Black Library Weekly: The 2026's Black Library Celebration - A Postmortem

Ever have a day when things just go your way? Not just some mundane things, but things that seem wildly unlikely, so much so that it starts to feel, I dunno, kinda weird? Like pinch me, am I dreaming weird?

Saturday was just such a day for me. Getting dressed for the St. Patrick's Day parade here in Louisville, I pulled my MacLeod-tartan kilt out of the closet only to find the sporran wasn't with it. Bracing myself for one of those frantic, search-all-over-the-house quests, I instead unexpectedly found it in the first place I looked.

Then I pulled my 20-hole Docs out, realizing with horror that they were laceless. I wear them so occasionally that I'd completely forgotten the last time I'd opted to order new laces and toss out the fraying old ones. That was months ago, where the hell did I put those laces? Found 'em, second place I looked.

Finally, the hunt was on for my scally cap (Terry Sawchuk edition from Boston Scally). My wife found it within thirty seconds, and at this point I felt I was due for a reality check. I knew what it would be, too: ordering Horus Rising (Deluxe) and Ghazgkull Thraka (Special) on the Warhammer website when preorders opened in twenty minutes.

Living in the US, Warhammer preorders are a bit like New Year's Eve. You get to watch as the event slowly traverses the world before it arrives on your doorstep- and early returns from our friends in Oceania weren't looking good.

The last time we had an initial offering of a new Horus Heresy Limited Edition was last June with the Era of Ruin anthology. It was a complete disaster; an influx of scalper-bots crashed the site right out of the gate. The sale of the Era of Ruin was called off, with vague promises of returning at a future date (which it did the following December as a print-on-demand offering).

Since last June, the Black Library commercial landscape has appeared to shift a little. The Era of Ruin experience brought with it the introduction of a "Premium Edition" designation in November, taking its place alongside the traditional Special and Limited Editions. Premium Editions would have the deluxe characteristics of the deluxe offerings, but they would be delimited. In other words, neither limited to a particular declared print run nor stamped with numbering on the inside. Premium Editions like the re-introduced Era of Ruin could also be reprinted at a later date should demand warrant another run.

It had remained an open question as to whether or not the "Premium Edition" designation would do enough to help combat the relentless scrapcode of the scalper community, and November's offering of the new Scouring series opener, Ashes of the Imperium by Chris Wraight, seemed to go smoothly enough.

But then, Ashes of the Imperium is not Horus Rising.

Whether it's because it's the start of a new quasi-series, the Horus Heresy Saga, or just because the book has earned a long-enduring popularity as the original book in the Heresy, Horus Rising's Premium Edition saw what appeared to be a feeding frenzy when the preorder window first opened. Readers in Australia and New Zealand were the first to report significant technical issues plaguing the preorder, with those in Europe following suit hours later.

The issues ranged from hanging processing to out of stock notifications to this, more general statement of error:

Image credit: Kyle Thorne

A lucky few reported in the usual gathering spaces their successes; many more their frustrations. Some eventually had luck after trying for upwards of twenty minutes or more. Others never did before giving up or seeing the stock no longer available. And the problems seemed to be payment-agnostic, too. My traditional method of streamlining the process- pre-loading a voucher- offered little protection from hanging payment screens.

And of course, copies immediately started popping up on eBay like mushrooms after a rain. There would soon be scores of them- and they were selling, too, at a markup of 100% or more. Despite the promises of supply that the Premium Editions offered... plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, non?

And so, as I prepared to depart for the St. Patrick's Day parade, I braced for impact at 12:54 PM EST and logged into the site, preparing to start refreshing until the new product dropped.

I was done four minutes later.

Not only was this completely different from what I'd been hearing all morning, but it was actually the fastest checkout in memory. Even on the most humdrum of preorder days I typically still hang on the payment screen for a bit, but not this time. Product popped, I grabbed the two books I was after₁, and breezed through checkout.

My hemispheric compatriots seemed to report a similarly painless experience. Whatever the issues that had tragically plagued our friends abroad were, they had not made it as far as our fair shores. If, as has been speculated, the issues were due to the shadowy network of scalpers and their legions of automated bots flooding the zone, perhaps they'd satisfied their nefarious designs earlier and simply took their bots and went home.

The Black Library tends to be tight-lipped about such things, so the reality is that we'll likely never know.

The good news is, in the Premium Edition format the Black Library has given itself the tools to make corrections for these sorts of circumstances. No longer limited to a defined number of copies, it can greenlight another round of printing to help meet consumer demand (and, hopefully, assuage consumer frustration). Perhaps we'll see Horus Rising in another Sunday Preview for preordering, or maybe there will a second offering on a print-on-demand basis. While neither solution is as satisfactory as simply having things work on the day, some redress is surely better than no redress.

Poll of the Week

Before we dive into the Celebration itself, let's do a quick pulse check!

Image credit: Games Workshop[/caption]

Black Library Celebration 2026: A Post-Mortem

The Black Library Celebration for 2026 came and went this week, and it didn't seem to land with quite the usual reception as it has in years past.

Sunday 3/8: The Preorder List Drops

On the very eve of the Celebration, the big Sunday Preview dropped detailing all the goodies we were getting this time around:

Horus Rising by Dan Abnett, in hardcover and Premium Edition
Ghazghkull Thraka: Warlord of Warlords by Denny Flowers, in hardcover and Special Edition
Chem Dog, by Callum Davis, in hardcover
The anthology Grombrindal: The Legend of the White Dwarf, in hardcover
The Infinite and the Divine – Illustrated and Annotated Edition by Robert Rath, in hardcover
Faith & Fire - 20th Anniversary Edition by James Swallow, in hardcover
The Green Tide, an omnibus of Ork stories in paperback
Two Readers' Choice reprints: Deathwatch by Steve Parker and Gav Thorpe's Grudge Bearer
The Black Library Celebration 2026 mini-anthology

In summary: two new novels (Chem Dog and Warlord of Warlords), a new Age of Sigmar anthology, the three "scheduled" reprints (20th Anniversary, Readers' Choice), a new Illustrated and Annotated Edition, the traditional-mini-anthology, and the kickoff of the Horus Heresy Saga with Horus Rising.

Last year, we had two new novels (Justin D. Hill's Hell's Last, Shade of Khaine by Evan Dicken), both offered in hardcover and Special Edition. A paperback anthology (Blood of the Imperium), an art book (Black Library: The Art of Warhammer 40,000), an omnibus (Gotrek and Maleneth), and the trio of "scheduled" reprints (Fifteen Hours, Grey Seer, and Titanicus).

As tie-ins to the two new novels, there were also some tabletop miniatures on offer last year with the Hell's Last box set (Minka Lesk and her retinue) as well as Malaneth Witchblade.

We'll get to the miniatures in a bit, but from a paper perspective it was a mostly even slate of offerings compared to last year.

Image credit: Games Workshop

Monday 3/9: A New Word Bearers Book

We talked a bit more about this last week, but last Monday we were teased with the announcement of an upcoming Horus Heresy novel from Rich McCormick (Renegades: Lord of Excess, Knife Fight).

Interestingly, though the timing certainly suggests this was tied into the Celebration, there was no mention of the Celebration in the teaser itself- nor any special graphics as there had been in years previous.

Image credit: Graham McNeill

Tuesday 3/10: Readers' Choice Reprint Voting

Just as in years past, the Black Library presented us with a list of books eligible for next year's Readers' Choice Reprints and asked us to vote for one in each category (40K, Fantasy).

40K

The Gildar Rift, by Sarah Cawkwell
Path of the Archon, by Andy Chambers
Crossfire, by Matthew Farrer
The Horusian Wars: Resurrection, by John French
The Eye of Medusa, by David Guymer

The World of Legend

Blood of Aenarion, by William King
Bloodborn, by Nathan Long
The Legend of Sigmar: Heldenhammer, by Graham McNeill
Runefang, by C. L. Werner
Sword of Justice, by Chris Wraight

Image credit: Games Workshop

Wednesday 3/11: New Special Edition of Rynn's World

Steve Parker's body of work consists of five novels and a number of short stories, and it's quietly having a moment. As noted above, his 2013 novel Deathwatch is this year's Readers' Choice reprint for 40K, and now 2010's Rynn's World is getting a Special Edition reprint.

Written as the first novel of the Space Marine Battles series, a collection that includes notable titles like Aaron Dembski-Bowden's Helsreach and the Damocles novella anthology (review), Rynn's World pits the remnants of the Crimson Fists Successor Chapter against the forces of an Ork Waaagh!

Whenever a seemingly-random book gets brought back for another look, a good question to ask is, why this one, and why now? Given that the focus of the lore appears to be shifting back to the Orks in advance of the Eleventh Edition of the tabletop, could Rynn's World hold a clue to what we can see in the year ahead?

Thursday 3/12: An Interview with the Studio

Thursday's content was a little light if you were hoping for more reveals, but it did offer some interesting insight behind the curtain at how the sausage gets made. These sorts of glimpses aren't common- GW generally keeps a pretty tight lid on "the making of...₂"- so getting a glimpse of the thought process in designing the new Scouring series was a treat.

Still, this felt a bit like a miss given that it didn't give us any new information about the Scouring as a book series overall. This would have been the perfect time to tease the next book in the Scouring series after Ashes of the Imperium, but it was not to be.

Image credit: Dan Abnett

Friday 3/13: A Brand-New Release from Dan Abnett

"Yes, it's not Pandemonium," noted Abnett on his Facebook page, and I have to admit that the announcement of the third book in the Bequin series was my dark-horse candidate for blockbuster announcement this Celebration.

All the same, the reveal of a two-book series focusing on life in an Imperial hive is exactly the kind of vernacular literature I'm here for. For me this was a 10/10 reveal, no notes, stuck the landing, etc.

For veteran readers who widely pointed to concerns with the overlong nature of The End and the Death, the idea of a two-booker from Abnett raises questions about the degree to which the writer may have been left to editorially run amok- especially since the two books are being released at the same time.

We won't know until we know, but I'll be excited to find out.

Now, here's what we didn't get.

Image credit: Games Workshop

AWOL: Black Library Miniatures

Miniatures are at the very heart of Warhammer, and the Black Library Celebration has long been an opportunity for a bit of crossover fun. Here's what the last few years have brought us:

2021: Uriel Ventris, hero of Graham McNeill's The Swords of Calth
2022: Dominion Zephon and Fafnir Rann, from Dan Abnett's Siege of Terra tale, Saturnine
2023: Captain Messinius (above) from the Dawn of Fire book series
2024: Ufthak Blackhawk, from Da Big Dakka by Mike Brooks
2025: As mentioned earlier, we saw a Hell's Last box for Justin D. Hill's novel of the same name, as well as Malaneth Witchblade from Evan Dicken's Shade of Khaine

This year the odds-on favorite was the Alpha Legion's Solomon Akurra thanks to a brief note in the author's foreword in Ghost Legion. Wrote Brooks:

"Even better, this newly visible Solomon has been immortalized as an absolutely stunning miniature! I'd love to say that the model inspired the novel, but the novel was written before I'd even seen it. I have, however, seen the miniature before writing this foreword, and ISN'T HE BEAUTIFUL? The daemonic arm, the (probably) Pale Spear... it's such an honour to have another one of my creations for the Black Library turned into a model.

"It is, however, also a pain, because now I definitely have to have to detour from my purely xenos ways and start at least a small Alpha Legion force. In such tiny ways do the Ruinous Powers begin our corruption."

Completed mini, just-released book, Black Library Celebration... all the stars seemed in alignment.

Until they weren't.

Image credit: Games Workshop

AWOL: Short Story Subscription

Up until recently I'd considered the short story-to-novel pipeline a fairly concrete pathway for aspiring Black Library writers, but the current pause on new short fiction has called that into question.

At time of writing (Sunday night) it doesn't look like we're getting a Celebration eShorts subscription, though a one-week gap between Celebration and Subscription is not without precedent. Back in 2022, for instance, the Subscription was released the week following- but then they told us to expect that two weeks earlier in their announcement.

This year- as with last December's missing Advent Calendar- there's no forewarning, no notice. Just absence, like a shadow in the void.

I'm particularly curious for what this says about the current state of the Black Library. Look, for instance, at the recent No Peace Among Stars anthology, which was essentially a collection of Theme Week content from the past couple of years. Why would the Black Library feel the need to shut off the pipeline? A few conjectures...

They're discontinuing anthologies and therefore have less need of a supply of fresh stories. Yeah, I think we can rule this one out.
The current 'slush pile' of digitally-released short stories is in excess of requirements. In this model, the Black Library may feel like they have enough to work with for the now, so no need to keep buying more. The flaw here is that the Black Library isn't giving these out for free but rather selling them, so in theory they should be drawing revenue for the product line. If the stories continue to be profitable (an if I have no data to support one way or the other), then it stands to reason they should be happy to continue commissioning them from writers to sell to us consumers.
The model itself isn't working. In this instance we note that just because we're not getting the stories released in the "digital subscription" model doesn't automatically mean that the Black Library has slowed down its commission of them. While the overhead for a printed book is certainly more than for digital goods, it may just be that the demand from the buying public is significantly higher for printed goods. In that case, Games Workshop might seek to realize a greater return by bundling unreleased stories in anthologies rather than online. The flaw here is that thus far the Black Library has happily done both, selling the digital product first and the paper to follow- and thus getting two bites at the apple.

As always, if you have any other thoughts I'd love to hear 'em! I can be found on the Black Library subreddit, the Black Library Nutters Facebook Group, and on Bluesky.

AWOL: Art Book

In contrast to previous years, there was no art or coffee table book this year. In the past we've seen offerings like last year's Art of the Black Library or the First Founding release. This year, not a peep.

Again this could be a market-based decision based on potentially underperforming sales numbers. Alternately, the partnership with DK Books saw an art book released this past November (above). GW may have simply felt that box was suitably checked.

All in all, I'm rating this one a slight disappointment. I liked the selection of books released, and the reveal of Hive in particular was suitably blockbuster-y to leave us on a high note. In the negative column was the lack of a Celebration Subscription, the lack of communication around the event (in particular keeping everyone in will-there-won't-there suspense for much of February), and the seeming decline in effort when compared to previous years.

ICYMI

Lenoon's review of the Vaults of Terra omnibus was a big one for our reviews this week, generating a good amount of conversation in the online communities. And while it's not directly Black Library related, I also want to note that he's undertaken a new article series around building a Warhound Titan. What makes it particularly intriguing is that it's as much about the building of a Titan from the foot up as The Old Man and the Sea is about fishing. Come for the Titan, stay for everything else.

Meanwhile, I added another book review to the tally for Lore Friday, this time an installment of the Beyond the Black Library occasional series. In reviewing the new mil sci-fi epic Thane's Gambit by Richard Fox (the author of We Were Brothers for the Black Library), I also took a look at the idea of authenticity in fiction. With Fox being a combat vet, that lived experience drips from every page.

Finally, whether you're new to Warhammer 40K or a longtime veteran, it's always fun to brush up on your lore in such a deep and rich setting. Rob 'The Chirurgeon' Jones dropped a big Lore Explainer this week on the Ultramarines, so make sure to check it out!

Around the webway, Filmdeg Miniatures had ">a terrific chat with Neil Roberts, the artist whose work graces many of the Horus Heresy book covers. In this installment they cover the art that graces Fulgrim, The First Heretic, Betrayer, and The Master of Mankind.

Meanwhile, Mira Manga one-on-one with Graham McNeill to discuss Angel Exterminatus, the TTP Field Manual pod covered some of the lore in the recent 500 Worlds release, and the Fluffenhammer lads continue to deep dive into issues of Warhammer Monthly. This time around they're talking Kal Jerico, Karl Kopinski's art style, and the rest of issue #24.

Finally, Jen and Keri of the superb WH40K Book Club dive into Master of Rites by Rob Young.

Last Week's Poll

Last week I asked how you were feeling about the upcoming Black Library Celebration, and I think the most surprising result was seeing that a quarter of respondents either weren't very interested, or hadn't even heard of it in the first place.

That suggests that there's a goodly number of you that are somewhat new to the Black Library, and that's terrific! Just because we don't talk much about Christmas before Autumn each year doesn't mean it's not a wonderful time of year when it arrives, right?

On the other hand, less than half of respondents were "very" interested, which may suggest an opportunity for Games Workshop to jazz it up a little in the future. This year's somewhat tepid Celebration won't do them any favors there, but the best time to start work on improving is now.

C'mon James Workshop, let's get those numbers up!

Image credit: Warhammer Combat Cards

Quick Hits

As we've noted previously, Graham McNeill has been working away on stories and lore for the tabletop wargame Trench Crusade. Last time he was focusing on Sniper Priests, and this week a Goetic Warlocks story is firmly in the frame.
Paul Kane (Triggers) was interviewed by horror writer C. C. Adams alongside Marie O'Regan. They cover their experiences as writers, experience in the genre, and the three things Kane says you won't get anywhere in writing without.
The Cast Party Podcast interviewed Chris Pramas (Into the Maelstrom, The Black Pearl). Focusing on game design and Pramas's experience as the founder of Green Ronin Publishing.
Finally, for anyone that plays Warhammer Combat Cards, I've got a bonus code for you: 7cqfnzxm. It's good for a Huron Blackheart Bonus Pack and assorted other goodies, and first one to redeem it gets the spoils!

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

Hive, by Dan Abnett
Zardu Layak, the Crimson Apostle by Rich McCormick
Rynn's World, by Steve Parker (Special Edition)

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

Carcharodons: Void Exile, by Robbie MacNiven (paperback, 3/21) (review)
Horus Rising, by Dan Abnett (hardcover and Premium, 3/28)
Ghazghkull Thraka: Warlord of Warlords, by Denny Flowers (hardcover and Special, 3/28)
Chem Dog, by Callum Davis (hardcover, 3/28)
Grombrindal: The Legend of the White Dwarf, by various (hardcover, 3/28)
The Infinite and the Divine – Illustrated and Annotated Edition, by Robert Rath (hardcover, 3/28)
Faith & Fire (20th Anniversary Edition) by James Swallow (hardcover, 3/28)
The Green Tide, by various (paperback 3/28)
Deathwatch, by Steve Parker (paperback, 3/28)
Grudge Bearer, by Gav Thorpe (paperback, 3/28)
Black Library Celebration 2026, by various (paperback, 3/28)
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 various (paperback, 7/28)
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The Ultimate Guide (hardcover, 8/4)
Archmagos, by Guy Haley (paperback, 8/11)
Words of Waaagh!, by DK Books (hardcover, 10/1)

Footnotes

I actually wanted a lot more, but I always order the 'standard' books through my FLGS. That's my 'secret weapon' for always getting what I'm after, and I explain why in much greater depth here.
In recent months they've been running more mini-interviews with authors about new-and-upcoming books, a trend I hope to see continue.

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