In the year that Jodie Whittaker will become the first female Doctor, Penguin Random House Children’s range will publish what is believed to be the first ever all-female authored Doctor Who collection of short stories.
According to The Bookseller, The Day She Saved the Doctor will feature contributions from writers Jenny Colgan (Doctor Who: In The Blood), Jacqueline Rayner (Doctor Who: The Stone Rose), Dorothy Koomson (When I Was Invisible), and Scottish comedian and Strictly Come Dancing 2017 contestant Susan Calman.
The book – which features a cover designed by Kelly Wagner – will be published in hardback on International Women’s Day, 8th March 2018 and feature companions Clara, Rose, Bill, and Sarah Jane respectively, as they “explore time and space, get into trouble, fight enemies with the Doctor, and step in to save his life”.
We’re so excited about publishing this all female @bbcdoctorwho short story collection in March! Featuring stories written by @SusanCalman @DorothyKoomson @jennycolgan and @girlfromblupo. Pre-order your copy here: https://t.co/hcPLgPfYVA pic.twitter.com/e8MfE2FE4P
— PuffinBooks (@PuffinBooks) 13 December 2017
Calman revealed that she was “excited, delighted and honoured to contribute to this amazing book”.
She added:
“Doctor Who is one of my greatest passions in life and it’s a thrilling time for the show with the wonderful Jodie Whittaker about to take the helm.”
Jenny Colgan said:
“It felt quite odd to be asked to write a story for Rose where she was the central character – Rose has always been absolutely central to Doctor Who for me, from the second she appeared, and I think the fans agree.”
Koomson described her story as “very much about accepting who you are, enjoying what you look like even if you don’t fit expected beauty aesthetics and always, always being yourself”.
Rayner added:
“The Doctor’s assistants are often looked upon as being interchangeable sidekicks, just there to say ‘Why, Doctor?’, but that’s very far from the truth. It’s wonderful to be part of a project celebrating some of the strong women of Doctor Who.”
A PRH Children’s spokesperson told The Bookseller:
“We believe it is the first ever all-female authored collection, as the only other publisher in the Doctor Who world is [fellow PRH imprint] Ebury. Whilst they have published novels by individual female writers, there hasn’t been an anthology from so many female writers with a female illustrator too.”
It was revealed in July that BBC Books and PRH Children’s had struck an exclusive two-series deal with BBC Worldwide to continue their line of Doctor Who publishing. The deal for global rights included all formats including non-fiction, fiction, activity, novelty, audio and the annual, which PRH said marked a “new era” for the franchise.
The Day She Saved the Doctor will be published in hardback on 8th March 2018 and can be pre-order from Amazon for £12.38.
