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7 New Target Novelisations Revealed for Summer 2020

Seven new Target novelisations will be released in July 2020, consisting of stories for the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, and Eleventh Doctors – many of which are adapted by their original screenwriters!

The Witchfinders will be the first Thirteenth Doctor adventure to be turned into a Target book, novelised by Joy Wilkinson; Mark Gatiss has adapted The Crimson Horror; and Rob Shearman‘s turned Dalek into a “slightly bonkers book”.

After the successful hardback publication of Eric Saward’s long-awaited novelisations, Resurrection of the Daleks and Revelation of the Daleks, fans will finally be able to complete their Target collections with beautiful paperback editions. These will be accompanied by a Target edition of The Pirate Planet by James Goss, the first time this Douglas Adams story has been published in the Target range, and a reissue of the Gary Russell’s novelisation of The TV Movie.

These will be published in July 2020, with cover art by Anthony Dry – co-founder of The Doctor Who Companion‘s predecessor, Kasterborous!

Joy Wilkinson said:

“I’m thrilled to become part of the illustrious tradition of Target novels. It was so much fun dipping my toe back into prose with the Target Storybook so I’m now relishing the chance to return to the world of The Witchfinders and get fully immersed. It’s a great chance to spend more time with the Doctor and fam, hang with King James, and find out more about the mysteries of Bilehurst Cragg and the mighty, muddy Morax.”

Robert Shearman said:

“I’m still pinching myself that I was asked to write the first Dalek story of the new series – and that was fifteen years ago! I didn’t dare dream that the show would become such a big hit, and that it would still be on air now, as big and as exciting as ever – there have been so many adventures since, and so many new Doctors, and, of course, so many more Daleks. It feels like a real honour now to go back in time and relive my script… and maybe reveal a few surprises that never made it to the screen…”

Mark Gatiss said:

“Novelisations of the ‘new’ series are the final piece of this whole wonderful puzzle for me and to become a Target author after all this years is a complete delight! It’s been lovely to revisit one of my favourite scripts and flesh out the lurid residents of Sweetville in all their crimson finery.”

The name “Target” is synonymous with Doctor Who: a new novel was published for almost every Doctor Who serial between 1963 and 1989, with 5 notable exceptions, and BBC Books has been successfully reissuing a number of these classic paperbacks since 2012. In 2017, BBC Books expanded the range by publishing the first all-new batch of Target novels, filling in one of those classic-era gaps (City of Death), along with new-era novelisations from Russell T Davies (Rose), Steven Moffat (The Day of the Doctor), Paul Cornell (Twice Upon A Time), and Jenny T Colgan (The Christmas Invasion).

BBC Books will publish all seven new Target books on 23rd July 2020, with an RRP of £7.99 each.

Philip Bates

Editor and co-founder of the Doctor Who Companion. When he’s not watching television, reading books ‘n’ Marvel comics, listening to The Killers, and obsessing over script ideas, Philip Bates pretends to be a freelance writer. He enjoys collecting everything. Writer of The Black Archive: The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang, The Silver Archive: The Stone Tape, and 100 Objects of Doctor Who.

7 New Target Novelisations Revealed for Summer 2020

by Philip Bates time to read: 2 min
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