Series of Doctor Who short stories announced to celebrate 50th anniversary

The eleven "eshorts" will each be written by a different acclaimed children's author and will feature one of the Doctor's regenerations, starting with Hartnell who appeared between 1963-1966. The author of the first book is due to be revealed on the Doctor Who Facebook page on Monday 7 January, with their story to be published on Wednesday 23 January.

Each release will also include a promotional video of the story's author which will be made available on the BBC Worldwide YouTube channel, beginning on Friday 11 January.

The stories will be priced at £1.99 and in November, once the monthly series has concluded, a full paperback collection will be published by Puffin, available for £7.99.

Penguin Children's publisher, Juliet Matthews, said: "Penguin Children's has been the proud home of children's Doctor Who publishing for eight years and to be part of the 50th anniversary is incredibly exciting.

"We are delighted to have eleven sensational children's authors involved in the series, all bringing an individual style, imagination and interpretation to their e-short tribute to the Doctor. This is a who's who of children's fiction coming together to celebrate the much-loved Doctor Who."

The announcement follows much excitement and speculation surrounding the 50th anniversary celebrations planned for 2013. Stephen Moffat has already teased fans with "tremendous surprises" before promising, "we're going to take over television", although Billie Piper today denied rumours she had been asked to return to the show. The coming year will also see a set of commemorative stamps featuring various incarnations of the Doctor as part of plans unveiled by Royal Mail over the Christmas period.