Happy 25th Anniversary NORTHERN LIGHTS

Yesterday marked the 25^th anniversary of the first publication of NORTHERN LIGHTS (Scholastic, 1995), the first book in Philip Pullman’s iconic HIS DARK MATERIAL trilogy. To celebrate, Penguin Random House have announced the publication of SERPENTINE, a 16-year-old, never before seen story that links HIS DARK MATERIALS with THE BOOK OF DUST trilogy. SERPENTINE will be illustrated by Tom Duxbury and published this Autumn, with Olivia Coleman cast to narrate the audio edition. Penguin will also be publishing paperback editions of THE SECRET COMMONWEALTH and DAEMON VOICES this autumn in collaboration with David Fickling Books, with exclusive new content in both publications.

The first illustration from Scholastic’s up and coming NORTHERN LIGHTS: THE ILLUSTRATED EDITION was also revealed yesterday after being chosen by fans in a Twitter poll. The edition will be published on 5^th November 2020, with illustrations by Chris Wormell.

To further the celebrations, Philip took part in a Twitter Q&A with questions from the cast of BBC/HBO’s HIS DARK MATERIALS, narrators, illustrators, and publishers of the series, and author friends. Finally, Philip appeared live on BBC 4 Front Row for an interview with Samira Ahmed. Happy 25^th anniversary NORTHERN LIGHTS!

“When it comes to human affairs, a billion invisible filaments connect us to our own pasts, as well as to the most remote things we can imagine; and I hope that, above all, these books are about being alive and being human.” – Philip Pullman