The Power author Naomi Alderman and LGBT writer Juno Dawson pen new Doctor Who stories
The short story and novel are two of the first official tales of the Thirteenth Doctor
BBC Books has signed up two female writers with impressive pedigrees to pen the first Doctor Who stories starring Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth incarnation.
Naomi Alderman, author of best-selling novel The Power and winner of the 2017 Women’s Prize for Fiction, will add a new short story to the anthology 12 Doctors, 12 Stories, which will be republished on 1st November 2018 as Thirteen Doctors, 13 Stories and will also include existing adventures by Eoin Colfer, Michael Scott, Marcus Sedgwick, Philip Reeve, Patrick Ness, Richelle Mead, Malorie Blackman, Alex Scarrow, Charlie Higson, Derek Landy, Neil Gaiman and Holly Black.
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The new story marks Alderman's return to the Doctor Who universe following her 2011 Eleventh Doctor novel Borrowed Time, which itself will get a new paperback release alongside an updated edition of collected Doctor Who stories by Jenny T Colgan, The Triple Knife, with both treated to fetching new cover designs by artist David Wardle.
Meanwhile, multi-award winning author and LGBT activist Juno Dawson will make her debut writing for Doctor Who, with a full novel, The Good Doctor, featuring the Thirteenth Doctor and her friends Yasmin, Ryan and Graham. It will be published in October along with two other Thirteenth Doctor adventures, The Molten Heart, by bestselling author Una McCormack, and Combat Magicks, by Young Bond writer Steve Cole.
Alderman said: “I'm thrilled beyond words to be writing the first short story for the Thirteenth Doctor. Believe it or not, my first ever rejection letter, dated 1992, was from Doctor Who Magazine for a story I wrote as a teenager obsessed with the Doctor; I've loved Doctor Who since I was a child, so it's particularly meaningful and exciting for me to be adding my name to this anthology.”
Juno Dawson said: “My earliest memory is Bonnie Langford being spun off into space in a killer bubble in 1987, so you can only imagine how excited I was when I was asked to write for the Doctor Who range. And, as a Bradford girl, it’s an even bigger thrill to be among the first writers in the world to write for Jodie Whittaker, the first Doctor from Yorkshire. This feels like a bold new era for Doctor Who and I'm beyond delighted to be a part of it. This is a dream come true.”
Thirteen Doctors, 13 Stories is published on 1st November in paperback, priced £12.99 (BBC Children’s Books)
Borrowed Time and The Triple Knife is published on 19th July in paperback and ebook, priced £7.99 (BBC Books)
The Good Doctor, The Molten Heart, and Combat Magicks is published on 25th October in hardback, priced £6.99 (BBC Books)
