Star Wars classic books will be re-released with stunning new artwork
In celebration of LucasFilm's 50th anniversary, Random House's publishing imprint Del Rey has announced plans to re-release popular classic Star Wars novels in trade paperback form. The re-releases feature all-new artwork, which Del Rey recently previewed in a long Twitter thread. One of the novels, Shatterpoint, will also get its first fully unabridged audiobook release.
Del Rey said in its announcement that the re-releases will cover "essential" Star Wars Legends novels with the first wave of new trade paperbacks arriving on June 15. The re-releases will be made under the "Essential Legends Collection" featuring new artwork and cover styles.
As Lucasfilm celebrates its 50th anniversary, we're curating a collection of essential #StarWars Legends novels in trade paperback with new covers. Shatterpoint will also receive a fully unabridged audio edition, for the first time. Available June 15th
(read on for more) pic.twitter.com/Ausyvsvb6A
— Star Wars Books (@StarWarsByRHW) April 2, 2021
The books set to arrive in June include Shatterpoint, Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, and Heir to the Empire. Del Rey provided images of the new artwork, as well as a look at the original mass market paperback novels next to the upcoming trade paperbacks to demonstrate the differences between the two.
We love looking at cover art. So, here's a closer look at the cover for Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, by Tracie Ching. The new format of locking all our text at the top freed up our artists and designers to create amazing covers. pic.twitter.com/aGwUgrAiGL
— Star Wars Books (@StarWarsByRHW) April 2, 2021
Among other things, the new paperbacks will be larger than their older counterparts, making them more comfortable to read and more appealing on a bookshelf for those who plan to collect the titles. As the company notes, the redesigned trade paperbacks feature all of the text contained in the upper portion of the cover, which leaves the artwork unblemished.
Star Wars fans will be able to pick up the new paperback Legends novels from their local bookseller. Del Rey says that it plans to release additional titles under its new Essential Legends Collection in the future, but didn't provide a list of novels or a timeframe.