New Dragonlance novel trilogy is back on after authors dismiss lawsuit

After months of litigation with rights holders Wizards of the Coast, Dragonlance creators Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman confirmed their new trilogy of Dungeons & Dragons novels is back on. About two weeks after Weis and Hickman dropped their lawsuit against Wizards, the authors’ representatives announced that the first book in a new Dragonlance series will get a publication date later in 2021 — although it’s not guaranteed that the book itself will release this year.

Last October, Weis and Hickman filed a lawsuit against Wizards. The pair claimed breach of contract, and asked for a jury trial and $10 million in damages. Court documents state that Wizards had approached them to secure an agreement for a new Dragonlance trilogy in 2018. The project had reportedly led to one completed manuscript with two more in production. Wizards allegedly told the authors it would not be approving any more drafts, which effectively left them in limbo — unable to share their work or profit from it.

According to representatives of Weis and Hickman, the two parties have resolved their legal dispute but won’t share any further details on the matter.

Weis and Hickman are the original authors of The Dragonlance Chronicles, which launched in 1984 — back when Dungeons & Dragons was still owned by TSR. It takes place in the high-fantasy world of Krynn, and has also spawned a successful line of D&D adventures.

Del Rey Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, will publish the new novels. The first and second books, provisionally titled Dragons of Deceit and Dragons of Fate, respectively, are said to already be complete. The new books will feature beloved characters from the Dragonlance Chronicles while introducing a new protagonist.