I kind of feel like Del Rey/Lucasbooks are sitting together in a room somewhere, steepling their fingers, and saying, “You wanted news? Okay, we’ll give you news.”

So after today’s official announcement about the status of the Expanded Universe, Disney Publishing Worldwide and Random House have announced a relaunch of the Star Wars adult fiction line. From the press release:

Following today’s announcement of Lucasfilm’s new unified storytelling approach, Disney Publishing Worldwide is proud to announce their first step into that larger world, beginning with Del Rey Books. The publishing program will feature new adult fiction novels set in the beloved galaxy far, far away, and will be closely connected to the cinematic entertainment currently in development at Lucasfilm.

Star Wars novels consistently rank on the New York Times Bestseller lists — from the very first tie-in novel, an adaptation ofStar Wars: A New Hope released by Del Rey in 1976, to the recently published Star Wars:Kenobi ­– and dozens of titles in between. With over 75 million copies sold worldwide, these books have captured the imaginations and creativity of authors who have enriched the Star Wars experience for fans around the globe.

Going forward, Lucasfilm has begun mapping out the narrative future of Star Wars storytelling that will appear on film and television and in other media so that all projects will benefit from real-time collaboration and alignment. The future Star Warsnovels from Disney Publishing Worldwide and Del Rey Books will now be part of the official Star Wars canon as reflected on upcoming TV and movie screens.

“With the establishment of the Lucasfilm Story Group and our even greater focus on unified storytelling, we expect our entire publishing program to be stronger and more meaningful than ever before,” said Jeanne Mosure, senior vice president and group publisher, Disney Publishing Worldwide. “We’re extremely excited to kick off this new strategy with Del Rey Books.”

The first novel to benefit from this deeper collaboration is Star Wars: A New Dawn, by bestselling author John Jackson Miller. Set prior to the events of the forthcoming animated series Star Wars Rebels, this novel tells the story of how two of the lead characters of the series, Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla, came to cross paths. To tell this important backstory, Miller benefited from contact with series executive producers Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg and Greg Weisman, who together ensured this tale will be part of the Star Wars canon of storytelling going forward. It is scheduled for hardcover and eBook release onSeptember 2, 2014.

“We’re extremely proud of the hundreds of amazing Star Wars books we’ve published at Del Rey,” said Scott Shannon, SVP, Publisher, Del Rey and Digital Content, “And now we’re excited to finally be able to call our upcoming novels true canon—a single, cohesive Star Wars storyline—all while keeping the amazing backlist of Star Wars Legends content in print.”

Following Star Wars: A New Dawn, the all-new Star Wars fiction line will continue with the following 2014/2015 titles:

STAR WARS: TARKIN

James Luceno

11/4/14

 

STAR WARS: HEIR TO THE JEDI

Kevin Hearne

January 2015

 

STAR WARS: LORDS OF THE SITH

Paul Kemp

March 2015

In years past, the storylines that would appear in print and on screen were developed separately, resulting in an “Expanded Universe” that differed in ways large and small from the filmmaker’s “canon.” These rich stories provide a treasure trove of characters to fall in love with — and deep worlds to explore and will live on in both physical and digital editions, newly-branded as Star Wars Legends.

For more information and for looks at the covers of all four new titles announced above, please visit the Del Rey Star WarsBooks Facebook page at Facebook.com/StarWarsBooks.

For more information on the Star Wars Legends rebranding and Expanded Universe, go to StarWars.com.

Several points of note:

• Del Rey’s contract has been renewed.
• A Tarkin novel? By Luceno??? Holy crap! It’s not the Dooku or Padme novel I’ve been wanting, but I’ll take it.
• The Luke novel by Kevin Hearne is still on the schedule and not part of the “Legends” line. This makes me happy. As does the title. Edit: And it’s in first person!
• A Kemp novel? Is this related to the long-discussed Kemp duology?

Keep an eye on the Star Wars Books Facebook page for more cover reveals as the day goes on.