Paul Cornell's Friday Newsletter

I Have a Lot in the Trans Rights Creator Auction! (Which ends at midnight tonight BST!)

Lauren Beukes and Jeannette Ng have put together a wonderful auction of items donated by many different SFF creators, in aid of both the Good Law Project’s attempts to protect the rights of trans people, and The Triangle Project that supports gay, trans, non-binary and intersex people in South Africa. Please do also feel free to donate to them direct here and here. 

My item is all three different variants of Saucer Country: The Finale (Zoop, Image and no text art cover), all of which had very small print runs. I’m happy to sign and personalise if the winner wishes. You can find it here. (And please note it ends at midnight tonight UK time!)

The Monarch Kickstarter finishes in Two Weeks!

Monarch: The Lost Adventures is a new comics anthology of stories set in the universe of the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters TV series, the world of the modern Godzilla/Kong films. Drew Zucker and Brad Simpson are my partners in art and colour art for the strip ‘The U.S.S. Lawton and the Ion Dragon’, and followers of the show may now have worked out what this is going to be. You can read all about it, and sign up for a Kickstarter with some wonderful extras, here. (The Kickstarter finishes on May 15th!)

Jill Mansell at Fairford Festival

On 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 doing a couple more bits and pieces too.) 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.

‘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!

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.

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 April (covering 1956) will be The Adventures of Sir Lancelot and Playhouse 90. 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!

The Work and Causes of Friends

Doctor Who fans will know Ben Paddon from Gallifrey One, as a genial panel host (part of the Game of Rassilon and stepping in to replace me on game shows) and an all round good person. His sister recently passed away, leaving a young son without a family. There’s a fundraiser going on for the funeral, and the expenses of helping this situation, and Ben is trying to spread the word on this. Please join me and help if you can at the GoFundMe here.

My friend Lou Anders is crowdfunding a new adventure for both D&D and his own Tales of the Valiant system of Norse role-playing. Fury of the Forsaken has the players defending a Viking town against an undead siege! Take a look at the classy video on the site!

My Week

Well, I hope to one day be able to tell you what I was doing that was so important last Thursday and Friday, but all I can say is that it was very creatively satisfying and might lead to enormous things in the future. Mind you, I came back with a case of food poisoning that left me feeling very sorry for myself a day later. It lasted only for that day, though, so, phew. My stomach clearly isn’t used to foreign street food.

I wanted to mention something that happened with Thomas this week. Knowing that he really loves the Longleat Safari Park, and always enjoys visiting, I recorded a documentary series that goes behind the scenes there. I chose my moment and put it to him that we might watch that instead of one of his usual programmes, or in one of the gaps when he turns off the television. He reacted very badly, almost melting down. (I think right now school means he needs his reliable schedule at home more than ever.) I was, in the end, forced to withdraw the idea, and I really mourned (as they call it when the parent of an autistic child really feels their distance from the mainstream in a negative way) about that. Thomas’ nature prevented him from accessing something that he would have genuinely enjoyed, and I think he even knew he’d enjoy it. Such instances, when his autistic nature overcomes his possible happiness, or logic, or a positive result, are when it’s hardest to accept who he is.

On the other hand, I took Thomas to his drumming lesson on Monday, and watched him excitedly learn Benson Boone’s ‘Beautiful Things’, a song he was familiar with from his YouTube videos. He immediately said to myself and drum teacher Hannah about it ‘I have a favourite song for drumming’. He learned the various rhythms in about half an hour. It was enormously heartening to see, and on the way home I told him he was much better at learning the drums than I could ever be. ‘I know,’ he said, in his usual straightforward way.

Me, I’ve been continuing to try to find my batting skills again in the cricket nets. I think I'm slowly getting there, and want to try my hand in a match soon. Also this week, I’ve been doing my exercises (engaging the core as Lower Decks would have it) and putting down 8000 words of fantasy novel. Plus I (and a partner) have been commissioned for a new comic. More on all of this anon.

I share many things with Thomas, but there will always be a gulf between us. However, I hope one day he’ll say he’s glad I got him playing the drums.

To Be Continued

Caroline and I are off to see Thunderbolts this morning! By the time you read this we should be nearly home.

I hope to see all of you again next week!