This month sees the publication of Nemesis of the Daleks, the fifteenth volume in the ongoing series of Doctor Who Graphic Novels, published by Panini Books. The Graphic Novels are collections of comic strips that originally appeared in the pages of Doctor Who Magazine and other related titles.

Nemesis of the Daleks, named after the book’s opening strip, is the second volume of Seventh Doctor comic strips (picking up where A Cold Day in Hell!, published in 2009, left off). The stories in this collection originally appeared in 1989 and 1990. At that time the strips not only ran in Doctor Who Magazine but also in a second Marvel Comics UK title, The Incredible Hulk Presents. Comic strips from both titles are included in this book, with a number of stories reproduced for the first time since their original publication.

The book includes the popular ‘back up’ strips featuring Abslom Daak from 1980 issues of Doctor Who Weekly and Doctor Who Monthly, to tie-in with the character’s appearance in the Nemesis of the Daleks story. There is also a detailed commentary by former Doctor Who Magazine editor John Freeman, featuring input from the writers, artists and editors who worked on these strips, with reproduced script pages and rough pencil drawings.

Here is the full list of strips included in the graphic novel. (Titles marked * are reprinted for the first time in this collection.)

• Nemesis of the Daleks (Doctor Who Magazine #152-155)
• Stairway to Heaven (Doctor Who Magazine #156) *
• Once in a Lifetime (The Incredible Hulk Presents #1)
• Hunger from the Ends of Time! (The Incredible Hulk Presents #2-3)
• War World! (The Incredible Hulk Presents #4)
• Technical Hitch (The Incredible Hulk Presents #5)
• A Switch in Time! (The Incredible Hulk Presents #6)
• The Sentinel! (The Incredible Hulk Presents #7) *
• Who’s that Girl! (The Incredible Hulk Presents #8-9) *
• The Enlightenment of Ly-Chee the Wise (The Incredible Hulk Presents #10) *
• Slimmer! (The Incredible Hulk Presents #11) *
• Nineveh! (The Incredible Hulk Presents #12) *
• Train-Flight (Doctor Who Magazine #159-161)
• Doctor Conkerer! (Doctor Who Magazine #162)
• Abslom Daak: Dalek Killer (Doctor Who Weekly #17-20)
• Star Tigers (Doctor Who Weekly #27-30, Doctor Who Monthly #44-46)

Waterstones in Piccadilly, London are to hold a special event in celebration of Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary, featuring several of the authors represented in the recent re-issue of classic novels by BBC Worldwide.

Steve Cole (Ten Little Aliens), Terrance Dicks (Players), Ben Aaronovitch (Remembrance of the Daleks), Justin Richards (Dreams of Empire), Jonathan Morris (Festival of Death) and Gary Russell (Beautiful Chaos) will be in the store on Saturday 6th April from 3:00pm, where they will be discussing their classic Doctor Who novels and the world of the Doctor, plus signing copies of their respective novels.

Entrance to the event is via a ticket, which are redeemable against the price of one of the books on the day. They can be booked in person in Waterstones Piccadilly, via Facebook (subject to booking fee), or by phoning 02078512400. Tickets will also be available on the day, but anyone wishing to attend should arrive early to avoid disappointment.

Candy Jar Books are to release a new book celebrating the many assistants to have accompanied the Doctor over the last fifty years.


The book will be released on 27th June.

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To coincide with the launch of the book the publisher, Candy Jar, is asking fans to vote for their favourite Doctor Who companion. The results will be released when the book is published in June. To vote visit their website.

BBC Books are to release a new ebook to tie in with the new series episode The Bells of Saint John, which premiered this weekend.


The ebook is published on 4th April 2013.

A forthcoming biography of former Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner has been causing a media stir with newspapers focusing on allegations of sexual exploitation.

JN-T: The Life and Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner, written by Richard Marson and to be brought out in May by Miwk Publishing, is based on more than 100 interviews with friends and colleagues as well as inside knowledge by Marson, who has also had access to the entire surviving archive of Nathan-Turner's paperwork and photos.

In its review published on 10th March, SFX predicted a tabloid firestorm thanks to one particular chapter, entitled Hanky Panky, while the current edition of Private Eye, published last week, similarly warned of unfavourable headlines for the BBC, and that's exactly what has happened. A measured book review was published last Friday by The Guardian, but the tabloids have subsequently gone to town on claims that in the 1980s both Nathan-Turner and his partner Gary Downie, a Doctor Who production team member, used their senior roles to prey on male fans - some of whom were under the legal age of consent at the time (Mirror, Mail, and Sun). Marson says himself in the book that he was assaulted by Downie.

Miwk's website includes endorsements for the book from people such as director Fiona Cumming who, with Ian Fraser, says: "Some of the revelations are painful (but) we find this very rounded, well-written and honest." Drama serials manager and later producer Brian Spilsby comments: "I must say you have skewered JN-T precisely. I can vouch for all of the facts and most of the opinions. It's a very accurate - warts-and-all - picture you paint." And David Reid, who was the BBC's head of drama for series and serials from 1981 to 1983, says of the biography: "Quite wonderful on many, many levels. Gripping, fascinating, appalling – and, by the end, truly moving. Immaculate research makes the whole utterly trustworthy. A very good and very well-written book."

Responding to the allegations, the BBC has urged anyone with information to contact the police or the Dame Janet Smith Review, which was set up in the wake of the Jimmy Savile abuse scandal to look into the culture and practices of the BBC while Savile worked there.

Nathan-Turner died in 2002 and Downie in 2006.

BBC Worldwide have released their latest in a series of interviews with the writers of the Puffin e-Books to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who, with the third instalment The Spear of Destiny, written by Marcus Sedgewick, due to be published on 23rd March. The author chats about his love of the Third Doctor and his fright of the Master, the influence of the Vikings on British culture, what he would do if he could travel in the TARDIS, and why he thinks the Doctor has proved so popular in the last 50 years.



An excerpt from the e-book can be read via The Guardian.

BBC Worldwide have announced the re-issue of eleven books featuring all eleven Doctors as part of the celebration of Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary, each featuring a new cover and special introduction.

The books hail from various periods in the history of Doctor Who in print, and feature a variety of well-known authors:

• The First Doctor: Ten Little Aliens, by Stephen Cole (2002)
• The Second Doctor: Dreams of Empire, by Justin Richards (1998)
• The Third Doctor: Last of the Gaderene, by Mark Gatiss (2000)
• The Fourth Doctor: Festival of Death, by Jonathan Morris (2000)
• The Fifth Doctor: Fear of the Dark, by Trevor Baxendale (2003)
• The Sixth Doctor: Players, by Terrance Dicks (1999)
• The Seventh Doctor: Remembrance of the Daleks, by Ben Aaronovitch (1990)
• The Eighth Doctor: Earthworld, by Jacqueline Rayner (2001)
• The Ninth Doctor: Only Human, by Gareth Roberts (2005)
• The Tenth Doctor: Beautiful Chaos, by Gary Russell (2008)
• The Eleventh Doctor: The Silent Stars Go By, by Dan Abnett (2011)

Award winning author Marcus Sedgwick has been revealed as the author of the third instalment in Puffin’s series celebrating the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.

Sedgwick has re imagined the Third Doctor, played by Jon Pertwee, and created a brand new Doctor Who adventure called The Spear of Destiny, to be released globally on 23rd March. The Spear of Destiny follows on from Michael Scott’s Second Doctor story, The Nameless City, and A Big Hand for the Doctor – a First Doctor adventure from Eoin Colfer.

In total there will be eleven short stories in this ebook series, each based on one of the Eleven Doctors, released on the 23rd of each month from January to November 2013. Each story is written by a different author, bringing together some of the best known names in children’s fiction.

Marcus Sedgwick was born and raised in Kent in the South-east of England. Alongside a 16 year career in publishing he is established as a widely-admired writer of young adult fiction and winner of many prizes, most notably the Branford-Boase Award for a debut novel (Floodland), and the Booktrust Teenage Prize (My Swordhand is Singing). His books have been shortlisted for over 30 other awards, including the Carnegie Medal (four times), Edgar Allan Poe Award (twice) and Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize (four times). Talking about the new book Sedgwick said
The authors of the subsequent eshorts will continue to be unveiled on the BBC Worldwide Doctor Who Facebook page on the first Tuesday of every month throughout the year.

The Dr Who 8th Anniversary Special is a follow-up to 2011's The Wonderful Book of Dr Who 1965, this time paying homage to the iconic Radio Times 10th Anniversary Special. Produced by Paul Smith, this volume takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the current series over its eight years, with contributions from a variety of fan writers.


The Special is a 36 page, full colour fanzine which includes a wraparound cover from the toy photographer "Tomfan". Contributors include Andrew Blair, Johnny Candon, Frank Collins, Martin Day, Philip Sandifer, JR Southall, Keith Topping and Alex Wilcock, with artists Jason Fletcher & Westley Smith, Jon Pinto, M Jason Reed, James Taylor, Will Thompson and more.

For more details visit the Wonderful Book Anniversary Special website.

The BBC has released details of three forthcoming books featuring the 11th Doctor, with new companion Clara also in one of them. All three hardback titles will be published on Thursday 11th April.

Nicholas Briggs has been a prolific Doctor Who contributor since 1999, when he began work on the Big Finish Doctor Who audio dramas, for which he is now executive producer. Nick is also an actor, and since Doctor Who’s return to television in 2005 he has worked on set with all three of the new Doctors as the voice of the Daleks, also providing the voice of the Cybermen and other aliens.

Justin Richards is creative consultant to BBC Books' range of Doctor Who titles, has written for stage and screen, and has penned novels and graphic novels. Together with Jack Higgins, he has also written several action thrillers for older children.

Tommy Donbavand is the author of the 13-book Scream Street series, published in more than 12 languages worldwide, and was the winner of the 2011 Hackney Short Novel Award.