The Star Wars canon novel list
This list began life as a blog article to chronicle the new “Expanded Universe” of Star Wars canon novel releases that are considered “official” after the Disney purchase of Lucasfilm.
The prolific existing EU was then relegated to “Legends” status, and only books that came out from that point onward were considered to be official Star Wars canon novel content.
“Going forward, Lucasfilm has begun mapping out the narrative future of Star Wars storytelling that will appear on film and television and in other media so that all projects will benefit from real-time collaboration and alignment. The future Star Wars novels from Disney Publishing Worldwide and Del Rey Books will now be part of the official Star Wars canon as reflected on upcoming TV and movie screens.”
That “future” is now, and it started on Sept. 2, 2014, with the publication of John Jackson Miller’s A New Dawn, considered to be the first “new” Star Wars canon novel. And it’s still going strong.
“With the establishment of the Lucasfilm Story Group and our even greater focus on unified storytelling, we expect our entire publishing program to be stronger and more meaningful than ever before,” said Jeanne Mosure, senior vice president and group publisher, Disney Publishing Worldwide. “We’re extremely excited to kick off this new strategy with Del Rey Books.”
The original article about this became unwieldy in a blog post format — hopefully, this page will better serve as a reference for those wishing to know what books “count” now and mesh seamlessly with the films, TV shows and games of the Star Wars canon universe today. Both pages will be updated as appropriate. You can explore the releases by release date in the table below — oldest releases first — or in the cover gallery below that, showing the books in order from most recent to oldest. This is the Way…
Ordered by release date, first to last
Star Wars canon book cover gallery
Most recent releases displayed first
Star Wars book publishing news
Audiobook versions of the Star Wars Essential Legends Collection book releases are back in production after a recent pause.
News about the Star Wars Legends audiobooks from the Del Rey/Penguin/Random House/Disney/Star Wars book conglomerate:
When we launched the Star Wars Essential Legends Collection, one of the exciting things about the initiative was being able to create new audio editions for many of these books, some of which only had abridged versions, or none at all! Recently we had to pause on creating these new audio editions, but we know how important these editions are to our readers, and always intended to return to making them. We appreciate all of your patience, and interest, and we’re pleased to announce that new Essential Legends audio editions are back in development, starting with some titles that we missed over the last year. Below is a list of the titles and when you can expect them to be on sale. These books will be up for preorder from your favorite audiobook sellers soon.
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As we move into 2024, we have several more releases planned in the Essential Legends Collection. We expect to be back to simultaneously releasing new audio editions for many of the Essential Legends books with the new paperback editions. Look forward to more announcements about those titles in the future.
Star Wars “Legends” consists of stories that were once (arguably) part of the official Star Wars continuity but, after 2014’s transition of Lucasfilm to Disney, are now considered non-canon and set in an “alternate timeline.”
“Canon” novels, on the other hand, are now the officially recognized and ongoing narratives that contribute to the overall Star Wars storyline going forward from that point.
Here’s when more Star Wars Legends audiobooks are coming:
The next Star Wars Legends audiobooks include adaptations of Timothy Zahn’s Outbound Flight and Survivor’s Quest in December of this year, Dave Wolverton’s Courtship of Princess Leia and Yoda: Dark Rendezvous in January 2024 and Michael A. Stackpole’s I, Jedi in March 2024.
Outbound Flight: Star Wars Legends
By Timothy Zahn
Read by Marc Thompson
12/19/2023
Survivor’s Quest: Star Wars Legends
By Timothy Zahn
Read by Marc Thompson
12/19/2023
The Courtship of Princess Leia: Star Wars Legends
By Dave Wolverton
Read by January LaVoy
1/23/2024
Yoda: Dark Rendezvous: Star Wars Legends
By Sean Stewart
Read by Jonathan Davis
1/23/2024
I, Jedi: Star Wars Legends
By Michael A. Stackpole
Read by Marc Thompson
3/12/2024
Which Star Wars Legends audiobooks are you looking forward to the most?
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away …
After ‘Legends’: All the Star Wars Canon novels since 2014 …
The next wave of trade paperbacks in the Star Wars Essential Legends Collection, as announced Nov. 3, 2021, hit bookshelves April 5, 2022, comprising four diverse and popular titles:
- Kenobi by John Jackson Miller
- Darth Plagueis by James Luceno
- X-Wing: Wedge’s Gamble by Michael A. Stackpole
- Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil by Drew Karpyshyn.
Each of these titles will have a new cover featuring stylish original designs from a different artist.
Wedge’s Gamble — which depicts the daring Rebel Alliance takeover of Imperial Center itself, Coruscant — will also receive an all-new, unabridged audiobook edition in the process.
This is the third wave of these trade paperbacks; the first round, in June 2021, resurrected Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire, Matthew Stover’s Shatterpoint and Karpyshyn’s Darth Bane Series Book 1: Path of Destruction. The second, in September 2021, expanded to four titles like the third, including Stackpole’s Rogue Squadron (the first book in that popular starfighter series), the rest of Zahn’s original and groundbreaking trilogy Dark Force Rising and The Last Command, and Darth Bane Book 2: The Rule of Two.
It’s all part of celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Lucasfilm, with publishing partner Del Rey curating a collection of essential and beloved Star Wars novels from the past.
“Novels set in a galaxy far, far away have enriched the Star Wars experience for fans seeking to continue the adventure beyond the screen. When he created Star Wars, George Lucas built a universe that sparked the imagination, and inspired others to create,” Del Rey said in a statement when the first wave was announced. “He opened up that universe to be a creative space for other people to tell their own tales.”
To this day, the EU — though no longer strictly canon — remains an inspiration for Star Wars creators and is published under the label Legends. Ideas, characters, story elements, and more from new Star Wars entertainment trace their origins back to material from the Expanded Universe.
More Essential Legends Collection news:
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away …