Tor Publishing Group and Tor UK Announce Major Multi-Book Deal for Bestselling and Award-Winning Author John Scalzi

Tor Publishing Group and Tor UK are delighted to announce a joint, multi-book deal for 10 more books from New York Times bestselling and Award-Winning author John Scalzi for a major seven figure advance. The joint deal for World English rights was brokered between Tor Publishing Group’s Patrick Nielsen Hayden, VP, Editor-At-Large, along with Tor UK’s Bella Pagan, Publisher, and agent Ethan Ellenberg, of New York’s Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency.

John Scalzi has become one of the most popular science fiction authors of his generation with 4.5 million books in print in the United States. His debut, Old Man’s War, won him the prestigious John W. Campbell Award (Astounding Award) for Best New Writer. His New York Times bestsellers include The Last Colony, Fuzzy Nation, Redshirts, The Last Emperox, The Kaiju Preservation Society, and 2023’s Starter Villain. The latter three have climbed bestseller lists and have each broken their previous record for the fastest-selling Scazi novels of all time. His next book is the eagerly anticipated When the Moon Hits Your Eye, due out in March 2025. 

Scalzi has won many of the genre’s top awards, including multiple Hugo Awards (for Best Novel for Redshirts and for material from his blog, Whatever), Locus Awards, The Dragon Award, an Audie Award, and has been nominated for others, including for the Nebula and Goodreads Choice Awards.

This new deal marks another long-term commitment by Tor Publishing Group and Tor UK to the works of John Scalzi, with the first book of this new contract tentatively scheduled for 2029.

John Scalzi said of the deal, “It’s rare in publishing to get anything close to continuity—authors go from one publishing house to the next. So I’m especially proud that this contract not only extends my two-decade association with Tor Books, but gives us both an opportunity to build on what’s come before, and make what comes next even better. We have so much planned in the years ahead. I can’t wait for you all to read it.”

Patrick Nielsen Hayden commented, “It’s fantastic to know that we’ll be in the John Scalzi business for even more years to come. He’s a remarkable writer and I can’t wait to see what he does next.” 

Bella Pagan, Tor UK, enthused, “I am so thrilled to have acquired an incredible ten further books from John Scalzi. John is incredibly talented—writing exciting, adventurous and inventive fiction that is always a delight to publish. I always look forward to the wit and verve John brings to his writing, and it will be fantastic to work with Patrick and the Tor US team on these.”