Paul Cornell's Friday Newsletter

Jill Mansell at Fairford Festival Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, Saturday, June 7th at 2pm, as part of Fairford Festival in Gloucestershire, I’ll be interviewing bestselling romance author Jill Mansell about her career. (I’ll also be running the Festival Quiz on the Sunday night and the Mr and Mrs game show earlier that day.) You can find out more info and buy tickets here.

Ace Jacket

I’ve contributed a short story to this anthology in aid of autism charities, edited by Sophie Aldred and Shawn J. Levy. It’s out on June 17th. You can read all about it and pre-order a copy here.

I’m a Guest at Caption!

On the afternoon of Sunday, August 17th, I’m going to be a guest at the Caption Small Press and Comics Festival in Botley, Oxford. I’m on the Networking in Comics panel. Do come along if you can!

‘The Longest War’

That’s the title of the issue of Commando I’ve written, which is tentatively due to be released in August. The artist is the great Steve Yeowell, and it’s amazing work. I’m delighted to have contributed to this very exacting classic format. More news nearer the time!

Gnomes of Lychford and The Lychford Collection

On 9th September, Tor.com Publishing is releasing the sixth book in my Lychford series of rural fantasy novellas, Gnomes of Lychford. It’s a re-editing of the serial I ran on this newsletter, and I’ve taken the opportunity to sort out a couple of little plot problems. I think it’s my best Lychford book, and, weirdly, it’s a great jumping-on point, because everything about the series is explained at the start. You can read all about it here.

And you can now pre-order!

“An unlikely group of supernatural creatures terrorizes the sleepy village of Lychford. Okay, they're gnomes. That's not a spoiler: you worked it out it from the title. When an ancient prophecy clashes with an unfortunate modern design aesthetic, the people of Lychford must band together to put out fires (both literal and metaphorical) to save their town before the king of the Gnomes (King Greg, and it's dangerous to laugh at a gnome) calls in the terms of an old promise. Trouble is: no one knows what the promise is, nor how to fulfil it. It's going to be a long night.”

And also up for pre-order, and out on the same day is The Lychford Collection, which contains my first three Lychford novellas. (Cover design for both by FORT.)

Who Killed Nessie Bookstore Edition and London Signing! (And the first review is great!)

On 18th September, Avery Hill will be releasing a bookstore edition of Who Killed Nessie?, the graphic novel by myself and the great Rachael Smith.

Our first feature review is out! Take a look at this great write-up at Monkeys Fighting Robots!

You can pre-order it already from Amazon UK and Amazon US. And you can order it from all good bookstores and comic shops.

“A cosy comedy murder mystery… with a monstrous twist! Lyndsay Grockle has just started her new job at an isolated hotel. She’s trying to get over heartbreak. She’s amazed to be left in sole charge just before a big convention. When the terrifying guests start to arrive, she realises why: this is a gathering of the fantastic beasts of myth and legend! The attendees ask her to stay in her room and let them be. But when the Loch Ness Monster is found dead, there’s nobody else they trust to solve the murder. She may not entirely believe in them… but they believe in her! Lyndsay is going to have to dig deep into her own fears and vulnerabilities to discover… WHO KILLED NESSIE?”

Those of you who backed the graphic novel on Zoop, don’t worry, you’ll be getting a unique edition with a different cover. (And you’ll be getting it first.)

And on Saturday, 20th September, from 1pm-2pm, Rachael and I will be signing the book (copies of which will be on sale) at Waterstones London-Piccadilly!

You can read all about that free-to-attend event here. I hope to see you there!

The Mighty Avengers vs. the 1970s

On November 13th, I’ve got a book coming out from Bloomsbury that’s part of a new range of popular studies of Marvel Comics! The Mighty Avengers vs. the 1970s is fully illustrated with panels from the comics, and is my journey through how Marvel’s main super team navigated that difficult decade. You can read the announcement here at AP News. This is very much a labour of love for me, a book I’ve wanted to find a way to write for the longest time.

And you can now pre-order it from the publisher (and from all good booksellers)!

Thought Bubble

Our application has been accepted, so I’m pleased to say that Lizbeth Myles and I will once more be tabling at the wonderful Thought Bubble comic convention in Harrogate on November 15th and 16th.

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

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 June (covering 1958) are The Invisible Man (plus the play I Can Destroy the Sun and Tales of Frankenstein.) 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 Ko-fi and eBay Stores

Here’s my Ko-fi store, where you can buy my books and comics, signed and personalised, for shipping worldwide. And here’s my ebay store, full of Bronze Age Marvel comics at bargain prices.

My Linktree

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!

My Week

So I’m now on seven panels at San Diego Comic Con. (That’s going to make a nice big news item when the schedule goes up.) That’s actually a bit too many for me, but they’re all stuff that I want to do and/or that’s important for me to do.

As you read this, I’ll be at Fairford Festival, which got under way last night, with me volunteering as a steward until late. It’s always one of my favourite times of the year, and this year, as noted in the News, I’m running three things. Feel free to say hi if you’re in the area.

On Wednesday evening, the casual cricket club of which I’m a member (who’ve now not-so-casually gained team shirts!) played our first match of the season, a comfortable win over a side who were all from the same workplace. I came in third, made two, and then, having hit what I thought was a good shot, got caught by the bowler (caught and bowled as it’s known). I discovered this is a particularly painful way to leave the wicket. I did, however, redeem myself in the field, preventing several boundaries. Our bowlers did the job, and in the end our opponents got nowhere near our total. All in all very satisfying.

Thomas was back to school this week, and remained happy as ever. (He’s on a 100% attendance record right now, which if he keeps it up earns him rewards at the end of the year.) He was amazed by some petit pain I brought home, declaring it his ‘favourite bread ever!’ and when I suggested he could have his routine dinner sausages in it like a hot dog he was overjoyed. This is very much the upside of his autistic way of being. It’s got me looking at those little loaves and feeling, yeah… they’re pretty great.

To Be Continued

Festival photos next week!

And I hope to see all of you again then too!