From the Inbox, news from Penguin Random House:
Penguin Random House has announced the acquisition of an original book series inspired by the popular and provocative hit Netflix original series BLACK MIRROR. Ebury Publishing Deputy MD and Publisher Jake Lingwood bought World rights for Penguin Random House, working closely with Tricia Narwani, Editorial Director at Penguin Random House US who will co-publish the books in North America on the Del Rey imprint in February 2018. The deal was agented by Jo Unwin at JULA Ltd for Charlie Brooker and the House of Tomorrow production company. Ebury Publishing will publish on the Del Rey UK imprint and will also handle worldwide translation sales.
The three-volume series of original fiction novellas will be edited by creator Charlie Brooker, and each will be a collection of three all-new, all-original mid-length stories in the style of the show, written by **soon to be announced** leading names within the literary world.
BLACK MIRROR is the TV programme of our cultural moment. It is an addictive anthology series that uses science fiction tropes to make trenchant and unsettling commentary on the convergence between humanity and technology, and a promised future. Season one and two originally aired on Channel 4 between 2011 and 2014. In September 2015, Netflix commissioned a third season and the worldwide release in October 2016 led to further international critical acclaim. The heavily anticipated next Netflix season will be coming later this year.
The first original fiction volume will be published in February 2018, with the second volume scheduled for autumn 2018 and the third in 2019.
Charlie Brooker says: ‘All-new Black Mirror stories from exciting authors – that’s a joyous prospect. And they’re appearing in a high-tech new format known as a “book”. Apparently you just have to glance at some sort of ‘ink code’ printed on paper and images and sounds magically appear in your head, enacting the story. Sounds far-fetched to me, but we’ll see.’
Jake Lingwood says: ‘Black Mirror is the smartest, sharpest show on TV and as huge fans ourselves we know that we are always desperate for more episodes. In fact, more than we suspect it will ever be possible for Charlie to make. That’s why we’re so inspired by Charlie’s total enthusiasm for this project and we’re completely salivating at the prospect of him working with some of the smartest, sharpest novelists around in order to create more Black Mirror – but this time in book form.’
https://twitter.com/charltonbrooker/status/874628298705383425
