Penguin to publish Pullman's The Collectors in print for the first time

Penguin will publish Philip Pullman’s The Collectors in print for the first time. 

The novella, set in the world of His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust, has already been published by Audible in an audiobook read by Bill Nighy. It was later released as an e-book.  

Publisher Ruth Knowles acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Millie Hoskins and Caradoc King at United Agents. It will publish on 15th September in a small hardback edition and will be illustrated throughout by Tom Duxbury in his trademark black and white linocut.  

The synopsis says: “On a dark night in a college in Oxford, two men talk by the fire. Their conversation turns to two unusual pieces of art that one of them has recently added to his collection. But these pieces—a painting of a striking young woman and a bronze sculpture of a fearsome-looking monkey—are connected in mysterious and improbable ways and these art collectors are about to be caught up in a story which has travelled time and worlds.” 

Knowles said: “Having been mesmerised by it in its audio format, we are delighted to be publishing The Collectors physically so fans, and readers new to Philip’s worlds, can add it to their bookshelves. This mysterious snapshot of Mrs Coulter and her golden monkey daemon is gripping and brilliant and Tom has again captured Philip’s atmospheric storytelling perfectly.”