World Book Day 2026

As it is World Book Day, I thought I would draw your attention to four gamebooks that may be of interest to you.

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come was published last November. YOU take on the role of William Shakespeare himself as he navigates the nightmarish worlds of his plays and comes up against very servants of the Great Old Ones.

Here is what one reviewer had to say about the adventure:

"An absolute joy to flit through the worlds of Shakespeare as you fight your way through to hopefully a successful conclusion. Each read through bringing a little more insight and a better chance to make it out to the other side. This is a fast paced story as you are constantly being thrown from one story to the next and new paths and options unfold before you."

You can buy the paperback of Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come here, and you can buy a signed hardback direct from me here.

The Kingsport Metamorphosis was published in February and is the third title in the Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebooks series.

A mysterious letter summons you to the seaside town of Kingsport, where dreams leak into reality, to a wealthy estate transformed into a place of unspeakable nightmares. Curious as to why the reclusive Elijah Harcourt has summoned you to his home, you are unsettled when you discover Harcourt’s purpose is far more nefarious than you realized, leaving you and his guests with riddles to solve if you are to survive. As each hour passes, your companions meet terrible fates, forcing you to navigate a spiderweb of betrayal.

Here's what one reviewer has had to say about this adventure:

"Another solid entry in the series (this one stronger on parlor-room mystery vibes than on cosmic horror vibes, though these are present too) from gamebook maestro Jon Green."

You can buy The Kingsport Metamorphosis here.

Valiant is the first Warcradle Studios Gamebook and will be published on Saturday 7th March 2026.

It is the Dystopian Age.

YOU are Valiant, an agent of the Crown Ministry of Intelligence, an unsung hero, working in secret to keep an unstable world from igniting into all-out war. Victoria may reign as Queen, but it is the super-science of the Enlightened that dominates the world thanks to their discovery of otherworldly technologies. The great global superpowers strain against the uneasy detente that exists between them. All it takes is the right agent in the wrong place, so after a secret mission goes disastrously wrong, all that stands between a shadowy conspiracy and global ruin is YOU!

Her Majesty is counting on YOU to end this threat.

Only YOU can save Queen and Country - and perhaps the world! 

When asked which release she was looking forward to most in 2026, Warcradle Studios' Game Development Manager Sophie Williams, who worked closely with me on the adventure, had this to say:

"Valiant! I love choose-your-own-destiny books. Play as a Crown spy in the Dystopian Age whilst navigating a story packed with adventure, deciding how you would deal with the challenges ahead, yes please!"

Finally, the 5th anniversary collector's hardback edition of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire is currently funding on Kickstarter.

1897

In the wolf-haunted Carpathian Mountains, a young solicitor, Jonathan Harker, travels to an isolated castle to assist a mysterious Count with purchasing a number of properties in England. But what he witnesses there drives him to the edge of madness…

Meanwhile, in Whitby, Harker’s fiancée, Mina Murray, visits her dear friend Lucy Westenra. But during her stay, Lucy is attacked and becomes seriously ill…

In London, Lucy’s suitor and physician, Dr John Seward, becomes preoccupied with the case of a certain Mr Renfield, an inmate at his lunatic asylum, who seeks to collect lives for his master, having not long returned from a trip to Transylvania…

And so, the pieces for the game are set. For they are all pawns in a plan devised centuries ago by the Voivode of Wallachia, Vlad Tepes, a cruel tyrant whom history remembers as ‘the Son of the Devil’, his bloodthirsty deeds having earned him another name…

Dracula.

The new edition of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire has a red cover, with black lettering, and known errata have been corrected. The book will also include the names of everyone who backs this latest Kickstarter.

Those who back the campaign will also receive some unique rewards including a collectible bookmark, a pair of black Dracula-themed dice, a set of 10 postcards featuring Hauke Kock's artwork from the book, and a golden pin badge in the form of Count Dracula's crest.

The Kickstarter. is running until Thursday 19th March 2026 and, as of writing, is almost 50% funded already.

World Book Day 2021

It's World Book Day, so why not buy a signed book direct from the author today? Simply click on the image of the book you would like to buy below.

Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland (Paperback)

Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland (Hardback)

Beowulf Beastslayer (Paperback)

Beowulf Beastslayer (Hardback)

World Book Day 2020

This World Book Day, why not try a book in which YOU are the hero - ACE Gamebooks!

World Book Day 2018

As you no doubt are already aware* today is World Book Day. So, in typical form, I would encourage you to purchase one of my books today, especially...

Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghost of Jacob Marley are back, as they become embroiled in an occult murder mystery. The perfect read for a wintry day!

Become Dorothy Gale, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, or Lion and return to the marvellous Land of Oz to take on the Wicked Wizard of Oz himself! A thrilling adventure gamebook in which YOU decide the course of the story.

The second volume in the history of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks series. A worldwide hit, and you can buy your own signed copy direct from the author here!

But more than that, I would ask you to write a review for a book that you've enjoyed (including any of mine you might have read) as the number of reviews a book receives on Amazon (for example) has a direct impact on that book's future sales.

Thank you and have a great day. I, for one, will be starting Dan Abnett's latest Gaunt's Ghosts novel The Warmaster, and hopefully writing a few more sections of NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters!

* Especially if you have primary school age children.

Celebrate World Book Day by booking your ticket to Fighting Fantasy Fest 2

While school children up and down the country are marking 20 years of World Book Day, six months from today, on Saturday 2nd September 2017, a host of dedicated Fighting Fantasy fans will gather at the University of West London, in Ealing, to mark the 35th anniversary of the publication of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, and the subsequent series of adventure gamebooks it spawned. And you could be there too!

Tickets are now on sale for Fighting Fantasy Fest 2, via the official Fighting Fantasy website here.

We are working very hard to make sure that FFF2 is similar enough to FFF1 that those who didn't manage to go last time (back in 2014) get to experience something of the same vibe, whilst also making sure that it is different enough that those who did go last time don't find themselves sitting in on talks they have heard before.

So expect new talks, new guests, new game demos, new traders, and new friends to be made, on Saturday 2nd September 2017, at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2!

World Book Day 2016

In case it had slipped your mind (like it had mine) today is World Book Day, which has got me thinking about which books of my will see the light of day this year.

Here's what came out that I was involved in last year...

My 2015 publications.

As you will already know if you read this blog post earlier in the year, this time last year I didn't even know I was going to write Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland, which, after YOU ARE THE HERO, is my best and most reviewed title that I was solely responsible for. And it spawned a colouring book too, which the Americans love! 

At the time of writing, I definitely have three books coming out. The first is a re-issue of sorts - Doctor Who: Terrible Lizards - and the second is another Doctor Who title, but a new one this time - Choose the Future: Night of the Kraken.

And then there's Robin of Sherwood: The Knights of the Apocalypse...

And Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu...

Hopefully there will also be a sort-of-follow-up to Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland, which I have finally decided will be called The Wicked Wizard of Oz, but other than that, who knows?

World Book Day 2015

Today is World Book Day, and this being 2015, you can now purchase many of my books through Google Play, to read on the Android device of your choice.

Latest additional to Google Play is YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, but you'll also find my Pax Britannia Steampunk novels on there, and my Nazi Zombie Army story Götterdämmerung.

Simply follow this link to find out more.

World Book Day

Today is World Book Day, and if you're looking for something to read, why not check out one of the following?

Black Library Gamebooks

Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks

Pax Britannia Steampunk Novels

Doctor Who

Happy World Book Day!

I was fortunate enough to celebrate World Book Day a day early yesterday, with a visit to my alma mater, King Edward's Junior School in Bath, as one of their Book Week guest authors. I spent the morning talking to Years 5 and 6 about Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, and in the afternoon I spoke to Years 3 and 4 about how a book is made and also about characterisation, using Moshi Monsters as an example. I even had the privilege of speaking to the whole school during assembly.

I was made to feel very welcome by both the children and the staff, one of whom, Mr Orchard, inspired me with his history lessons when I was a pupil at the school! All I can say is that he must have only just qualified as a teacher when he taught me back in the 1980s. Lunch was spent in the very pleasant company of Head Boy Ben and Head Girl Grace.

Thank you to Mrs Macfarlan, who arranged my visit, and Mr Mac for allowing me to take over his drama room for the day. I had a great time, and I hope the children did too.

The room ready for the first session. 

 Year 6 being inspired by Fighting Fantasy monsters.

Year 5's turn to be inspired by the possibilities offered by adventure gamebooks.

If you're celebrating World Book Day today, why not treat yourself to a free download? 1853, from Pandemonium Fiction, is free to owners of Kobo eReaders (and less that £1/$1 for other eReaders) and features three, short, slightly alternate histories - all set in the same fateful year..

Marc Aplin sends a gunslinger to China and poses him an impossible question, Laura Graham writes of an Edinburgh overshadowed by more than factory smoke, while I raise an ancient and hungry evil in Mexico City. Enjoy!

Available for download now!

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

For World Book Day...

On Writer's Block

Pinch punch, first of the month, an' all that. I'm off to visit a school for almost the entirety of World Book Day so here are some words of wisdom from David Tallerman - author of Giant Thief - on the subject of Writer's Block.

"I'm not sure I believe in writer's block as such... you'd be pretty quick to fire your plumber if they started complaining about "plumber's block", wouldn't you?"

An Extra Day

So today is 29 February, or Leap Day as it is also known, that extra day we get once every four years. It is on this day that women can propose to men, it is considered unlucky by many superstitious individuals, and it's also St Oswald's Day.

But what are you going to do with your extra day? Seeing as how I'm already married and not superstitious, and I won't be observing the feast of St Oswald, I'm going to fill my time in other ways.

First up, I'm preparing for a school visit I'm making tomorrow for World Book Day. I've also got some final tweaks to make to my Warhammer 40K gamebook Herald of Oblivion. Then there are the artist interviews I need to get started on for Artists' Month on this very blog. And that's before I write a pitch for a new Warhammer short story or get cracking on my next big writing project.

So, how are you going to be filling your time?

Vlog 5 - Ask Me Anything

To celebrate World Book Day (it is still World Book Day, just about) I've recorded my fifth Vlog in which I answer all your questions about my books, writing in general, and even which dessert toppings I prefer. Well I did say you could ask me anything!

In the end, the finished Vlog was about 26 minutes long, which was too long for YouTube, so I've broken it down into three parts, which you'll find below.

It's World Book Day!

And the Guardian's Children's Books website has gone live!

Happy World Book Day 2009!

In case you didn't already know, today is World Book Day. So, seeing as how I now make a living from my books, I thought I would let everyone know about the different sorts of books I write and present something of a back catalogue for your perusal.

Pax Britannia

I am currently writing a series of steampunk science fiction action/adventure novels for Abaddon Books, featuring dandy hero of the British Empire, Ulysses Quicksilver. There are currently three books in the series - Unnatural History, Leviathan Rising, Human Nature - with a fourth, Evolution Expects, published in May, and with more to come after that. To find out more about the world of Pax Britannia click here.

Fighting Fantasy

To date I have had five Fighting Fantasy gamebooks published. They are Spellbreaker, Knights of Doom, Curse of the Mummy, Bloodbones and Howl of the Werewolf.

Doctor Who

So far I have written a Doctor Who: Decide Your Destiny interactive adventure gamebook entitled The Horror of Howling Hill and have contributed to the 2010 Official Doctor Who Annual (published this August).

Sonic the Hedgehog

I have also c0-written two Sonic the Hedgehog adventure gamebooks, Theme Park Panic and Stormin' Sonic.

Warhammer

I have written three fantasy novels set within Games Workshop's Warhammer world. They are The Dead and the Damned, Magestorm and Necromancer.

Warhammer 40,000

I have also written three science fiction novels set within Games Workshop's far future medieval universe of Warhammer 40,000. There are two books about the Black Templars and the Armageddon Campaign - Crusade for Armageddon and Conquest of Armageddon - and a stand-alone adventure entitled Iron Hands.

Non-fiction

I have written a number of non-fiction books as well. The most recent of these are Match Wits with the Kids, Go, Go Crazy for those Bones and What is Myrrh Anyway? Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas.

As well as books I have also had published various novellas, short stories, comic strips and magazine articles.

I also go school visits and library talks. If you would like me to come into your school or local library to talk about any of my books or the writing process in general, please email me at paxbritannia@hotmail.co.uk.