09: What Year Is It?
Cam pours one out for 2025 (and also 2026?)
I spent 2025 filling up another batch of notebooks with scripts, outlines, and ideas destined to never leave the confines of my Field Notes collection. A strange part of the publishing process is constantly working on stories that won’t reach readers for years (if at all). Flipping back through my 2025 notebooks, I realized I’ve actually been in 2027 for some time now. While I cannot confirm if my beloved Cleveland Guardians finally win the World Series between now and then, I at least have a sense of what books will be hitting shelves next year.
But while I may be living in The Future, it’s still worth giving a proper send off to what came out in 2025 and what’s to come in 2026, before teasing what’s filling up my notebook pages at the moment.
2025 (The Past)
Two anthologies I had short stories in are now available in collected editions. One of them centers around puppet-goblins trying to babysit an infant, and the other follows a pair of princes backstabbing each other to take their father’s place on the throne. So, uh… slightly different vibes. But I highly recommend both of these collections:
2026 (Somehow Also the Past)
The big release coming this year is LEGO NINJAGO: STRIKE OF THE SERPENTINE, a prequel to the epic LEGO franchise.
It was incredibly fun getting to play with LEGO without the pain of stepping on stray pieces, but the best part was working with artist Will Morris. What he pulls off in this book is a minor miracle: epic action and heartfelt character moments all in the style of LEGO bricks.
Will wrote and illustrated one of my all time favorite graphic novels, Gospel, so it was a joy to get to work with him and receive his feedback and encouragement on the script along the way.
I’ll share more in a few weeks when Strike of the Serpentine debuts, but in the meantime you can read about it in the official announcement.
2027 (The Present)
Production on Rivals, my next graphic novel with Amanda Castillo, is humming along. In 2027 everyone else will get to see all the amazing work Amanda is doing with this one.
I recently finished the outline for an upcoming graphic novel and officially signed a contract for a new series. Neither of those will come out until 2027, which means that’s where I’ll be spending my 2026.
I’m looking forward to reporting back when the calendar catches up to my notebooks. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll have a Guardians World Series to celebrate then too.*
Thank for reading,
Cam
1.15.26
*Editor’s Note: There will not be a Cleveland World Series to celebrate.