Questions about the Robert McCammon Library?

Lividian Publications is incredibly proud to announce the Robert McCammon Library, a new hardcover series created to publish every Robert McCammon book in a unified set. We welcome fans of the marvelous Robert McCammon to join us as we begin this monumental project. We look forward to building this incredible library with all of you.

Q: What is the goal of this project? Aren’t there already Limited Editions of all of these books?

A: The Robert McCammon Library is not about replacing earlier editions or attempting to “outdo” them. The desire here is to create something lasting and worthy of McCammon’s extraordinary body of work, both for collectors who want a definitive set of books in their collection and for readers who want to be able to read these stories in hardcover again and again for years to come — all while trying to keep the retail price obtainable for fans of all backgrounds. (I know that I personally, as a collector, would have budget trouble if each title in an ongoing set this large was priced like a modern day Limited Edition. )

Q: Are these Limited Editions? Trade Editions?

A: A little bit of both. These will be beautiful but affordable hardcovers that are Smyth-sewn like our Limited Editions, bound in cloth with hot foil stamping on the cover and spine, and printed on acid-free paper with a very reader-friendly page design. There will be an optional slipcase for those who like that sort of thing (we certainly do!). The print run for each book will be set within a few weeks of the book being announced, so these titles will go out of print pretty quickly. But there isn’t an exact print run planned ahead of time for each book like there is with a Limited Edition.

Q: How often will the books be published?

A: In 2026, we’ll publish the first two titles in the Robert McCammon Library, Baal and Bethany’s Sin, and then we’ll publish four more books every year after that in the order of original publication. The Night Boat, They Thirst, Mystery Walk, and Usher’s Passing are already in production for 2027. Also: our plan includes the entire Matthew Corbett series, finally published in a fully matching set. Keeping to the planned schedule is very important to us. We want folks to be confident the books will arrive when they’re supposed to arrive, which is why, for this very ambitious set, we’re eliminating certain bottlenecks and chokepoints that often delay projects and sometimes even stop them dead in their tracks. Streamlined and focused production is the goal.

Q: Do the books come with a slipcase by default?

A: To keep these editions as affordable as possible, they will be issued without a slipcase, but a Limited Edition slipcase is available as an optional upgrade and will ship at the same time as the books.

Q: Will there be special features?

Whenever possible, these editions will include an introduction or afterword by Robert McCammon to discuss the origins and inspirations for his writing. In addition, Mathias Clasen, the acclaimed Danish scholar of horror fiction, will contribute a scholarly essay for each book, exploring the themes of the story, the state of the world at the time the tale was written, and the work’s influence on the genre.

Q: Will these be signed?

A: Scheduling and pricing are two of the reasons there won’t be signature sheets for these books, but not the only reasons: McCammon has already signed signature sheets for Limited Editions for almost all of these titles over his long career, and he’s not getting any younger, so if we had to choose between him spending his time signing (potentially) 20,000 signature sheets over the next seven years or writing another book with that time… Well, we’re readers and fans first, so we want him to spend as much time writing as he wants!

All of that said: McCammon plans to sign copies of these books for The Alabama Booksmith, and they’ve generously agreed to have copies signed for my Lividian Tier Patreon supporters, supporters on the new Robert McCammon Library tier, and a very limited number of direct orders from Patreon supporters on other tiers.

So, there will be some signed copies, they just won’t be signed on a signature sheet.

Q: What’s the deal with the dust jackets?

A: These hardcovers will be issued with a double-sided reversible dust jacket to represent the edition’s unique position between a reader’s trade edition and a collector’s Limited Edition: one side will be printed with cover text in the style of a bookstore trade hardcover, while the other side will leave the artwork unobscured, like many of our Limited Editions. You can choose which version to display in your personal Robert McCammon Library.

Q: Who is the artist and why is there only one?

A: François Vaillancourt has been commissioned as the illustrator for the entire set, giving the collection a unified look and feel. Each book will feature full-color wraparound dust jacket artwork and approximately ten black-and-white interior illustrations.

Q: What about the Matthew Corbett books?

A: The plan is to tackle the entire series, creating the first completely unified set of this incredible series. We will deviate from our “publish the books in order” plan when we get to these titles, so all 10 will be published consecutively.

Q: I live somewhere on planet Earth! How can I order?

A: Excellent news! In addition to our own online store, we have booksellers all over the world including the UK, Germany, and Australia:

Q: I have other questions!

A: Please email Brian at brian@lividian.com and he’ll help you out!