Ten years since it debuted, author, comics writer and publisher Paul Cornell has brought his enjoyable series to a close with Gnomes of Lychford, the final book out this week from Tor.
The Witches of Lychford series is a contemporary fantasy series about a coven of witches in the rural English town of Lychford, who navigate the complexities of modern life when it intersects with the occult.
Witches of Lychford novella began this delightful series, published in paperback in 2015, followed by The Lost Child of Lychford, A Long Day in Lychford, The Lights Go Out in Lychford, and Last Stand in Lychford and now, Gnomes of Lychford.
In the final tale, an unlikely group of supernatural creatures terrorizes the sleepy village of Lychford.
Ok, they’re gnomes. That’s not a spoiler: you worked it out from the title.
When an ancient prophecy clashes with an unfortunate modern design aesthetic, the people of Lychford must band together to put out fires (both literal and metaphorical) to save their town before the king of the Gnomes (King Greg, and it’s dangerous to laugh at a gnome) calls in the terms of an old promise.
Trouble is: no one knows what the promise is, nor how to fulfil it.
It’s going to be a long night…
Surely, surely, this is a series crying out for film or tv adaptation? When Lights Go Out in Lychford was published, Publisher’s Weekly described it as “Captivating… Written with Cornell’s characteristic verve, Lychford buzzes with its own magic, and its characters brim with life. Series fans will be shocked and moved by the developments in this efficient story, and look forward to the next.”
The Lychford Collection Volume One, which contains the first three Lychford novellas, will be published on next month, followed by Volume Two next June.
Paul Cornell has written episodes of Elementary, Doctor Who, Primeval, Robin Hood and many other TV series. He has worked for every major comics company on series such as I Walk With Monsters, The Modern Frankenstein, Saucer Country, and This Damned Band, as well as runs for Marvel and DC on Batman and Robin, Wolverine and Young Avengers.
Alongside artist Rachael Smith, he will be signing copies of the hilarious new graphic novel, Who Killed Nessie? at Waterstones London-Piccadilly on Saturday 20th September 2025, from 1.00 – 2.00pm.
• Gnomes of Lychford is available from all good bookshops | ISBN: 9781250388278 | AmazonUK Affiliate Link | UKBookshop.org Affiliate Link
• Paul Cornell is online at paulcornell.com
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
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