Black Library Weekly: The Votes Are In...

Welcome to the first Black Library Weekly of 2026! Nothing new in the Black Library preorder queue this week (unless you count the omnibus collection of Chris Wraight's Vaults of Terra series), though we do have a number of previously-released titles arriving in softcover (full list in the "Coming Attractions" section below).

That doesn't mean we lack for big news to talk about, though, as the Black Library has released the results of the 2025 Book of the Year Contest. I was pleased to see John French's Dropsite Massacre top the list, given that it was my own 30K/40K Book of the Year in my 2025 Retrospective. Meanwhile, my "fingers off the pulse" streak with Marc Collins continues for a second year. I've often noted that I wasn't big on Eidolon: The Auric Hammer, while it came in second place in the fan polling. This year it went the other way: the absolutely sublime and poetic Krakenblood was my Honorable Mention for Book of the Year- and didn't crack the top 10.

I'll have to be okay marching to the beat of a different drum on this one, though I do think Krakenblood's exclusion was criminal. If you need a little more Krakenblood love before moving onto the next section (hi Marc!), feel free to (re-)read my review here.

All the same, a few other things in the standings managed to jump out at me.

Intercept Course

Dan Abnett's Interceptor City came up big in the standings with a third-place finish, a significant improvement from 2024 when it placed ninth. That's right, through a quirk of the calendar one book got to compete in two different years. That's because it released as a Mega Limited Edition in November of 2024, with a standard hardcover appearing the following February.

I don't have strong feelings about this myself- the Black Library Book of the Year is largely an exercise in fun- but it does suggest some interesting conclusions about when a book's 'official' release is when there's an advance, deluxe edition being offered. It might have been better to leave the book out of the 2024 pool of consideration, knowing that a "regular" release was right around the corner if the feeling within the Black Library was that a Mega Edition does not constitute a debut release.

Alternately, it may just be that the Black Library doesn't limited books to one attempt at the title. Rob Young's Leontus: Lord Solar was also included in the balloting for both 2024 and 2025, with a similar situation to Interceptor City having a November Limited Edition and January standard hardcover release.

And really, can we just take a moment to appreciate that a pricey Mega Edition coming in 9th at the tail end of the consideration window is a pretty impressive accomplishment?

The Sweet Spot

Speaking of Rob Young, did his Master of Rites ever stand a chance? Probably not, through no fault of the author's. In this case, timing was almost certainly to blame as the book released on 06 December- just four days before the Book of the Year polls closed. Not even the fact that the book had been teased all the way back in April was likely to give it a fighting chance.

It also raises the question: if some books are hindered by being released too late, might other books have seen their chances diminished by being released too early? Is there a "sweet spot" on the calendar that ensures there's plenty of time for readers to enjoy a book, but not so much time passing that it leaves their 'top of mind awareness' by the time awards season rolls around?

This is one of the motives behind the "For Your Consideration" campaigns that film and television studios launch right before voting season. Perhaps any Black Library authors whose books are released this month or next might consider launching a (tongue-in-cheek) mini-media blitz to bring them back into audience consciousness right around the first week of December.

I know I would.

Outside Looking In

Finally, it came as little surprise once again to see that the Age of Sigmar property was totally blanked in the polls. I talked about this a bit recently in my 2025 Year in Review, noting that:

The Age of Sigmar setting gets short shrift in the Black Library Book of the Year voting, but that's not entirely surprising. It only gets about half the attention as 40K in terms of content and releases, and thus if it's strictly a numbers game it will always be the suffering sister. Not one book made the top 10 this year, nor did any last year. One (Soulslayer, by Darius Hinks) did place 8th in 2022, so... result?

I think the Black Library should consider abandoning the notion that these properties should be treated the same, and acknowledge instead that Age of Sigmar might benefit for a little extra care and feeding. I'd be quite fine with a Top 10 Books of the Year (excluding Age of Sigmar) article that had a separate section highlighting the Top 3 AoS books. Voting in two polls isn't appreciably harder than just voting in one, and as long as we keep all the properties together AoS is always going to wilt in the shade.

Reaching a smaller potential audience must already be a consideration for authors choosing whether they'd prefer to write about Space Marines or Stormcast Eternals. Let's not tie both hands behind their back by giving them diminished marketing reach as well.

Image credit: PA

Time to Bring Back the Proclaimers?

Back in 1998 Scottish duo The Proclaimers charmed the world with their delightfully poppy I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles).

With the looming of the new 500 Worlds narrative campaign from Warhammer, perhaps we need an opening act to warm up Adam and Eddie for the Warhammer Preview Show coming later this month!

Anyone? No?

See, this is why the Black Library should take my marketing advice with a pillar of salt. Still, it was pretty exciting to see 500 Worlds: Titus – The Battle for Unity Begins pop up in the Sunday Preview this week. Even if you've never pushed a piece a plastic across the board in a Charge, you may well still enjoy the 80-page lorebook the box includes.

Image credit: Games Workshop

In preparation for the event I've been listening to a little background myself with the audiobook of Guy Haley's Dark Imperium and let's just say that I'm never going to read Roboute Guilliman's dialogue ever again without hearing it in my head in John Banks' voice. Truly a chef's kiss of voice casting.

Image credit: Games Workshop

The Goonhammer No-Prize

Back in 1964, Marvel Comics introduced something called the "No-Prize," awarded to fans who caught continuity errors or other mistakes in the comics and wrote in about them. Typically, the fans would provide some explanation that justified the error, often straining credulity in the process. Often, the more over-the-top, the better as the No-Prize itself was something of a satirical running gag. But ultimately, it was a gesture of acknowledgement and respect for their keen-eyed readers, and it's little surprise that when I entered my Marvel eta (early 80's), it was alive and well.

In that spirit, this week I'll be awarding the Goonhammer No-Prize to Devin, who kindly pointed out a missing entry in last week's walkthrough of the different First & Only printings. Back in 2016, the Black Library released a special Box Set of Dan Abnett's Founding trilogy of books (First & Only, Ghostmaker, and Necropolis).

Of course, limited to only 750 sets you'd have to be lucky to have one, and I appreciate the catch, Devin!

Image credit: Games Workshop

Amazon Release Dates

I recently got into a conversation with a Black Library reader who seemed quite insistent that the release dates for upcoming books on Amazon were gospel. I advised him that in my experience I'd found them to be largely correct, but they were a bit like a self-guided missile in that as they got closer to their target they'd often do slight course corrections.

He didn't believe me, and of course that's the kind of thing that's not easy to provide proof for had I felt so compelled. A shame I can't send today's review back in time, because a number of upcoming Black Library books saw their expected release dates tweaked this week. The upcoming releases list included at the end of every Black Library Weekly column highlights any changes or updates we make to the list in green, so you can always see what's different from the previous week.

And as an added treat, we've found date listings now for two more titles, Guy Haley's Archmagos (review) and Starseer's Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky (review).

Image credit: Games Workshop

ICYMI

With the turn of the year, a lot of us are releasing our end-of-year recaps. For instance, here's SRM looking back on twelve months of building and painting miniatures, while Lenoon's terrific retrospective straddles both the hobbying element as well as his experiences writing about it.

I could hardly resist doing the same this week, and tied looking back on my rookie year here at Goonhammer with announcing my top three Books of the Year for Age of Sigmar and Warhammer 30K/40K. I read a lot of incredible books over these past twelve months, but in the end there can be only one.

Err, two. There can be only two. One for each side. Well, you get the idea.

Over at Filmdeg Miniatures, Tom ">had the chance to chat with the legendary illustrator Adrian Smith (a name that's come up often on our 40K History of the Black Library series). It's a two-parter, with this installment focusing on Smith's classic artwork of Horus squaring off against The Emperor from illustration to impact. I don't know about you, but I find examinations of a single facet of Warhammer's storied history to be fascinating, and am looking forward to more!

Friends of the show Jen and Keri of the WK40K Book Club have also gotten into the end-of-the-year action, releasing a delightfully large "Book Club Awards" episode. As some of the Black Library's most prolific reviewers, it's a real treat to see what books end up on top!

Speaking of prolific reviewers, Arbiter Ian and Mira Manga haven't been idle either! ">This week the dynamic duo tears into Graham McNeill's Fulgrim, book five of the Horus Heresy mainline series.

Image credit: Games Workshop

Quick Hits

For those interested in the Warhammer Fantasy line from Cubicle 7 Games, Wargamer connected with CEO Dominic McDowall to get a look at what the year ahead will bring. From this month's Druchii sourcebook Temple of Spite to an upcoming new campaign, there's a good reason why Wargamer says that 2026 is the "perfect time" to start playing the game! Cubicle 7's major warehouse-clearing sale ends today, so it might be worth checking out.
Warhammer Community has announced the next Warhammer Preview Show coming up in just a couple weeks. While the last one was beset by on-location technical difficulties, this one is back at Warhammer World and should be a much smoother experience. A must-watch if you're into the tabletop game, I'm not expecting a lot of Black Library reveals given we're fast approaching the Black Library Celebration in February (but you'd better believe I'll be watching anyway!).
WARCOM also published a "Warhammer by the numbers" infographic slide show, one of which highlighted which Black Library audiobooks were the most listened-to this past year. Were you surprised to learn they were there first three books of the Horus Heresy?
I don't play Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus, but on occasion I get a code redeemable for a special character and I like to hide it down here as an easter egg for a lucky reader. Here's the most recent one, for a free Nicodemus: 00033EKJT3EPNYJ
Next Time in Black Library Weekly... we'll check in with White Dwarf and see what's been going on with the stories there. Plus, we've had another reader request- this time, it involves books about the Astra Militarum!

Black Library Readers' Hall of Fame

Our biweekly feature keeps marching on, with polling for the first group of books from 2003 closing this past weekend. Look for the announcement of the winners this coming Saturday.

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

Apostle, by David Annandale
Death Rider, by Rhuairidh James
First Marshal, by Evan Dicken

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

Verminslayer, by David Guymer (paperback, 1/17)
Grombrindal: Ancestor’s Burden, by Chris Thursten (paperback, 1/17)
Farsight: Blade of Truth, by Phil Kelly (paperback, 1/24)
Vaults of Terra: The Omnibus, by Chris Wraight (paperback, 1/24)
Fulgrim: The Perfect Son, by Jude Reid (paperback, 1/24) (review)
Siege of Terra: The Shattered and the Soulless, by Graham McNeill (paperback, 1/24)
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)
The Ghost Legion: The Pillar of Dreams, by Mike Brooks (title translated from German) (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)
Archmagos, by Guy Haley (paperback, 8/11)

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