A new Redwall novel is coming in 2027
Author Brian Jacques died in 2011
This October marks the 40th anniversary of the publication of Redwall, the first installment of Brian Jacques' long-running fantasy series, and after that milestone, it appears that the series is going to grow a little bigger. The Redwall Wiki reports that a 23rd installment of the series will be published in 2027, Orphans of Mossflower.
Set in a fantastical fantasy world populated by talking animals, the series generally follows the inhabitants of the Redwall Abbey in Mossflower Woods. Redwall introduced readers to a heroic mouse named Matthias, a monk in the Abbey, who dreamt of following in the footsteps of the Abbey's founder, Martin the Warrior. Over the course of the series, Jacques jumped from era to era, with his various heroes facing off against some sort of threat to their home, often following in the footsteps of their heroic ancestors, before exploring their story in another installment. The series includes 22 novels in Jacques' lifetime, the last of which, The Rogue Crew, was published in 2011, not long after Jacques passed away at the age of 71.
Earlier this year, the folks at the Redwall Wiki discovered that Penguin Random House was set to publish a special boxed set of the series in conjunction with the 40th anniversary, only to delay that release until 2027 (the 40th anniversary of Redwall's publication in the US). Now, they've found an additional listing: Orphans of Mossflower, which is set to be published alongside the boxed set and a a larger celebration of the franchise, which will include repackaging the books with new cover art.
There have long been rumors that Jacques left behind an unfinished novel when he died. In 2010, Penguin Random House launched a contest for readers to name a character for an upcoming novel, and in 2015, the Wiki revealed that a fan had won the contest, but her character, a haremaiden named Reisa Kartwell, didn't appear in the The Rogue Crew, leading the Wiki to believe that another installment was in the works.
That appears to be the case, based on the listing in Edelweiss, a publishing marketing and sales platform. (For what it's worth, I can't seem to find it, but it's also a ... platform that isn't very intuitively searchable, and it's possible that there are catalogs that I don't have access to). Beyond the title and September 2027 release date, there's nothing else known about the book: the plot, where it takes place in the series, or more importantly, to what extent it was completed prior to Jacques' death.
Andrew Liptak
The news comes after some disappointing developments with another Redwall project, an animated television series that Netflix began working on in 2021. Earlier this year, we learned that the streaming service wasn't moving forward with the series – a shame, given that it's a rich story that would have lent itself well to younger viewers. There was a television adaptation that ran from 1999 through 2002, following the events of Redwall, Mattimeo, and Martin the Warrior.
Hopefully, with this upcoming anniversary, we'll not only get a new adventure to bring us back into the world one last time, but a broader, newfound interest in the stories for an entirely new generation of younger readers.