Oak Tree Books and Chinbeard Books have just released The Tomorrow People: The First One, the first book in a new collection of standalone novels based on the original version of the cult sci-fi series, first screened in the UK in the 1970s.
The First One by Gary Russell will be published this week, on Thursday 18th July, and is available to pre-order in paperback, hardback, and eBook now, with cover art and design by Robert Hammond.
A set of six new stories set in The Tomorrow People universe, this set of novels has been written to appeal to fans of the original television series, the Look-In comics, and the books by series creator Roger Damon Price, alongside new readers. To deliver the stories that the audience deserves, Oak Tree Books and Chinbeard Books are working with genre specialists and Tomorrow People fans Gary Russell, Joseph Lidster, Nigel Fairs, Rebecca Levene & David Derbyshire, and Iain McLaughlin.
Gary Russell, perhaps best known for his series of Doctor Who novelisations, opens the series with The Tomorrow People: The First One. In the story, with Tomorrow Person Kenny away from Earth, working for the Galactic Federation, John, Carol and Stephen embark on their weirdest adventure yet.
While Carol works alongside eccentric spiritualist Madame Juniper Rose, John and Stephen witness a psychic attack in the Lab. Both these incidents seem to be linked, and Carol finds herself drawn on a mysterious trek back in time with a friendly ghost for companionship.
John and Stephen explore the house at the centre of the activity, but discover that – rather than being the Tomorrow People – they may well end up as yesterday’s nobodies…
“As a child, I just wanted to be a Tomorrow Person,” says Gary. “The TV show, the Look-In magazine coverage, the books by the wonderful Roger Price; they all promoted the fact that anyone could be one. My school friend Danny Roberts and I spent many hours trying to talk telepathically to one another, and doing everything we could to jaunt, but sadly, to no avail.
“Writing this book became my chance to relieve those 1973 days. It became my chance to share my adoration for John, Carol, Kenny and most of all the wonderful Stephen, my all-time fave Tomorrow Person (sorry, the rest of you guys) and therefore he – and the much-missed and loved Peter Vaughn Clarke – are very much the reason I wrote this story.”
Following the release of The First One Oak Tree’s new Tomorrow People novelisations will be released every two months. Full release dates will be confirmed closer to release.
Each book will focus on characters from throughout the Tomorrow People lineage, with characters appearing from the original series, the 1990s series, and also characters from the full-cast audio productions produced by our friends at Big Finish.
It was important to the team at Oak Tree Books and Chinbeard Books that everyone involved in this project was the right fit. “We wanted writers who were not only big fans of the show but also respected genre writers too,” says Barnaby Eaton-Jones, Commissioning Editor at Chinbeard Books.
Of course, this new series of Tomorrow People stories would not be possible without the enthusiastic permission of series creator Roger Price, Barnaby Eaton-Jones notes.
“We’ve been kindly allowed, by Roger Price (creator and writer of The Tomorrow People for eight television seasons), to create a series of standalone adventures in a bi-monthly release of six novels.”
“All of us at Oak Tree Books and Chinbeard Books are excited to jaunt back into the world of The Tomorrow People with all of you, and we hope fans of the series and new readers alike will join us for the adventures. We’ll have more news to share on the individual titles very soon.”
FORTHCOMING THE TOMORROW PEOPLE NOVELS
• The Tomorrow People: Children of the Evolution by Iain McLaughlin — September 2024
“The Tomorrow People isn’t just about us developing these telepathic abilities,” says Iain, who many writing credits span TV, radio, novels, comics, short stories and more “It’s about us growing and becoming a better species. The Tomorrow People don’t kill and look for a reasonable answer to problems. They’re an optimistic look at our future. And I’m all for a bit of optimism.”
Iain McLaughlin is online at iainmclaughlin.com
• The Tomorrow People: Homo Inferior by Nigel Fairs — November 2024
“Growing up slowly realising that I was gay, therefore different, demonised and illegal until I was 21, The Tomorrow People spoke to me,” says British actor and writer Nigel Fairs. “It celebrated difference. The Lab was a place of safety whilst the real world wasn’t.”
Nigel Fairs is online at nigelfairs.com
• The Tomorrow People: A New Beginning by Joseph Lidster — January 2025
“It’s a real privilege to be back again in the world of the Tomorrow People because of Chinbeard Books and Oak Tree Books, and to be writing for John again, says screenwriter and playwright Joseph Lidster, whose credits also include The Sarah Jane Adventures, Hetty Feather and The Dumping Ground, and the Doctor Who, the Dinosaurs in the Wild touring immersive adventure experience.
Joseph Lidster is online on various platforms – check his Linktree for links
• The Tomorrow People: The Man Who Sold The World by Rebecca Levene & David Derbyshire — March 2025
“We were thrilled to get a chance to revisit and explore these characters,” say Rebecca Levene (author of The Hollow Gods fantasy novel series and a number of 2000AD spin-off novels) and David Derbyshire, “while telling a traditional The Tomorrow People story of teenage crazes, monstrous invaders and evil hippies that wouldn’t have been out of place on ITV in the mid 1970s.”
• The Tomorrow People: The Last One by Gary Russell — May 2025
Since the year 2000, Oak Tree Books — Andrews UK’s premium imprint — has all new high-quality titles, covering a range of genres from biographies, fantasy, horror and so much more. They also publish or re-publish often beloved books of characters and brands from to 70s and 80s for that nostalgic feel everyone adores.
Chinbeard Books is a small publisher with big ideas. This small but award-winning company mainly focuses on heritage properties, or new books or graphic novels that are a little quirky and might not find a home elsewhere. Chinbeard currently holds the literary licenses for Robin of Sherwood, The Goodies, and The Tomorrow People, with more on the near horizon. They are partnered with Oak Tree Books on all bigger publishing projects.
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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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