Zee Zee, from Star Wars Books, has emailed the following:

“Ms Traviss has again updated her homepage (www.karentraviss.com) with three points
of information:

1] her TCW signing tour:
July 24 - 27 - check Comic-Con schedule for appearances.
July 28, TEMPE, AZ - Changing Hands, 7pm
July 29, DALLAS -Borders, Greenville Ave., 7pm
July 30, DECATUR, GA, - Wordsmiths Books, 7.30pm
July 31, NEW YORK - Borders, Columbus Circle NYC, 7pm

2] One of her publishers is offering one of her own books free as a digital download

AND

3] “In the meantime, it’s just eight weeks to ORDER 66, book four in  the Republic
Commando series, out September 15. Stand by for a few surprises.  And note that the
cover won’t look like the one shown - check back here soon for the final and very
different version.”

Thanks Zee Zee!

KarenTraviss.com was updated today with the following:

“Site updated July 9 2008
NEWS - new series, new books, new covers

Yes, there is a NEW SERIES out this month, and judging by the mail I’m getting,
folks don’t seem to realise what it is. There’s a NEW FIVE-BOOK STAR WARS SERIES for
adult readers based on the Clone Wars movie and TV cartoon show, and I’m writing
three of them. But because the movie and the TV show are for the youngsters, and I
write adult fiction, then you can deduce that the novels will show you stuff you
won’t see on screen. (This is separate from the young adult books that are also
being published. )

CLONE WARS, the hardcover based on the movie - loosely based, so no griping that
it’s different, because that’s the whole point - is out on July 26. Full of the
gritty, off-message, character-testing, question-raising, grey-area,
military-oriented stuff you’ve come to expect from me. And clones. Plenty of clones.
And familiar characters from the movies that you won’t see quite the same way ever
again.

My good buddy Karen Miller is writing the other two novels. She doesn’t write
predictable books either, so stand by for a challenging series that will make you
take another fresh look at the Clone Wars. “

Sounds like we can expect for the novels to go away from the children aspect of the TV series. Should be interesting!

Thanks to Zee Zee for the tip.

We told you recently about a listing on Amazon for a novel by Star Wars fan favorite Aaron Allston. Sue Rostoni told us that she couldn’t comment on the story; yet. She has commented on it now, on the Star Wars.com message boards. She says:

“They can’t count the pages of a book that hasn’t been written yet.” 

She makes no comment on whether there will be an Aaron Allston novel to come in the future. 

Our good friend Zee Zee just sent us in a link to Amazon for a book entitled “Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi I.” It’s placed as a hardcover and is apparently going to be penned by veteran Star Wars author Aaron Allston as a first in a series. The release date is set for March 24, 2009 and it seems it will be 256 pages. Nothing as of yet is confirmed, but we will contact our friends at Del Rey and see what we can do. Until then, let the speculation on this possible novel begin!

We contacted the wonderful Ms Sue Rostoni at Lucas Licensing about the novel and she told us, “I can’t comment on this yet. Sorry!” Seems pretty useless, right? Nope, it actually tells us that it is indeed real and that she has to wait until it’s official announced to divulge more information… At least, that’s what I get from the “yet.”

On the heels of learning of five Clone Wars tie-in novels, Karen Miller, confirmed author of the second novel in the Clone Wars novel series, is now telling us that she and Karen Traviss are writing all five novels. Take a look at a post on her Livejournal:

The Sekrit Projekt is a Star Wars novel. I’ll be doing 2. They’re both set in the Clone Wars era, and connected to the new animated series that’s coming out soon. It’s a 5-book series in total, and the super spectacular Karen Traviss will be writing the other 3. I’m so lucky to be working with her. It’s a bit of a cosmic trip, this, no pun intended. I think I’d be a lost cause if I didn’t have her to guide my tottering footsteps. Gotta tell you, I am having waaaaay too much fun.

There you have it folks– Traviss is doing three, Miller is writing two. CW Fans rejoice!

UPDATE:

Karen Traviss has updated her own site and it seems that the order of the books will go as follows:

#1 by Karen Traviss

#2 by Karen Miller

#3 by Karen Traviss

#4 by Karen Miller

#5 by Karen Traviss

Karen T. also mentioned that her first book is “a hardcover based on the movie,” which, to me, is a novelization.

Source: Club Jade.net

This is the Del Rey Press Release seen on the official SW.Com blog announcing the novels:

NEW YORK, NY – June 25, 2008 – LucasBooks and Del Rey, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group, announced today that Del Rey will publish five novels to tie-in with the upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars feature film, premiering on August 15, and the animated TV series that will air in fall of 2008 on Cartoon Network and TNT.

The first novel – Star Wars: The Clone Wars – is written by fan-favorite Star Wars author Karen Traviss, and will go on sale July 26, 2008. Popular science-fiction/fantasy author Karen Miller will write the second novel, to be published in December 2008. Both books will add depth, color and background to the screen stories and characters, making them must-reads for every Star Wars fan.

The story follows the heroic Jedi Knights as they struggle to maintain order and restore peace during the tumultuous Clone Wars. More and more systems are falling prey to the forces of the dark side as the Galactic Republic slips further and further under the sway of the Separatists and their never-ending droid army. Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano find themselves on a mission with far-reaching consequences, one that brings them face-to-face with crime lord Jabba the Hutt. But Count Dooku and his sinister agents, including the nefarious Asajj Ventress, will stop at nothing to ensure that Anakin and Ahsoka fail at their quest. Meanwhile, on the front lines of the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda lead the massive clone army in a valiant effort to resist the forces of the dark side.

Del Rey Editor Shelly Shapiro says, “It is a gift to all Star Wars fans to see the franchise continue to grow and develop under the watchful and ever-inventive eye of its creator, George Lucas. The Star Wars galaxy is one of the richest fictional “worlds” ever invented, and it is exciting to be able to explore this new area with novels, as we’ve done with so much success–and so much fun–with the original six movies.”

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
British writer Karen Traviss received critical acclaim for her first novel, City of Pearl, as well as for its five sequels. She is the author of seven other Star Wars novels, including three books in the immensely popular Legacy of the Force series, as well as the upcoming Star Wars: Order 66. Her short stories have appeared in Asimov’s, Realms of Fantasy, and On Spec. She lives in England.

Karen Miller was born in Vancouver, Canada, but was raised in Sydney, Australia, where she still lives today. She fell in love with Star Wars when she saw it on the big screen, the very first time it was released in 1977. That love affair has lasted her whole life. So far she’s written six mainstream fantasy novels and two Stargate SG-1 tie-ins.

ABOUT DEL REY BOOKS:
Del Rey Books (http://www.delreybooks.com) was founded in 1977 as an imprint of Ballantine Books, a division of the Random House Publishing Group, under the guidance of the renowned Judy-Lynn del Rey and her husband, Lester del Rey. Del Rey publishes the best of modern fantasy, science fiction, and alternate history. In 2004 it expanded by launching Del Rey Manga, which has grown to be a major force in the U.S. graphic-novel field.

There you have it everyone– five novels to tie-in with The Clone Wars movie, although at this time no authors beyond Traviss and Miller are known and it’s unknown if anyone else will be writing with them.

Source: Official Star Wars Blog (via)

Library Journal’s Michael Richards got a first look at the upcoming “The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” written by Haden Blackman and Brett Rector. His final thoughts on it are: Star Wars fans whether they’re gamers or not are going to want this, so buy a couple. The book comes out August 18. For more of his thoughts, as well as quite a few pictures from the book itself, check out the entire first look here. Enjoy!

Source: Library Journal (via)

If you head to your local bookstore today, you will find a new Star Wars novel out: Michael Reaves’ Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight. It’s in paperback and can be bought for $7.99. Before you start reading, see what Mr. Reaves has to say about it in our interview, then, after you’re done reading, discuss it on our forums here!

NJOE has found an entry on Randomhouse.com called simply, “Untitled Star Wars Game Novel”. It’s a paperback, and is being released February 24, 2009, with a page count of 304. This could mean many things; a possible Kotor book, or even another Galaxies installment. EUCantina will be sure to bring you the latest news as it come out!

Source: NJOE.com, Randomhouse.com