New Tolkien tale to come from HC in 2017

HarperCollins (HC) will publish a new J R R Tolkien title in May 2017.

Edited by his son Christopher Tolkien, Beren and Lúthien will be published simultaneously in the US (by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) and in other territories by Tolkien publishers worldwide.

Christopher Tolkien extracted the tale of lovers Beren and Lúthien from The History of Middle-earth, a 12-volume series that collected and analysed material relating to the fiction of J R R Tolkien. The story of Beren and Lúthien has evolved since it was first written in 1917, and has been reworked in various forms, including poetry. To reflect this, the new book opens with Tolkien’s original text, before including passages from later texts that rework the tale. Presented together for the first time, they reveal aspects of the story hitherto discarded.

Beren and Lúthien will be published on the 10th anniversary of the last Middle-earth title, The Children of Húrin, with the volume to include illustrations by Alan Lee. HC holds world rights in all languages.