Paul Cornell's Festive Friday Newsletter

Celebrating 25 Years of Bernice Summerfield at Big Finish

Back in 2023, I took part in this video documentary to mark 25 years of my character Bernice Summerfield appearing in Big Finish productions. It’s a lovely little film, which I think does a good job of showing why she’s stayed around for so long. In case the embedded video below doesn’t work (I’m never sure) you can find it here.

And if you’re interested in the badges shown on screen, they’re the creation of the wonderful Ivy, who is currently hard at work on the second issue of Refracted Lives, an excellent Bernice fanzine, which can be found at these links on Instagram, Ko-fi, tumblr and Bluesky.

Who Killed Nessie Digital Edition!

If you’d like to get the digital edition of the graphic novel I created with Rachael Smith, you now can, courtesy of publisher Avery Hill’s Gumroad page!

Stolen Face

Lizbeth Myles and I have done another commentary track for a Hammer blu-ray box set! Stolen Face (1952) is a neat little black and white thriller, and we found lots to say about it! It’s out on 16th February, and you can read all about it and pre-order it here at Hammer.

The Lychford Collection 2

Up for pre-order now, and out on 16th June next year is The Lychford Collection 2, featuring my fourth, fifth and sixth Lychford novellas!

Monarch: The Lost Adventures Pre-Order!

I’m one of a whole bunch of comickers contributing to Legendary Comics’ Monarch: The Lost Adventures, a graphic novel anthology which tells stories in the continuity of the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters TV series. (And we stick very closely to the lore.) My story, which I loved writing, concerns Bill Randa’s wartime encounter with the Ion Dragon, and is wonderfully rendered by Drew Zucker and Brad Simpson on art and colour art. The anthology is out on 14th July, and is up for pre-order now!

Sophie Aldred in Salvation’s Child!

Winter is Coming has a big article on Doctor Who’s Sophie Aldred appearing as the clone warrior army the Partheni in the graphic novel my company Cosmic Lighthouse is publishing next year: Salvation’s Child.

Salvation’s Child is the graphic novel Prologue to Adrian Tchaikovsky’s best-selling SFF novel series The Final Architecture. (So new readers can start here!) It’s by Adrian himself, artist Mike Collins, colour artist Pippa Bowland and letterer Simon Bowland. We’re publishing it together with our partners ComiXology.

In that article you can see lots of panels featuring Sophie, and read quotes from everyone involved.

Check out these pre-order links at Amazon US and Amazon UK.

And you can find Cosmic Lighthouse at these links on BlueSky and Instagram.

Salvation’s Child will be released by ComiXology Originals on June 16th, 2026!

Get Signed and Personalised Copies of My Work!

I’ve re-stocked my Ko-fi online store, with all my current works, which you can get cheaper than anywhere else, plus you can have them signed and personalised! Right now, it’s just for UK residents, but that’ll change as I sort out international postage.

Of Intrigue and Espionage

I have a story in this just-announced forthcoming volume from Stars and Sabers publishing, which is due out in October 2026. I’m in good company, as you can see from the full announcement here.

Telefantasy Time Jump (we’re sorry!)

The new podcast from me and Lizbeth Myles covers the history of SFF on TV, from 1953 onward, with our regular episodes (on the 14th of every month) covering a show released that year in the UK, and the Patron Bonus episodes (on the 28th) covering a show from the rest of the world. The shows for December (covering 1964) are Studio 64: The Crunch/Bleep and Booster and, well, it should have been The Man from U.N.C.L.E. We recorded an episode in good time but lost it due to a tech issue on my side. We’re re-recording this weekend and the episode should be with you soon. Our apologies.

In January, our episodes will cover Out of the Unknown and Lost in Space/Marine Boy.

The main episode is available free wherever you get your podcasts. To get the bonus episode, you need to follow us on Patreon at £3/$3 or above. (And you get access to seven years of Hammer House of Podcast bonus episodes!) You can find all the info here.

My Linktrees

You can now find all my social media links, my website/blog and links to where you can buy my books, in one place here, thanks to Linktree!

The Work of Friends

Cavan Scott is telling the world that Godfather of Hell, which began as a comics series, with artist Pius Bak, but which got put back because of the Diamond Distributors issues, is now re-scheduled as a graphic novel, which is coming out on 25th August. To have a series suspended like that must have been traumatic, and I’m delighted for Cav that he finally has a release date. You can read all about the book and pre-order (with a nice discount) here.

My Week(s)

I think I curated for myself a very satisfying December. With help from my friends’ Advent Calendar podcasts and the signposts of the season in terms of media and local social events (the three hours lunchtime opening of my local pub, full of friends) I made myself a journey of calm. My electric car having now been scrapped (it was bought second-hand and had lasted a decade, with the first thing that went wrong with it also being the last thing) I was marooned in my home town when Caroline and Tom went off to see the in-laws, but that gave me two days of peace and quiet in which I caught up on my to-watch list. (I ended up really loving Alien Earth, having nearly given it a miss after the first couple of episodes.) I kept really odd hours in those couple of days, going to sleep really early and waking in the early hours to watch something then fall asleep again. It was all about doing things entirely for myself, because just for once I could.

Tom’s been on school holiday for the last week (and he gets Monday off too) so we’ve been bowling, went to the Lego Shop (where he was very precise about using his vouchers) and climbed up to the top of the downs near my family home with me, as we do every now and then. He seems very happy and full of laughter. I’m told that while with Caroline’s family he played with his cousins and stroked lots of dogs.

From Monday, I need to get working, because I’m on some immediate deadlines. I’ve actually banked quite a few commissions for 2026, and will definitely have coming out: two novels (one of which is the official sequel I’ve mentioned on here); a comics series in an established universe; another in a games universe and a graphic novel. Plus what’s been announced already, including the publication of Salvation’s Child this summer. Plus there are three big projects which are likely but not definite. All of which is very welcome, because I need to get a new car!

Treating myself gently across this season has been very worthwhile, and I start the new year more at peace than I’ve been in a long time. I think the theme of January is health and tidiness. A major clear-out of the house beckons.

I hope Christmas went as well for you as it did for me, and I hope you’re facing the new year with renewed energy also.

To Be Continued

I hope to see you all here next week!