I’m so sad that Doctor Who legend
#TerranceDicks
has died. I know how many authors he inspired, and how many millions he entertained as a writer, script-editor, producer and raconteur. I first met him at a library talk when I was eight and edited his final short story this year.
Decided I'd watch ONE SINGLE STORY from all of
#DoctorWho
to celebrate the 60th anniversary tomorrow and – after much thought and for many reasons – I'm choosing this one. But I'm sure a lot of you out there have your own preferred choice...
Today I spoke of
#DoctorWho
in a school in Romania and in the audience was the granddaughter of Harriet Philpin, who played Bettan in Genesis of the Daleks (and who caught the R White’s secret lemonade drinker in the 70s ads!). Big resemblance, small & improbable world!
When I was 9 years old I watched Tom Baker stop being
#DoctorWho
aged 47. Now I am 47 myself, and take comfort in knowing Tom never really stopped at all.
#scratchman
I've been working on lots of Doctor Who books to mark the 60th anniversary and thought I'd share! First up, the novelisation of the in-world repeat of Evil of the Daleks! Mike Tucker and I had such fun working with Frazer on this. Out 26th Oct
It's sad that a Vogan mask from a 1975
#DoctorWho
should end up a cheap joke on a 1977 Generation Game. But not as sad as me watching it on a 2022 Saturday night and then tweeting about it
I can't wait for people to be reading these. Dalek goes deep into its characters, Crimson Horror is richly expanded and Gary's TV Movie novelisation features plenty of new material, it's no simple reprint. The authors know just what the Target brand means to us!
After the
#DoctorWho
60th Anniversary Specials, rediscover them in novel form!
Here is the coverart for the Target novelisations of THE STAR BEAST, WILD BLUE YONDER and THE GIGGLE 📚
Three all-new adventures for the Doctor and Ruby, coming to your bookshelf! ✨📚
#DoctorWho
: CAGED, EDEN REBELLION and RUBY RED, all coming to hardback and audiobook in 2024 ❤️❤️
I loved Doctor Who last night, and I also love that for the first time since 1989, Target novelisations of new episodes have been written ahead of transmission, for a new audience to discover new ways of enjoying their favourite TV stories. Tingles!
40 years on from K9 & Company, I'm living the Sarah Jane life. I'm gonna go jogging past a dry stone wall with a copy of the Guardian soon and then take my snazzy Metro convertible for a spin
On a recent visit to Peckforton Castle, I found myself standing just where Jon Pertwee’s Dr Who had been standing 50 years earlier. What were the chances!
David Tennant's era is my Doctor Who happy place so I was particularly excited to be asked for a whole book of short stories by
@PuffinBooks
for the 60th anniversary. It was a labour of love and I'm thrilled to see finished copies! Out 12th Oct.
I am so happy that I can FINALLY talk about these Ncuti novelisations. What a treat to work on. Each delivers new insights and perspectives on the original TV episode. And how cool that Ruby Road, already out in hardback, comes back in a Target edition, just as in olden times...!
I count myself super lucky to have edited a second wave of new Target Books! So excited that these are finally coming out. Note that Pirate Planet is a full reworking by
@gossjam
to reflect the TV story, not just an abridgement.
Seven new titles are joining the Doctor Who Target book range! 📚
Today three of the covers are revealed - keep an eye out for the other four covers later this week...
Got an early copy of I, TARDIS. 300 pages of joy, but when it went to press, William Russell was alive. Now it’s here, and he is not. I loved Ian as a character. Was lucky enough to write his opening piece to camera for The Crusade VHS, which he performed beautifully. RIP.
For any Doctor Who fan who thinks they know the story of Scratchman... just wait till you read Tom's novel - out in January just as he turns 85 years young. Happy birthday
#DoctorWho
As a 9-year-old I tried to make my Dalek comics as realistic as possible. Hence my respecting the financial pressures of UK publishing by offering the reader (myself) a very reasonable TWO colour pages
Three years since Team Scratchman assembled to mark the completion of a unique Doctor who book project. It really is a remarkable novel thanks to
@gossjam
@AlbertLeopoldD
and, of course, the mighty Tom Baker
Yesterday I guested at a James Bond event at Pinewood and was thrilled when Bond Girl and screen siren Madeline Smith gave a reading from my Shoot to Kill novel. It's not often I blush, but...
This 'outrage' over Blyton is flimsy flim-flam bafflegab, when I worked on Noddy magazine back in 1993 we were already tweaking/editing original text and artwork with full approval of the Blyton estate. 30 years ago!
It's been so exciting to work on novelisations of brand new episodes before they air, just in like Target days of old. It's no exercise in nostalgia though - these books really push the envelope in what novelisations can be.
If you’ve got an enquiring mind, a very sensitive ear and 4.3cm of shelf space left then I suggest you order these excitingly Doctor Who-y original Doctor Who books from
@Georgiacooked
and
@unamccormack
!
Now THIS is exciting post. Had a great time working with Alex to bring her own vision of River Song to the printed page. The finished hardback is just stunning. You can preorder a signed copy here
New and frankly fabulous original adventures for the Doctor and Ruby – out NOW! Shout-outs for
@unamccormack
and
@Georgiacooked
who have worked so hard on these, and to
@LeeBinding
for making them look so beautiful.
After the excitement of the new Target
#DoctorWho
novelisations, I found a Target original in Oxfam yesterday. Before Who took over, Target was just a children’s book imprint. For a generation, just that font on the back cover and the style of the prelims gives nostalgic tingles
The sad thing about TV on demand is that kids will never know the joy/pish of holiday programming. The best ever was BBC1’s line up from (I think) 1981 which gave us Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew, Play Chess and above all King of the Rocket Men, with which I was utterly obsessed
Most Doctor Who authors email me their manuscripts.
@brooligan
made me collect Warriors’ Gate and Beyond from a collapsing universe. Or maybe it was Powis Castle? Wonderful trip - as are all the New Targets! Out Thursday
Had a great time working on this novelisation with super-talented
@esmiejp
– and reckon you will have a great time reading it! Plus, LOOK AT THAT COVER!
Add the Doctor and Ruby's first full adventure to your bookshelf! 📚
The novelisation of
#DoctorWho
: 'The Church on Ruby Road' arrives in January 2024.
With Tom Baker trending it's as good a time as any to repost one of my favourite pictures, after a mad time editing his work on the Scratchman novel...
@bendavis_86
These are great. My best one was an Angry Head ranting at Year 6 classes in Liverpool. 'This man writes books. I know many of you think books are a waste of time. You'll probably still be thinking that in prison.' And he stalked away. He didn't even use my name. Great warm-up.
Doing school events in a hall in Woolacombe. I had 10 minutes before the next session. Could've checked emails, or jotted down ideas or made a to-do list... or I could've pointlessly recreated old Doctor Who photographs.
Happy 39th to
#DoctorWhoMagazine
! The 8-year-old me told my teacher all about it right from the start. I’m sure Mrs Pilling went on to collect her own copies.
@DWMtweets
#DWM
In Tesco, forgotten my bags for life. I buy more, leave them in the car so they’ll be handy. Next trip I’m in checkout queue, remember I left bags for life in the car, too late to get them so I buy more. Repeat. I now have 30+ bags for life. THIS IS NOT HOW BAGS FOR LIFE WORK!
@SteveColeBooks
You're Number 18 in the official hardback chart which is a TOUGH, huge selling chart- Ian Rankin, Richard Osman, Robert Galbraith. It's amazing!
Well! I have managed to finish one of those book things right on deadline day, which means I can now have a nurturing evening drinking gin and watching old telly! I wish you all a very happy Friday night! X
How Doctor Who books began for
@DWBBCBooks
in 1996, when Terrance Dicks submitted his treatment for ‘Eight Doctors’ to Nuala Buffini, children’s editor at BBC Books. Note the two schoolteacher characters who never made it to final draft; Sam was going to be an earthly child...
47 years old and never been to a
#Blakes7
convention. That had to change! And I’m glad it did, not least so I could get a selfie with Vila. Lovely time and people at
#MaximumPower
In the latest Doctor Who Magazine I'm there twice, talking about a new project and also about the Who videos I oversaw 24 years back. Felt old but amused. Then found this pic of me aged 5 with the Target book of Auton Invasion and it struck me: this TV show's been my whole life
It's not every day you get to record the story of a space-time machine's life. It's the day before yesterday and a few weeks later and then when you were 12. But it's all come together.
The TARDIS is more than a time machine crossed with a spaceship. Her life reflects the Doctor’s life–a shared wanderlust & longing to explore. Revisit the Doctor’s adventures through the eyes of the TARDIS.
These are her memoirs as told to
@SteveColeBooks
HUGE congratulations to
@SteveColeBooks
who has won the Portsmouth Year 5 Book Award with
#WorldBurnDown
! 🥳🌟
Massive thanks to
@PortsmouthSLS
and all the schools and young readers who took part!
CONGRATULATIONS STEVE 👏👏
I was watching The Dalek Invasion of Earth, as you do if your life’s mine, and it struck me how the story might have gone if the drilling Daleks released the Inferno slime and ended up with RoboPrimords and Dalek mutants reverting to giant clams etc. That must’ve been done?🤔
I think I prefer this time 37 years ago, when I was fresh back from attending the Doctor Who ‘20 Years of a Time Lord’ celebration at Longleat, mind still blown...
It's been 11 years since I last wrote a Doctor Who novel. Very pleased to be part of the first wave of full-length Jodie goodness. Fresh! Boom bap I'm a touch it
My birthday today, meaning the embryonic me was exposed to Doctor Who’s archenemy the Master just about every week from Jan to June. Still, no harm done.
Oh my good the care and love that went into these Doctor Who Targets for the range’s 50th anniversary. I hope they sell stacks so we can make many more!
If you’ve just got your shiny new
#DoctorWho
Trial of a Time Lord Blu-ray, don’t forget that
@SawbonesHex
has written an adventure for the Target Storybook showing what happened to Sixie off-screen following Mindwarp... a haunting tale from the Doctor himself!
Next time you have 6 hours 25 mins spare why not let
@MandipGill
read you the story of
#DoctorWho
and the Combat Magicks? On CD or download, that is. She won’t come round your house. Unless she knows you. But even then she’d probably say, “Why not just listen to the recording?”
Happy Book Birthday to meeeeeeee and the excellent
@Oriol__Vidal
. "This rich novella tackles a range of vital themes in gripping style," says LoveReading. It also has beautiful artwork. Thank you for putting this out there,
@BarringtonStoke