Black Library Weekly: At the Crossroads

Image credit: Games Workshop

Last June, Games Workshop held a worldwide celebration to commemorate the expansion and growth of the company's retail footprint. In recognition of the opening of the 200th store in North America- and of passing 300 stores in the UK and Europe- GW offered a special miniature of Captain Centos, as well as a special store coin.

One of the newer stores in North America that helped GW cross the 200-store threshold was in Evansville, Indiana, which had opened early last year. Finding myself in Evansville on account of my son's travel hockey this past weekend, I indulged in the tradition of stopping by the Warhammer store and picking up a mini as a memento of the trip.

I walked in empty-handed, walked out with Eternus, Blade of the First Prince, and in between I had a chance to chat with Walker, the store's new Manager (and Goonhammer reader!) whose ink was still drying on his promotion. The store was clean, uncluttered, and he was very attentive to the customers- all things that as a former FLGS owner never fail to leave a good impression.

Image credit: Jay Kirkman

With the continuing growth of their retail backbone, it's easy to feel confident in the direction the company's going in the brick and mortar sector. Alas, things in the Black Library space at the moment are not quite so clear.

About those Crossroads...

Don't worry, this section won't involve Ralph Macchio and a guitar. Instead, last week I threw a question to the community about where they think things are headed in light of some recent changes in the Black Library's current strategic focus:

Consider the following...

Two recent deluxe editions saw new and novel approaches taken for their release. Ashes of the Imperium- which initially appeared to be a traditional LE release (autographs, numbering, etc) was altered midstream to be delimited and sold as a "Premium Edition."
Era of Ruin's LE, which had its plug pulled when initially offered due to scalper interference, was offered as a Print on Demand (POD).
The traditional Advent Calendar eShort we've enjoyed for years was quietly and unceremoniously scuppered last month, with no announcement or even official acknowledgement. Just... gone.
We haven't heard anything (yet) about this year's Black Library Celebration. Last year, we saw some reveals of the Celebration minis (Hell's Last, Malaneth Witchblade) as early as 17 JAN.
Already this month we've seen one anticipated novel (Apostle) go up for pre-order, and two more get announced (Aestred Thurga: Pyre of Faith, Ghost Legion). Previously, you'd expect reveals to be saved for the Black Library Celebration event.

To be clear, I'm not drawing any conclusions here, but simply noting a confluence of unusual activity that seems to indicate we may be seeing some changes to the business model of the Black Library. That's not necessarily bad! And I'll be quite happy to be wrong if the Black Library Celebration gets announced next week with a slew of new goodies!

Well, we've got one more Sunday Preview under our belt, and none of those things have changed. While a Limited Edition release of Danie Ware's Aestred Thurga: Pyre of Faith was announced, this only exacerbates any speculation that we're not getting a Black Library Celebration this year, since you'd expect this to be exactly the kind of thing they'd want to save for one.

Not only that, but notice what the Warhammer Community article didn't say. Deluxe treatment? Check. Ribbon bookmark? Check. Author signature? Check. Numbering? Wellll...

What You Said

As you'd expect, there were lots of great thoughts and insights from the community around this.

u/Equivalent_Fun_4825 (Black Library subreddit):

I do hope that the change from LE to SE and the Ruin to POD means they’re trying to get books into the hands of more actual fans and that print runs will be generally higher though. I'm looking at how Dropsite and Ashes of the Imperium HCs are still widely available at major retailers being a possible indication of that general direction.

u/Hasvik212 (Black Library subreddit):

You can't have anthologies without short stories. We have to go back to 2009 to find a year with fewer new short stories released than 2025.

Tim Morton (Black Library Nutters FB Group):

With such limited distribution and a clear customer demand by people paying premium aftermarket prices from secondary sellers I wonder if BL is looking to a wider publishing deal with a major publisher. One with distribution and production power. Especially with the movie looming they may want to get into every hand they could to further promote the brand and service an increased demand due to a major movie.

Periklis Begzos (Black Library Nutters FB Group):

Usually, there is an art book, a miniature+book bundle, hardcover releases and reprints of readers' choice from classic BL titles. It's alarming that regardless of the Advent Calendar, all e-shorts publications seemed to be sporadic at best in 2025.

Maybe this year's celebration will be downsized and feel more like "Black Library Day" than celebration. Maybe the annual artbook will be replaced by DK's Age of Sigmar book, the miniatures/book release will be Huron Blackheart & company with a softcover reprint of Mike Brook's character novel. Or Aestred Thurga and Ghost Legion HC with a Solomon Akurra commemorative figure.

Jack O Callaghan (Black Library Nutters FB Group):

It’ll definitely be interesting to see if they persevere with the “premium edition” label, could mean a lot more books in collector hands.

As always, whenever engaging in speculation it's important to remember that we're not operating with all of the information. This week the Black Library Celebration announcement could drop, which- while later than past practice- would still see it celebrated in February. The only one who holds all the cards is Games Workshop- and they (for now, at least) ain't tellin'!

What's clear is that the Black Library- and Games Workshop more broadly- owe their continued prosperity to change, to recognizing that what worked yesterday might not be the ideal solution for tomorrow. They might be Khorne when it comes to our wallets, but they're undoubtedly Tzeentch in the boardroom. For all I know, there might not be a Black Library Celebration in February because they're replacing it with a "Black Library Month" later in the year.

Hey, I can dream, right?

Image credit: Games Wokshop

Up for Preorder

We've got our first Limited Edition of the year with Danie Ware's (The Triumph of Saint Katherine, Morvenn Vahl: Spear of Faith) latest tale of the Battle Sisters, Aestred Thurga: Pyre of Faith. This follows similar "character series" books like Grotsnik: Da Mad Dok by Denny Flowers (review) and Rob Young's Leontus: Lord Solar (review) in arriving first in Limited, followed by a standard hardcover a short time later (Grotsnik was released in Limited on 18 May, hardcover on 28 June).

For you Age of Sigmar fans, Evan Dicken's sequel to Lioness of the Parch (review), First Marshal, will also be available in standard hardcover.

Finally, we'll be getting a reissue of The Witch Hunter's Handbook, written by Darius Hinks (Ghoulslayer, Daemonhammer). This is an "in-world" text similar to The Imperial Infantryman's Handbook, and was first published in 2006 and has been previously reprinted.

Image credit: u/Indiannoir

Community Creativity

I saw this over on Reddit and had to share. One Dan Abnett fan has put together a display showcasing an autographed copy of Know No Fear. "I have honoured the greatest military sci fi book ever written in the way it should be," wrote u/Indiannoir.

"The ticking down then up timer thriller plot structure. The underdog dynamics. Ultramarines made cool with lots heroic moments. And most importantly Dan's incredible descriptions and action scenes" all cemented the book as top-shelf reading for u/Indiannoir.

With the addition of a purity seal from Starforged as well as a pair of Rewind Collectibles limited-edition Warhammer coins, it's a terrific display and showcase for how much these books can inspire creativity of our own.

Thanks for sharing!

Image credit: Games Workshop

ICYMI

Big news on Goonhammer this past week as we announced the winners of the inaugural, Annual Goonhammer Book Awards.

A big round of applause to the following:

Best Age of Sigmar Novel: Starseer's Ruin, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Best Warhammer 30K/40K Novel: Voidscarred, by Mike Brooks
Best Black Library Deluxe Edition: Chris Wraight's The Lords of Silence Illustrated and Annotated Edition
Best Black Library Debutant: Avalon Irons, Russel Zimmerman (tie)
Best Black Library Writer: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Black Library Lifetime Achievement: Dan Abnett
Best IP Tie-In Novel (Non-GW): Outfoxed by Bryan Young, Violent Inception by Russell Zimmerman (tie)

Make sure to check out the article for the full write-up, including all of the runners-up for the different categories.

On the review front, Lenoon cracked into The Dark Coil: Ascension, an omnibus of Peter Fehervari's Dark Coil work and successor to last year's The Dark Coil: Damnation (review).

Over at Warhammer Community, we had another drop of Black Book lore with the Night Lords at Thramas. They also teased both Aestred Thurga: Pyre of Faith as well as the next Mike Brooks novel, Ghost Legion. While no official release date for the latter was offered, we've had it on our Coming Attractions list (below) with a release date of 7 April based on a listing in the German Amazon site.

Speaking of teases, WARCOM also let it be known that there's another title coming up from their licensing partner DK Books, The Ultimate Guide to the Age of Sigmar. Not only that, but they're conducting a poll to determine which character will be its cover star from Yndrasta, Archaeon, or Ionus Cryptborn.

All great choices, but alas no option for a write-in candidate. #TeamIrixi

The winner will be announced on 26 February, in conjunction with the Warhammer Skulls festival celebrating officially-licensed merchandise.

Around the internet, meanwhile:

Cinderfall Gaming dropped a couple more short-video book reviews, first for -e1WCsOA">Tomb World by Jonathan Beer then Chris Thursten's ">Abraxia: Spear of the Everchosen.
Filmdeg Minitures ">sat down for an hour with William King (Trollslayer, Space Wolf), speaking about his experiences writing one of the most iconic Warhammer character duos of all time: Gotrek & Felix.
Mira Manga, meanwhile, ">had the chance to chat with John French about Dropsite Massacre (review). It's a fantastic and in-depth chat and well worth checking out. Not only that, but in advance of the interview Mira had very kindly asked if I had a question I might like to ask John, and it was terrific seeing his reaction and response. Thank you, Mira!
That's not all we've got from Mira this week, as she again joined up with Arbitor Ian's Book Club to review Chris Wraight's The Emperor's Legion. They also ">took a look at Graham McNeill's Angel Exterminatus from the Horus Heresy- busy week!
"Definitely the most fun we've had with a Warhammer novel," noted the TTP Field Manual podcast about Da Red Gobbo Collection anthology. The fellas tore into it here, and had plenty to say!
The Fluffenhammer Podcast was back with the latest installment of their issue-by-issue deep dive into Warhammer Monthly. This time around they looked at all the stories of issues #19 and 20. It's been a minute since we'd seen a new episode of the series, but they assure us they've said the proper benedictions to the Omnissiah and have their tech back up and working.

Image credit: Cubicle 7 Games

RPG Corner

Cubicle 7 Games has announced a new book of adventures in the Gilead System, the setting for their Warhammer 40,000 Wrath & Glory RPG.

Titled Adventures in Gilead, it's a collection of five adventures previously released only in PDF form, it should release next quarter but preorders also get a PDF immediately, ready for your next adventure!

In addition, they've also posted some behind-the-scenes at the GM screen they've developed for their Warhammer: The Old World RPG, as well as some points of interest in the city that's the setting for their starter set.

Image credit: Commando

Quick Hits

Adrian Tchaikovsky (Starseer's Ruin, On the Shoulders of Giants) was delighted to note he'd won two awards at our Annual Goonhammer Book Awards. "I’ve been writing for Black Library for a while – in fact the only outside franchise I’ve written for," he noted on his personal website. "Getting this nod from BL readers definitely makes me feel that I’ve arrived as part of a longstanding tradition full of exceptional authors. Thank you!"
James Swallow (Deus Encarmine, The Flight of the Eisenstein) announced his work on the classic British war comic Commando. His story, Harrier Squadron - Armistice Day is set in a fictional World War III that takes place in the 1990's, and definitely checks more than a few sweet-spot boxes for me!
Fans of Josh Reynolds (Dark Apostle, Apocalypse) and his Royal Occultist Mythos were treated to another dose of tasty lore from that very rich setting this week. The Dark Enchiridion presents some sinister tomes and books that inhabit the world.

Image credit: Games Workshop

Coming Attractions

Here’s a list of the known upcoming releases from the Black Library based on the available preorder information we have. As always, take all of this with a grain of salt unless it’s Games Workshop-confirmed.

This section will be updated weekly in this column. Any titles that are announced but without a date will be added once a date is assigned it, and anything highlighted in green is something just added (or updated) this week. Books that are underlined are previously unpublished titles.

Upcoming but Undated

Death Rider, by Rhuairidh James

Current PODs in Production

Era of Ruin, by various (POD Special Edition, window end 12/24)
Anarch, by Dan Abnett (POD hardcover, window end 1/12)
Blood Pact, by Dan Abnett (POD hardcover, window end 1/12)
Salvation's Reach, by Dan Abnett (POD hardcover, window end 1/12)
The Warmaster, by Dan Abnett (POD hardcover, window end 1/12)

Upcoming in 2026

Apostle, by David Annandale (hardcover, 2/14)
Death of Integrity, by Guy Haley (audio, 2/14)
First Marshal, by Evan Dicken (hardcover, 2/21)
Aestred Thurga: Pyre of Faith, by Danie Ware (Limited Edition, 2/21)
Huron Blackheart: Master of the Maelstrom, by Mike Brooks (paperback, 3/10)
The Green Tide, by various (paperback 4/7)
Carcharodons: Void Exile, by Robbie MacNiven (paperback, 4/7) (review)
Ghost Legion, by Mike Brooks (hardcover, 4/7)
Carnage Unending, by various (paperback, 4/21)
Legends of the Waaagh!, by various (paperback, 5/19)
Yarrick: The Omnibus, by David Annandale (paperback, 5/19)
Horus Rising, by Dan Abnett (paperback, 6/2)
Tomb World, by Jonathan Beer (paperback, 6/30)
The Remnant Blade, by Mike Vincent (paperback, 6/30)
Voidscarred, by Mike Brooks (paperback, 6/30)
Krakenblood, by Marc Collins (paperback, 7/14)
Vagabond Squadron, by Robbie MacNiven (paperback, 7/14)
Starseer's Ruin, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (paperback, 7/14)
Siege of Terra: Flames of Betrayal, by James Swallow (paperback, 7/28)
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The Ultimate Guide (hardcover, 8/4)
Archmagos, by Guy Haley (paperback, 8/11)

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