Joe Abercrombie's Blog

Delighted to say the Kickstarter for special hardcovers of The First Law trilogy should now be up and running, and we can reveal these books in all their glory. Each has a brand new wraparound dustjacket painted using actual human hands by Joel Daniel Phillips that look a little something like this:

With custom gilded boards* beneath specific to each book that look like this:

With lettering on the spines only like this:

So they end up looking something like this, without and with dust jacket respectively:

There will also be sumptuously illustrated endpapers at both ends of each book, but we’ll be revealing those in due course. As is traditional on Kickstarter there’ll be several tiers you can select, ranging from single copies of an individual book through sets with various additional First Law merch to limited numbers of straight signed and signed plus dedicated sets. Said signing and dedicating will be done on special colour full page book plates specific to each book such as this:

Apologies to those who prefer the pen applied to the actual paper of the book, but what with the numbers involved, the dedication as well as the signature, and the presence of the Atlantic Ocean between me and the place where these books will be distributed, the logistics of shipping me the signature sheets, or shipping me to the finished books, become excessively difficult and expensive.

I’ve been working with Joel and the other folks at Lit Escalates for some time on the internal art and merch for the Devils. They came to me a while back asking if I’d like to do a limited run of signed and dedicated hardcovers of the First Law – which is when we realised there’d never been a general release hardcover in the US. There’d been some undersize book club editions in the far past, and the long sold out limiteds from Subterranean Press, but otherwise nothing. With some help from Orbit US we set out to right that deep injustice, and the scale and ambition grew along the way to what you see before you.

It’s always great to see what a new artist comes up with in response to your work – Joel’s a portrait painter rather than a book cover specialist, and with these having no need to sell off the shelf or feature any lettering on the front covers, he’s had a really free hand in how he went about the design and choice of subject. I feel the result is something with a very strong identity and a sense of humour you don’t often see on a fantasy book.

There’s been some great art in, and on, Curious King’s sumptuous ongoing editions of the First Law, but those are high end, letterpress, very limited editions. These Lit Escalates editions use the standard hardcover setting – there are going to be 2000 sets signed and dedicated and a further 4000 sets signed only, but beyond that they’re not limited (or only by the logistics of actually printing and shipping them) – so they should be a good deal more affordable and obtainable. It’s great to have something interesting and beautiful that sits between the standard edition and the limited market, for fans who aren’t necessarily intense collectors but would just like a nice set of hardcovers on their shelf.

There’s much more detailed information on the Kickstarter site itself about specs and terms, including some interviews with me and Joel about the project. Happy to try and answer some of your questions here, but if it’s related to specs, shipping, pricing, timescales you may have more luck with Lit Escalates, who are handling that side of it.

We need to clear 2000 copies of each book to make the numbers add, but after that, the sky’s the limit. Let’s see where we get to…

UPDATE: We were funded within 23 minutes so it looks like this is definitely happening. Thanks to everyone who’s already pitched in…

The post The First Law Kickstarter is LIVE appeared first on Joe Abercrombie.

The First Law Trilogy was first published in 2006 – nearly 20 years ago, if you can believe it – but in all that time – aside from some small format book club editions and some beautiful but highly limited editions from Subterranean Press – there has been no US hardcover. With the help of the wonderful folks at Lit Escalates, I hope to put that right.

Yes, indeed, as some among you may already have heard, from November 21st, for one month, we will be running a kickstarter campaign to make available a special hardcover edition of that seminal trilogy of noughties grimdark fantasy The First Law. The Blade Itself, Before They are Hanged, and Last Argument of Kings, each with lashings of art produced using old school stuff like oil paint and human hands by Joel Daniel Phillips (who was responsible for the internal art in the Devils). These editions will include full wraparound covers, illustrated endpapers, and special gold-foiled boards. Signing and dedication will also be available in limited but generous quantities by my own pen, and there will very likely be additional First Law themed goodies for those who desire them.

You can follow the Kickstarter RIGHT NOW, and it will go live with a host of additional details, full specifications, reveals of the art etc. from the 21st. I can’t say much more until then, but a couple of things:

These WILL be available for shipping outside the US, though shipping costs will be higher.

In order to make the sums add and for this to go ahead we need to sell at least 2,000 of each book. Given there are already over 4,000 people following the kickstarter that seems very likely but it’s not absolutely guaranteed.

Because of the logistical challenges these will not be signed and dedicated direct to page but via a bookplate, however they will be sumptuously full-colour illustrated bookplates, bespoke to each book and in keeping with the art style.

The post The First Law Special Hardcover Edition appeared first on Joe Abercrombie.

Autumn sees, famously, mists and mellow fruitfulness, flaming colours and falling leaves, but it is known mainly as the time when Lit Escalates drop further Devils merchandising.

This time around the papal treasures on offer include limited prints of immortal knight Jakob of Thorn and Europe’s third best necromancer Balthazar Sham Ivam Draxi signed by me and the artist, Joel Daniel Phillips, alongside clothing, phone cases and other such wonders. All available to order right now over on the Lit Escalates website…

The post Devils Merch Fall Drop appeared first on Joe Abercrombie.

A couple of weeks late, this progress report, I must admit, but I was in the US again at the end of August and there was a milestone I wanted to get to before posting which I’m delighted to say I have finally reached. Yes indeed, I’ve typed the last words of the first draft of the sequel to the Devils.

A really shit first draft, admittedly. Partly that’s because I wanted to crash through and get a rough version of the book, see where I was going before I went back to pull it all together. Partly that’s because this is a much more complex book, both from a plot and character standpoint, than The Devils was, so a lot of ideas have come to me as I’ve gone along and there are a lot of plot threads and character concepts that have worked their way into the final part that weren’t set up at all in the first. I’m someone who really enjoys revising, and in the past books have come together quickly once I’ve got a draft, but there’s a lot of work to do on this one. First will come a re-read, rewrite and cutdown of the third part and likely a discussion with my editors, then the long process of rewriting the first and second parts to bring them into line with the final vision, set up and pay off all the character arcs and plot lines that I didn’t when I first wrote them. The aim is to get a coherent second draft, with everything consistent and basically in the right place, by the end of the year. Then I can start the work of editing and improving what I’ve got. At the moment, no certain release date, but I will post it when I know it.

Thankfully the travel and events are over for the rest of this year. I’ve done some brilliant events for The Devils that really have taken things to a very different level for me, including an amazing visit to a packed Celsius festival in Spain in July where I did the longest signing I’ve ever done by a mile (about 6 and a half hours, for pushing 1000 people). Thanks to everyone who turned up to any of the talks and signings this year. I still distinctly remember giving a lecture to 2 people in Holland soon after first being published, so believe me I always appreciate it.

Quite a lot of other bits and pieces going on – The Devils won a Dragon award, which is nice, and Spider Rose, one of the Love, Death and Robots pieces I wrote the screenplay for was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding animated programme, which I guess if you really squint means I could call myself Emmy nominated, but I doubt I’ll make a habit of it, since it’s Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who directed the piece, who deserves the credit on that one. I’ve got a few film and TV irons in the fire at the moment which will be taking up time in the run-up to Christmas, including the aforementioned development of The Devils for the screen, but nothing I can actually announce at this point. You’ll just have to take my word for it that it’s all incredibly impressive and exciting. Honest. There is also some interesting stuff on merch and limited edition hardcovers in the works, so keep an eye out if that kind of stuff floats your boat.

And that’s your (late) progress report for August…

The post Progress Report August ’25 appeared first on Joe Abercrombie.

Great news for those who missed my tour of the US a couple of months back: I’m going to be BACK in the US at the start of September! A brief trip this time, to appear at the National Book Festival in Washington, and to do an event with VE Schwab outside Philadelphia. Should you be lucky enough to live nearby one of those places, the details:

The National Book Festival is organised by the Library of Congress and will be held this year on Saturday September 6th. I believe I’ll be appearing with Shannon Chakraborty and that there’ll be a signing afterward, but I don’t have all the details quite yet – I’ll follow up when I do. However doors of the festival in general open 8.30am and it’s FREE to the public.

The event with VE Schwab will be the day after, Sunday September 7th. It’s organised by Main Point Books and you can get tickets and find all the details over here. I should point out there’s not going to be a signing line at this one – signed books will be available but pre-signed.

Look forward to seeing some of you at one of these magnificent affairs. And now you can begin the onslaught of complaints that no one never comes to rural North Dakota/I never visit Naperville even though I was there two months ago/you live right opposite Radnor Middle School but you’re doing something else that weekend etc. etc. For all these things I apologise. We do our humble best…

The post Washington and Philadelphia appeared first on Joe Abercrombie.

So… James Cameron, he of Terminator, Aliens, Titanic, and Avatar, yes, that James Cameron, has acquired the screen rights to The Devils. Here’s the full press release:

LIGHTSTORM ANNOUNCES THE ACQUISITION OF JOE ABERCROMBIE’S THE DEVILS

LOS ANGELES, CA (June 2, 2025) – James Cameron announces that his company, Lightstorm, has purchased Joe Abercrombie’s latest book, The Devils, and that Abercrombie will co-write the script with Cameron. Abercrombie is an acclaimed novelist and screenwriter, and author of the bestselling First Law books which have been published in over thirty languages. The Devils was published May 6 and was an instant number 1 Sunday Times bestseller in the UK. It also just entered the NYT bestseller list at number 5.

Cameron says “How do I describe The Devils? A sharply witty horror adventure? An epic battle between good and evil except most of the time you can’t tell which is which? A twisted, stylish, alt-universe middle-ages romp, where your best hope of survival is the monsters themselves? This is Joe Abercrombie in absolute peak form, opening up a whole new world and an ensemble of delicious new characters. The twists and turns come at a rollercoaster pace, and with Joe’s signature acerbic wit and style. The Devils showcases Joe’s jaundiced view of human nature, in all its dark, selfish glory, as told through some decidedly un-human characters. But of course, Joe always teases with the flickers of redemption that make it all worthwhile — and ultimately quite heartwrenching.”

He goes on to say “I’ve loved Joe’s writing for years, cherishing each new read, throughout the epic cycle of the First Law books, especially Best Served Cold (LOVE IT!) and the Age of Madness trilogy. But the freshness of the world and the characters in The Devils finally got me off my butt to buy one of his books and partner with him to bring it to the screen. I’m looking forward to the writing process with him, though I’m certain this adaptation will practically write itself because Joe writes very visually, almost in scenes, and with a very cinematic structure. I can’t wait to dig into this as I wind down on Avatar: Fire and Ash. It will be a joyful new challenge for me to bring these indelible characters to life.”

Abercrombie adds “James Cameron has been thrilling audiences, including me, by putting the impossible on film for over four decades. No one can balance mind-blowing action and spectacle with gut-wrenching personal stakes and story the way he does. I can’t think of anyone better to bring this weird and wonderful monster of a book to the screen.”

As always with these things, I can’t say much more at this point. Exciting news, it hardly needs to be said. I’m gonna be writing with, erm, James Cameron. Clearly there are few bigger beasts in the industry. But it remains an industry with no guarantees. My advice, as always with adaptations, is don’t hold your breath…

The post James Cameron takes on The Devils appeared first on Joe Abercrombie.

Well, well, well, my tour of the UK and US is completed, and it was quite an experience. Obviously I’ve done a lot of events in the UK before – I think I first toured with the Heroes back in the distant mists of 2011, but this was the first time since Covid I’d done a proper tour, and events had definitely taken a step forward.

Highlights were two of the church-based events (appropriately enough): London, with the audio maestro himself, Steven Pacey:

And Edinburgh, with Justin Lee Anderson, both of which had 250-300 people.

But those paled in comparison to some of the ones across the pond. I’ve done a few bookshop events in the states before, though quite a while ago, as well as a couple of conventions and comic cons, but never anything you could call a proper tour. This was 9 events over 12 days and every one a ripper. Here’s New York with Joe Hill:

Albuquerque with GRRM:

Austin with C. Robert Cargill:

Denver with Stephen Graham Jones:

Salt Lake City with Brandon Sanderson:

Gatecrashed as it happens by one Pierce Brown:

Seattle with Robin Hobb in the cavernous Third Place books which apparently had 650 people in attendance…

And the Wentz Concert Hall Naperville with Pat Rothfuss:

Truly amazing, humbling conversation partners and attendances, not forgetting Evan Leikam and MJ Kuhn in Detroit and Jenn Lyons in Atlanta, but the real treasure was the first law related tattoos we encountered along the way:

Not to mention the First Law related t-shirts:

I even signed a book for a guy called Joe Abercrombie. Another guy called Joe Abercrombie. From Idaho. I’ve got a photo of his driving licence, but I won’t post it for fear of some kind of identity theft… All of this means, of course, that the Devils is now published in the UK and the US, as well as large areas of Europe, in fact. Delighted to say it made NUMBER ONE on the Sunday Times hardcover bestseller list:

I’ve made it as high as 3 a few times in the past but this is my first number 1 – a big testament to my editor Gillian and the whole team at Gollancz. Perhaps even more impressive the book has stuck in the bestseller list at no. 5 for its second week. It also made no. 5 in the US (where I think 13 was my previous high water mark) which is a big testament to my editor Lindsey and the whole team at Tor, as well as being the no. 1 audiobook on audible. In fact it sold more on audio than in hardcover in that first week in the US, which is a big testament to the reading of the aforementioned Steven Pacey.

So well done to the whole team, and my thanks to everyone who came out to the events. I’m gonna be in Spain in July: Madrid 9th-10th, Barcelona 11th-14th, and Aviles 15th-20th. Further details on exactly what I’ll be doing when I have them…

The post The Devils Tour Report appeared first on Joe Abercrombie.

The Devils is published TODAY in the UK by Gollancz in Hardcover, E-Book and Audiobook read by the magisterial Steven Pacey. The export trade paperback edition should also be popping up around Europe, Australia and other territories outside the US and Canada where books are read in English.

Thanks to the efforts of Will Staehle (cover) and Joel Daniel Phillips (illustrations) as well as the designers and production people at the publisher it is a truly handsome thing. Those endpapers…

I’m going to be touring in the UK over the coming week – Bath, London, Nottingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle, before heading on to the US on the 12th. Further news in due course…

The post UK Publication Day! appeared first on Joe Abercrombie.

Oh, you lucky people! To celebrate the release of The Devils, I (all right, my publisher) am giving away – giving away I say – an exclusive numbered limited edition proof, one of but 36 copies in the world. As if this were not insane enough, the package includes various exclusive items of Devils merchandise featuring art by Joel Daniel Phillips, including a poster, a set of postcards, a skull pin and, praise be, a coveted limited edition votive candle – votive candle I say, all contained within a box fashioned from exclusive limited edition cardboard. Yes. Cardboard.

“How can we prove ourselves worthy of this unparalleled bounty?” I hear you plaintively cry. The answer is simple. Submit to me in response to this post a comment laying out in but one single sentence why you and you alone are more deserving of this prize than everyone else. I shall then personally – in person I say – select the one that moves/amuses/informs me the most. That answer shall receive the prize. The rest shall be consigned to the righteous flames of judgement. If you have never felt the need to comment on this blog before there may be a brief pause while I moderate your submission before it shows up, but never fear, I will get to it in the end.

Now prepare to be outraged by the terms and conditions. This is open only to residents of the UK aged over 18. If you don’t like it blame my publisher, not me. Which is what I suggest you do if you are dissatisfied with any aspect of my books. This contest is open from now until midnight on Saturday 3rd. On Sunday a winner shall be selected, and on monday notified via electronic mail of their glorious triumph.

Good luck to you all.

The post Devils Proof Package Competition appeared first on Joe Abercrombie.

The Devils is out in the UK in but one short week and my author copies have arrived. Isn’t it beautiful?

Cover art by Will Staehle and internal illustrations by Joel Daniel Phillips including some stunning altarpiece style endpapers which I feel really class up the joint…

It’ll release on e-book and audio read by Steven Pacey in the UK on the same day, and will come to the US a week later on the 13th in all formats, then I believe in several translated editions over the following week. My UK tour starts on the 6th, then I’m heading to the US on the 12th and I’ll be there for two weeks. Most of the dates are sold out now but some have moved to larger venues so you never know, if you did want to come hear me talk nonsense and get a book signed, it’s worth checking (in the US and the UK) to see if there are still tickets.

So most of my time over the last few, and next few, weeks is going to be taken up with interviews and events and what have you (indeed you can see a recent interview with Matt of Matt’s book reviews over here), but I am still getting a bit of work done on the next book in the series – about 80% of the way through a first draft, after which the real work of editing and revision shall begin. Hoping to have a finished, edited manuscript by the end of the year. We shall see. I make no promises these days…

In other news, the fourth season of Love, Death and Robots has been announced on Netflix, I believe being released on May 15th, and as it happens I wrote the screenplays for 2 of the episodes: Spider Rose, based on a story by Bruce Sterling, and Golgotha, from a story by Dave Hutchinson. In other, other news, Curious King’s limited letterpress edition of Before They are Hanged with art by Vance Kovacs has now shipped, and we’re well underway with the art for Last Argument of Kings.

So, busy times after the lengthy hiatus following the publication of Age of Madness. This May 2025 publication date was pencilled into the contract when I thought it would never happen and now, suddenly… here we are. Hope to see some of you out there on the road…

The post Progress Report April ’25 appeared first on Joe Abercrombie.