Curious King Books

27/11/2025

As a reminder for the Winter Sale going live at 20:00GMT - the books will be protected until just after 8pm GMT. So 2 hours to go now and when the clock strikes 8 we will start unlocking the products for purchase.

You are welcome to sit on the product page and wait for 20:00GMT before refreshing until they appear.

But for those emailing and asking, you need to wait until 20:00GMT.

Good luck all!

Leftovers, Dings and PC’s About the Sale We’ve been able to dig out some copies of our released titles and have put them up for sale! This is a collection of a few leftover numbered copies of our Deluxe, Lettered and Standard Editions. We have some dinged copies up for grabs at a discount and [....

21/11/2025

November is nearly over and we've got a LOT to update you guys on. Quite a few changes here at the moment due to a myriad of reasons. Thought it best to maintain ULTIMATE TRANSPARENCY by telling you in detail what, why, when and where. No obligation to actually read the damned thing, but I know some people appreciate knowing where their books are up to.

The big news is we're pushing back Endymion release now until end of Jan/early Feb as the bindery are behind on getting The Fall of Hyperion out the door at the moment (though they're pulling out all the stops at the moment on our projects which is great!).

Pushing it back does change the landscape for 2026 next year, but that's OK, because it's all incredibly exciting still (I would say that...). Wizard of Earthsea won't be next up for Publishers Rights anymore, and we have a new title in place for March release which we have yet to announce. WoE moves back to May/June time now.

We are also planning a book sale on November 27th at 20:00GMT for extra copies we've dug out of boxes and some dinged editions that we're happy to sell. More details on the sale going out on Monday coming, so keep your eyes peeled!

Not only that we're only two weeks away from Dragonsteel Nexus 2025 in Salt Lake City! We have an event-exclusive print and pin we will be selling, as well as a bunch of bookmarks. We will also have quite a few of our published titles and prototypes on display at the convention as well for people to see in person. Debating whether I bring my Ready Player One with me as i'm worried about you guys getting your grubby mitts on whilst drooling uncontrollably! If I don't bring that i'll probably bring the Roman Numeral Hyperion and maybe some gloves... for the tactile amongst you.

Right, enough about that. If you want to know what's going on then give the blog a read. Or don't. I'll live. I promise!

Oooh, I can almost taste 2026! It smells good. Very good in fact. But alas, we still have 2025 to deal with and it’s all change here at the moment – don’t you just love the fine press industry???? What’s changing? Quite a bit actually. Due to delays at the bindery on finishing The Fall […]

05/11/2025

After planning to get to a con as Curious King for some time, I'm delighted to say we'll be attending Dragonsteel Nexus which has been growing and growing in popularity and is now one of the largest fantasy conventions around. Whilst it's not the first time I've mentioned attending I'm now able to share more information!

For those who don't know, the event is organised by Dragonsteel Books, Brandon Sanderson’s publishing company, and offers an inclusive event for fans of Sanderson and Fantasy/Sci-Fi all round. The con will take place from December 4-7th in Salt Lake City, Utah!

Whilst we won't be selling any books at the event, we will be bringing prototypes and previous releases to show off, and we have EXCLUSIVE convention only items for sale:

Limited Print - 100x Letterpress and Stamped print
Limited Pin - 200x Brass Shield pin

We'll have armfuls of bookmarks from each of our editions so far as well available for purchase. For the full lowdown click the link to the blog!

We’re going to Dragonsteel Nexus 2025!!! I mean this isn’t news, I have mentioned this before. It is however the first SFF convention we will have attended, and we couldn’t be more excited. Dragonsteel Nexus has been growing and growing in popularity since the first “mini-con” in 2021 and ...

31/10/2025

Happy Halloween collectors and fellow Kings (and Queens!).

Snuck the October production update just in time! I do like to cut it fine, but I also like working on the books specifically too.

As per usual a full update on the titles we're working on and what's coming up. We'll be sharing a Dragonsteel Nexuscon specific update post in November for those visiting!

I'm incredibly excited about what we have planned for 2026 currently. Things do change, and often, but I think there will be a lot of happy collectors with what we have planned.

I could carry on, but that's what the blog post is for right?! So give it a read then. I'd probably say it fell in to the treat category rather than trick, but i'll let you be the judge of that.

Yes, we have another update for you all! You lucky people. I thought I’d get this one out as my plate is rather full at the moment and have some magic to produce (currently accepting advice from all Wizards, Mages, Witches, Sorcerers and Enchanters). We announced an upcoming title this month, whic...

23/10/2025

I remain defiant in the face of the 7 million people who marched in the recent “No Kings” protests across the US.

This King is going nowhere. We will NOT stop publishing books, no matter how many of you march.

✊🏻✊🏻✊🏻

15/10/2025

We are immensely pleased to announce a project that’s been underway for nearly 2 years now. Curious King will be publishing a fine press edition of The Books of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin, starting with Wizard of Earthsea in 2026!

We have committed to the first three releases, which consists of “A Wizard of Earthsea”, “The Tombs of Atuan”, and “The Farthest Shore”. All books will be letterpress printed and handbound like our previous releases and there will be the core three tiers, Lettered, Deluxe and Standard Editions.

The series’ centres around Ged, a young wizard from the island of Gont and his coming-of-age journey. The introspective storytelling and psychological depth of the books was groundbreaking at the time, as was Ursula’s archipelago setting and non-white protagonist.

We can also announce the artist taking on this series for us, and it is none other than living-legend Tom Kidd. We had to think long and hard about the artist for this as it’s an all-time classic in fantasy, but one name rose head and shoulders above the rest.

Tom’s work is just perfect for Earthsea and the finished paintings we’ve seen so far are insanely good! Pictured here is one of the interior colour pieces (not the dustjacket), Ged summoning Elfarran – please give us your feedback!

The plan is to have this up for pre-order early 2026 and the interiors are already underway and being prepped for platemaking.

What is it going to look like? Well, you’re going to have to wait until next year for that. I’ll be using as much of Tom Kidd’s art as possible though, that’s for sure!

Without wanting to beat around the bush, I am immensely pleased to announce a project that’s been underway for nearly 2 years now. Curious King will be publishing a fine press edition of The Books of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin, starting with “A Wizard of Earthsea” in 2026! Yes, that’s rig...

08/10/2025

Not even close to September... I blame The Obelisk Gate personally, but here we are! Jokes aside it was a real pleasure to release the details of TOG by N.K. Jemisin and can't wait to finish this series now.

I thought rather than wait until the end of October to keep people updated, I would do a quick update on production of our books and what's in store still this year. There's lots of books in progress at the moment and I'm certain you want to know what's happening with them!

For specific book updates then click the link below as usual. Is there anything else of note in there? Well, yes actually! There's an update on Dragonsteel Nexus 2025 and what we're doing there. A couple of unseen pieces of art for various titles. Oh, and you can find out when our next new project announcement is too (with a little snippet of art at the bottom of this email).

I'd go as far as to say it's a very informative update, but you'd have to see for yourself!

This isn’t September? It’s not even close to September… Yes, this update is rather tardy I’m afraid to say as we released The Obelisk Gate right at the end of the month which kept us rather busy! Which brings me on to what September was largely about, The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin. The Br...

30/09/2025

The public pre-order for N.K. Jemisin’s “The Obelisk Gate” is now LIVE! That’s right, the "Sapphire Edition" is now open to all customers and there are copies of every tier available.

This edition is illustrated by John Anthony di Giovanni and is contributing 10 colour paintings including the wraparound dustjacket art for the Standard Edition.

To clarify for new customers. All editions of this book come with Series Rights for Book 3: The Stone Sky, only. (No Publishers Rights).

If you are trying to purchase more than one tier (Deluxe/Standard/Lettered), then you will need select each product page and add to cart. This way you can combine shipping.

Also PLEASE check your shipping method before purchasing as we may not be able to change it afterwards.

The finished Series is going to look phenomenal on the shelf when done, and that goes for all three tiers!

The Obelisk Gate – N.K. Jemisin “Being useful to others is not the same thing as being equal.” – N.K Jemisin, The Obelisk Gate It feels like an age since we shipped The Fifth Season so it feels fantastic to reveal our edition of The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin, the second book in the much-l...

28/09/2025

For those wondering what The Obelisk Gate, Standard Edition might look like next to The Fifth Season, well here's something to give you an idea for now...

26/09/2025

Here is the wraparound dustjacket art by John Anthony di Giovanni for our release of The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin! We absolutely had to have John back to illustrate the second book, and you can see why.

An incredible follow up to the brilliant dustjacket on TFS and will be printed on high quality paper and foil stamped on the spine with Title/Author/Series. John Anthony di Giovanni is an incredible and versatile artist who is very much in demand across books/games/movies.

John is providing 10 full colour illustrations for The Obelisk Gate. 2 Landscape pieces, (Dustjacket and Endpaper) and 8 interior portrait paintings tipped in the book.

John is an American fantasy artist celebrated for his richly detailed illustrations that bring mythical worlds and heroic characters to life.

Growing up with a passion for storytelling and illustration, Di Giovanni immersed himself in the world of fantasy and science fiction from a young age, inspired by epic tales and classic mythology.

Any remaining copies will be available for purchase on Tuesday the 30th of September at 20:00 BST.

25/09/2025

Up next is of course the Deluxe Edition of The Obelisk Gate. The second book in N.K. Jemisin's multi-award winning "Broken Earth" trilogy.

Limited to 200 copies only. The Deluxe Edition is over 320 pages and is letterpress printed by Nomad Letterpress, Cheltenham on Munken Rough Cream 120gsm paper.

The boards are handbound in a rich cream goat leather and blind stamped on the front and back. The spine is rounded; foil stamped in gold and blue and has a Lapis Lazuli stone point affixed.

The book is gilded on all three sides and the head and tailbands are blue/white and comes with a dark blue coloured ribbon.

This edition is housed in a curved capped slipcase covered in blue marbled cloth by Freya Scott of Paperwilds and capped with cream leather.

The spine also has two labels adorn the back and both book and slipcase are handbound by Ludlow Bookbinders.

This edition is signed by both the author and the artist.

Any remaining copies not taken up by rights holders will be available for sale on Tuesday the 30th of September at 20:00 GMT