Hey folks! Want to stay on top of news around the Black Library’s books and authors? Goonhammer’s got you covered with this new quick-hit roundup of the week’s happenings!
New and Upcoming
David Annandale’s Callis & Toll sees a paperback version nearly a year after its initial release. The story follows the adventures of onetime Freeguild officer Armand Callis and Witch-Hunter Hanniver Toll as they investigate a grisly murder in Hammerhal Aqsha’s brutal Cinderfall district.
Annandale is a veteran Black Library tale-teller, with nearly three dozen novels and novellas for Age of Sigmar, 40K, and the Horus Heresy.
Surprise! The Black Library earlier dropped a teaser on us for a new Phil Kelly novel featuring Commander Farsight (or Shas’O Vior’la Shovah Kais Mont’yr to his friends). Blade of Truth will be the fourth Farsight book from Kelly, and his thirteenth novel/novella for the Black Library since he began in 2011.
No word yet on a possible release date or limited edition.
Technically not Black Library, but two more coffee-table books are coming from DK Press hot on the heels of Warhammer 40,000: The Ultimate Guide. As someone who used to devour the old Official Handbooks of the Marvel Universe, the Character Encyclopedia will be a snap buy.
The official announcement is filled with more details about a number of new Warhammer official merchandise releases, including more RPG’s from Cubicle 7.
Last Week
A week after our wallets took a hell of a beating with the Black Library Celebration preorder bookstravaganza, we got a Special Edition rerelease of Lucius: The Faultless Blade by Ian St. Martin.
Originally published in 2017, this story follows the renowned Emperor’s Children blademaster contending with betrayals after looking to replenish his depleted forces. The book also contains the 2017 short story, Lucius: Pride and Fall.
Both the novel and short story also saw a recent reprinting in 2023’s Renegades of the Long War Omnibus. St. Martin’s most recent Black Library novel was 2019’s Angron: Slave of Nuceria.
New Content
The Warhammer+ series Scribes & Scriveners returns with an interview with prolific author Nick Kyme, whose most recent short Solemnity was one of the offerings in the Black Library Advent Subscription for 2024. Kyme touches on a host of subjects, including:
- How he got into Warhammer and writing for the Black Library
- Writing the Salamanders
- How to write Primarchs
- The evolution of his writing process
- Writing conflict in the Imperium
If you’re an aspiring Black Library author- or just keen to see how the sausage is made- make sure to check it out.
While on Warhammer+, you can also check out the first episode of the new series Black Library Book Club, where they deep dive into Krieg by Steve Lyons. From the book’s narrative structure to it’s major story beats, there’s over an hour of discussion between the four panelists.
Noah Van Nguyen’s recent Elemental Council was the subject of some interesting conversation on BlueSky, as the author himself highlighted a couple insightful analyses of the novel’s themes. Aasa Timonen dissected the work here, while on Reddit u/LastPositivist examined lore and worldbuilding. You can also find Van Nguyen’s discussion of writing the book on his own blog.
Finally, Black Library Reddit kicked off a lively discussion this past week, asking who are the best three and worst three Black Library authors. The answers may surprise you!
News & Newsworthy
Ever wanted to write for the Black Library? You’ve got your chance! The 2025 Open Submissions window is here, and you have until 09 March to get your entry in.
Tim Waggoner’s story collection Old Monsters Never Die was announced as a final ballot for the Bram Stoker Awards. In addition, he’s been tapped to write the novelization for Terrifier 3, releasing later this year! Waggoner’s short Skin Man appeared in 2020’s Warhammer Horror anthology, Anathemas.
Cavan Scott was the pen behind the Warhammer YA series Warhammer Adventures, which includes the titles Claws of the Genestealer and Attack of the Necron. Writing for Marvel Comics, his new series Star Wars: Fear of the Jedi just debuted. Not only that, but he’ll be writing the upcoming Gwenpool limited series as well!
Finally, Paul Kane wrote the 2019 short Triggers for the Maledictions anthology for Warhammer Horror. He’s co-edited a new collection of dark academia stories just up for preorder, These Dark Spires.
That’s it for this week. Looking forward to Callis & Toll or the new Farsight? Have thoughts on Elemental Council- or anything else? Share ’em in the comments below!
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