations by reprinting these three titles . For the Target edition , the Daleks novel had its title shortened to " Doctor Who and the Daleks " . All had new covers by Chris Achilleos , who would illustrate the first wave of Target " Doctor Who " books . An original publication , " Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion " by Terrance Dicks , would follow in 1974 . Over the years , " Uncle Terry " , as fans nicknamed him , would write more Target Books and have a closer association with them in the minds of fans than any other writer . He also wrote a short - lived series of simplified " Junior Doctor Who " novelisations for younger readers . Linking some early Target novelisations to their television counterparts was a challenge at times , as for the first few years Target occasionally published novelisations under titles that differed from the TV originals . This practice actually pre - dated Target , with " Doctor Who and the Zarbi " having been based upon " The Web Planet " . Under Target , for example , " Spearhead from Space " became " Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion " . When the decision was made to keep the original title , the prefix " Doctor Who and . . . " was usually added . There were a few exceptions , such as the release of " Doctor Who : The Three Doctors " . Also there were occasional exceptions for first - edition hardcover publications , such as the novelisation of " Revenge of the Cybermen " , which was first published as " Doctor Who : The Revenge of the Cybermen " in hardcover , and " Doctor Who and the Revenge of the Cybermen " in paperback . An even greater challenge is posed for those reading the books in televised order . When the Target line ( and , indeed , the earlier Muller ) were launched , the publishers had no inkling of the comprehensive nature the book series would take over the next 20 years . As a result , several novelisations ignore the events of previous stories , creating continuity issues . For example , " Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon " , based upon the Season 8 story " Colony in Space " , includes introductions for Jo Grant and the Master , with Grant meeting the Doctor for the first time . In reality both characters were introduced in " Terror of the Autons " , which wasn ' t novelised until some time later , and that book once again introduced the two characters . Similarly , " Doctor Who and the Daleks " ignores the events of " An Unearthly Child " and thus creates a continuity hiccup for those who first read the novelisation of " An Unearthly Child " , which wasn ' t published until the early 1980s . ( This situation is not confined to 1970s issues ; in the 1980s the novelisation of " Mindwarp " contained an epilogue that contradicted the ending of a later novelisation , " The Ultimate Foe " . ) The Muller reprints were not the last books by another publisher to be reissued by Target , as the company also published a new edition of " The Making of Doctor Who " , a book previously issued by Piccolo Books . Beginning in the second half of the 1970s , W . H . Allen and / or related publishers began issuing hardcover editions of the novels . In some cases these predated the paperback editions by months . Often they were published simultaneously , and in the case of a few of the 1974 – 75 books hardcover editions weren ' t published for nearly a decade . The 1980s . During the 1980 ' s , experimentally , Target published two original novels featuring further adventures of the Doctor ' s companions , " Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma " by Tony Attwood and " Harry Sullivan ' s War " by Ian Marter , who had played Harry Sullivan on television . Target also took up three scripts from the " lost " version of Season 23 which , due to the delay and re - thinking of Season 23 by the then - current production team of " Doctor Who " , never made their way onto screen . Target also began to look beyond the televised series for source material by novelising the radio play " Slipback " and the spin - off special " K9 and Company : A Girl ' s Best Friend " . Beginning in 1981 , Target began making a concerted effort to enlist the original script - writers in writing the novelisations based upon their stories ( a practice actually dating back to Strutton ' s " Zarbi " novel , but only occasionally employed during the 1970s ) . They were successful in commissioning novelisations even from writers who had last worked on the series in the 1960s . Where the original author was unavailable , unwilling , or deceased , the range turned to one of its staff writers , such as Marter or Terrance Dicks . The practice of having the original scriptwriters write the books when possible would continue for the remainder of the line . The two most significant writers whom Target was unable to commission for novelisations were Terry Nation and Douglas Adams . Marter had the unique distinction of adapting several stories in which he himself had performed as Harry Sullivan ; he died in 1986 and several of his novelisations were published posthumously . One of Marter ' s books , " Doctor Who and the Enemy of the World " , was controversial for incorporating adult concepts and language — issues that would later resurface when original " Doctor Who " novels began to appear in the 1990s . Towards the late 1980s and into the 1990s , however , Target loosened the policy of only commissioning writers with past connection to " Doctor Who " on TV , beginning with the novelisation of " The Celestial Toymaker " , which was co - authored by Gerry Davis and Alison Bingeman , a writer with no " Doctor Who " connection . Later , Nigel Robinson , the line ' s editor , who otherwise had no " Doctor Who " TV connection , wrote four books . In the 1990s , John Peel wrote the final five Daleks novelisations . In 1982 , Target phased out the practice of adding " Doctor Who and . . . " to its novelisation titles . In 1988 , the practice of publishing hardcover editions was abandoned following publication of " The Smugglers " . The Virgin years . During the 1990s the company was acquired by Virgin Publishing . The only titles still held by Target were the " Doctor Who " stories . Many of the titles were reissued with new covers , but to many readers they were still affectionately regarded as " Target Books " . Indeed , Virgin itself referred to the later titles as part of " the Target Library " . The end of Target Books . In the later years of the run , Target was successful in negotiating with Terry Nation ' s estate the rights to adapt four of his Daleks storylines , most notably " The Chase " and " The Daleks ' Master Plan " ; the latter had to be published in two volumes . Target eventually outlasted the original run of " Doctor Who " itself , which ended with Season 26 in 1989 . The Target line continued in the " short paperback " form until the release of " Doctor Who - The Pescatons " in 1991 — an adaptation of an audio play , as virtually all available televised stories had been adapted by this time . Between 1990 and 1994 Target republished many of its older releases with new cover art ; a subsidiary , Star Books , also published omnibus paperback editions combining two books at a time . The 1990 – 1994 reissues and the Star Books editions were straight reprints , rather than new editions that corrected typographical and other errors . After 1991 , several additional releases were published in longer - format paperbacks by the owner of Target , Virgin Publishing , beginning with the adaptations of " The Evil of the Daleks " and " The Power of the Daleks " , two David Whitaker scripts that , like the Nation stories , had previously eluded adaptation . The 1994 release " The Paradise of Death " , based upon a radio play , was the 156th and last release in the Target series . By the time it had ended , almost every " Doctor Who " story aired on television ( save for five ; see below ) , along with several audio dramas , had appeared under the Target imprint . Within a few years of the final release , the Target Books line had fallen out of print , with many of the books , particularly the scarce hardback editions , becoming collectors items . Virgin continued to publish a few more novelisations , but under its New Adventures and Missing Adventures lines , and none based upon televised episodes of the original series . When " Doctor Who " returned to television in 2005 , it was announced that no novelisations would be published , in part due to the expectation that the episodes would be easily available on DVD in due course . Nonetheless , Penguin Character Books revived the novelisation format by releasing adaptations of episodes from the spin - off series " The Sarah Jane Adventures " ; appropriately , the first of these books was written by Terrance Dicks . One novelisation , adapting " The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith " , featured the Doctor appearing in a TV novelisation for the first time since the novelisation of the 1996 TV movie . The " lost " novelisations . Target Books was unable to come to agreement with Douglas Adams or Eric Saward on the adaptation of several serials . As a result , the Adams - written ( or co - written ) " The Pirate Planet " , " City of Death " and unbroadcast " Shada " , and Saward ' s two Dalek stories , " Resurrection of the Daleks " and " Revelation of the Daleks " , were never adapted for Target ( the Saward stories were at one point announced as future releases , but were cancelled ) . Years later , the New Zealand " Doctor Who " Fan Club published fan - written novellas adapting these storylines . In 2012 , BBC Books published a new official novelisation of " Shada " by Gareth Roberts , the first new " Doctor Who " novelisation in 16 years ; an adaptation of " City of Death " by James Goss was published in May 2015 and " The Pirate Planet " was published in January 2017 . In addition , Terrance Dicks intended to novelise his stage play , " The Ultimate Adventure " for Target , but the project was cancelled . Audiobook adaptations . In the early 1980s , several audio book adaptations of Target novels were released , read by Tom Baker . In 2007 BBC Audio began a new series of complete and unabridged releases of the Target novelisations , giving new life to these old ( and out of print ) favourites ( see Audiobooks of novelisations ) . In most cases , the books are read by actors who had appeared in the original stories . This series has continued into 2013 . Special distribution . In July 2008 , backstock of 27 Target novelisations ( and a few Target - published spin - off works ) were distributed at random with copies of " Doctor Who Magazine " # 397 . These were not reprints but original copies , some dating back more than 25 years . BBC Books reprints . In July 2011 , BBC Books reprinted six Target novelisations with original cover art by Chris Achilleos and new introductions by prominent writers affiliated with " Doctor Who " or who are fans of the series . Six more reprints followed in May 2012 . Seven more followed in April 2016 . In 2013 , " Doctor Who : Remembrance of the Daleks " was republished in a new edition by BBC Books as part of a series fo 50th anniversary reprints ; it was the only TV novelisation featured in the set and was reissued in lieu of republishing any of the many original Seventh Doctor novels . List of " Doctor Who " - related Target titles . Fiction . The Missing Episodes . From 1989 through 1990 , as " the Missing Episodes " , Target published a short series which adapted scripts which were to have aired during Season 23 , before the hiatus put on " Doctor Who " by Michael Grade . A few scripts which the production team intended to have aired during this version of the season remained un - novelised . The Companions of Doctor Who . Although intended to showcase original fiction ( see below ) , the Companions sub - series also included a novelisation . Junior Doctor Who . In the early 1980s , Target published two adaptations by Terrance Dicks of earlier novelisations in abridged and illustrated form , written for younger readers . Original fiction . Target ' s " Doctor Who " fiction consisted exclusively of novelisations , with two exceptions . Non - fiction . Target Books also published numerous reference and behind - the - scenes books based upon " Doctor Who " , as well as activity and general knowledge books featuring the Doctor . Doctor Who Discovers . A non - fiction series of illustrated educational books narrated by the Fourth Doctor . ( See also Doctor Who quiz books ) Additional details . Non - Target novelisations . The following books adapted official and unofficial " Doctor Who " and " Doctor Who " - related productions , but were not published under the Target Books banner : Penguin Character Books . " The Sarah Jane Adventures " . Novella - length adaptations of episodes of the spin - off series . " Note : two additional novelisations , " The Nightmare Man " and " Death of the Doctor " , were announced for publication in 2010 , but subsequently cancelled . . They were later released in e - book format only . " Death of the Doctor " stands as the only novelisation to date to feature the Eleventh Doctor . As such , the Ninth Doctor , War Doctor and Twelfth Doctor stand as the only incarnations not to be featured in a novelisation . " New novelisations for audio . To date , three novelisations originally published by Target have been rewritten by other writers and recorded as audio - exclusive releases for AudioGO . " An Unearthly Child " was scheduled for release in November 2013 , but the release was cancelled due to AudioGO entering administration . As of January 2014 it has yet to be announced when or if Random House Audio , AudioGO ' s announced successor , will release it .