To publicise the release of Doctor Who — Short Trips: 2040, Big Finish have made available one of the stories on their website. The Nuclear Option, by Richard Salter, features the Seventh Doctor alongside Roz Forrester and Chris Cwej who featured in the New Adventures range of books in the 1990s.

The updated version of Lance Parkin's A History of the Universe has slipped again and is now due to be published in March 2005. Faction Paradox: Warring States has also been pushed back and will now appear in April.

The BBC's provisional schedule for the Doctor Who range has now been released. As well as the previously announced books, 2005 will also see debut novels from Simon Guerrier and Nick Wallace, the first solo novel from Terrance Dicks since the abysmal Doctor Who: Warmonger, and the first full-length Doctor Who novel from Andrew Cartmel since the publication of Doctor Who: Warchild in February 1996.

Lance Parkin's The Gallifrey Chronicles, which will bring to an end the Eighth Doctor Adventures, has been brought forward to March, with the debut of the hardback Ninth Doctor novels being moved back one month to April.

The forthcoming Bernice Summerfield collection The Purpura Pawn has undergone a name change and will now be released as A Life in Pieces.

The twelfth book in the Big Finish range of Doctor Who anthologies will be Short Trips: Seven Deadly Sins. Edited by David Bailey, it is due to be published in March 2005.

Powys Media

Powys Media have released details of some of their forthcoming Space: 1999 titles. Survival, Eternity Unbound, Year Two, and an unabridged six-CD reading of Resurrection are now available for pre-order, while 2005 will see new novels from Shane Johnson, David A McIntee and Vicente Gallegos-Aguazul.

Mad Norwegian have announced that, due to delays caused by the recent spate of hurricanes passing over the USA, Dead Romance and Faction Paradox: Warlords of Utopia will now not be available before November.

The updated version of Lance Parkin's A History of the Universe has also slipped and is now due in January 2005.

It's been announced that the next Doctor Who eBook to appear online will be The Empire of Glass by Andy Lane.

First released by Virgin Publishing in 1995 as part of the Missing Adventures range, it features the First Doctor, Vicki and Steven. The serialisation will be appearing online from the end of September with illustrations by Mike Nicholson.

Mad Norwegian Press have announced that their releases of the Lawrence Miles novel Dead Romance, and Lance Parkin's Faction Paradox: Warlords of Utopia have dropped back to October.

Information on the BBC's three Ninth Doctor Doctor Who novels was posted briefly on their website early last month, before being swiftly take down again.

Priced at £6.99 and available in hardcover, The Deadly Game, The Clockwise Man and The Monsters Inside are expected to be released between March and May, and judging from the information available, it seems likely they will be aimed at a young adult readership.

The authors reponsible for writing the books are Jacqueline Rayner, Justin Richards and Stephen Cole.

It's been announced that the Faction Paradox comic has been cancelled.

Only two of the planned six issues were released, but it is hoped that the storyline may be concluded at some point in the future, most probably in one of the Faction Paradox books or audios.

Mad Norwegian Press have announced that their reprint of the Lawrence Miles novel Dead Romance will be published in August. The book was originally released as part of Virgin Publishing's Bernice Summerfield range in 1999.

The company has also announced that I, Who 4 — the latest volume in the series of guides looking at the Doctor Who books and audios — has been pushed back to 2005.

Magic Bullet have revealed that their first two Faction Paradox audio plays after picking up the series from BBV will be written by Lawrence Miles. They will also feature the return of Gabriel Woolf as Sutekh the Destroyer, the character which first appeared in the classic 1975 Doctor Who story Pyramids of Mars.

It's been revealed in the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine that the first three Ninth Doctor Adventures will be released in March, April and May next year.

BBV have announced that they will not be producing any further Faction Paradox audio dramas.

The news isn't all bad for fans, however, as Magic Bullet Productions, responsible for the Kaldor City spin-offs from Blake's 7 and Doctor Who, have picked up the audio rights to the series.

As well as news on the regular paperback novels, the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine has also revealed that Big Finish will be releasing a further two volumes of Doctor Who short stories this year.

Short Trips: 2040 is being edited by Ian Farrington for release in October, while Short Trips: A Christmas Treasury will be released in December and is being edited by Paul Cornell.

Mad Norwegian Press have released further information about their reprint of the Lawrence Miles novel Dead Romance.

As well as a new introduction by the author, the book will also include Toy Story, a Faction Paradox short story that was first published in the Doctor Who charity anthology Perfect Timing 2, and Grass, a Lawrence Miles short story which was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science-Fiction.

As previously mentioned, Popco and Reynolds & Hearn will be releasing the first in a series of Prisoner script books later this year. The first volume will contain the scripts from Arrival through to Dance of the Dead, as well as background material and the complete script to the unproduced story The Outsider.

Telos have announced details of the fourth and fifth novellas in their Time Hunter series.

Kitsune by John Paul Catton will be published in September, with The Severed Man by George Mann being released in December.

As usual, both books will be available in paperback and as limited edition hardbacks.

Telos have also warned that stocks of their Doctor Who novellas are now running low as the company will be unable to sell them after the end of June. Anyone intending to buy them should therefore do so immediately.

David A McIntee's first Guy de Carnac novel, Descent, is to be published by Twenty-First Century Publishers at the start of November.

Guy first appeared in the 1995 Doctor Who novel Sanctuary, although this trilogy of books will have no connection with that story.

Lance Parkin has revealed that he will be writing the final novel in the Eighth Doctor Adventure range of Doctor Who books.

The Sands of Time, the latest Doctor Who book to be put online by BBCi, is now appearing at the rate of a chapter a week. Unlike earlier books, this will also be available to download in a number of eBook formats.

Details have now been announced for this year's Bernice Summerfield releases.

May will see the release in hardback of The Big Hunt by Lance Parkin. This is the first full-length Benny novel since The Glass Prison in 2002.

An as-yet untitled hardback collection of three novellas, edited by Gary Russell, will be released in July, while this year's anthology, A Life Worth Living edited by Simon Guerrier, will be published in September.

Information is now also available about their fourth volume of Doctor Who audio scripts. The original scripts for Omega, Davros, Master and Zagreus will all be included in the hardback volume which is due out in September.

Mad Norwegian Press have announced that the hardback editions of their Faction Paradox novels are being dropped with immediate effect due to low sales. The paperback editions are completely unaffected.

It's been revealed by Justin Richards, range editor for the Doctor Who books, that the final book in the ongoing Eighth Doctor Adventures series will be published in March 2005. All future Eighth Doctor books will appear as part of the Previous Doctor Adventures range. This is fairly unsurprising as the new television series is due to arrive on screen in 2005.

On which subject, it's notable that the five writers working on the new series all have previous experience in writing Doctor Who novels or short stories.

• Russell T Davies, who's responsible for bringing the series back to the screen, wrote the controversial Damaged Goods for the New Adventures range back in 1996.
• Paul Cornell was the first of the fan writers to be commissioned with Timewyrm: Revelation in 1991. He's subsequently moved into TV and has written a further seven Doctor Who novels including the recent novelisation of Scream of the Shalka. Love and War in 1992 saw the introduction of Bernice Summerfield.
• Mark Gatiss wrote the extremely popular Nightshade for the New Adventures range in 1992. He's since written three more Doctor Who novels including Last of the Gadarene and is now best known for being one of the League of Gentlemen.
• Steven Moffat is best known for writing the children's drama series Press Gang and the comedies Joking Apart and Coupling. He had a Seventh Doctor and Bernice story included in the Decalog 3 anthology in 1996 and also contributed to the Down Among the Dead Men anthology.
• Robert Shearman is probably best known to Doctor Who fans for his audio scripts but has also contributed to two of the Doctor Who anthologies from Big Finish.

Details have been released about the future schedule of books and audio featuring Bernice Summerfield.

As well as four audio dramas being released in both 2004 and 2005, each year will also see the release of a hardback novel, hardback anthology and a hardback collection of three novellas.

BBCi have announced that the next Doctor Who eBook to appear online after The Scales of Injustice will be The Sands of Time by Justin Richards.

First released by Virgin Publishing in 1996 as part of the Missing Adventures range, it features the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa in a sequel to the classic 1975 television story Pyramids of Mars, which by an amazing coincidence is due out on DVD this month!

The sixth in BBV's ongoing series of Faction Paradox audio dramas was released in February. As with the other titles in the range, Faction Paradox: A Labyrinth of Histories has been written by Lawrence Miles.

Plans have been announced for a further two volumes of Doctor Who short stories. Short Trips: Repercussions will be edited by Doctor Who audio producer Gary Russell for release in June, while Short Trips: Monsters will be released in August and be edited by Ian Farrington.

Big Finish will also be issuing a volume containing the scripts to their Dalek Empire audio dramas.

The audio drama Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Axis of Evil was finally released in February, but not under the previously announced title. In a completely unexpected move the double-CD release has been issued as Death and the Daleks...

Mad Norwegian Press have released details of the fourth novel in their ongoing Faction Paradox series. Warring States is to be written by Mags L Halliday and is due to be published in paperback and limited edition hardback in December.

October will see the release of I, Who 4, the latest volume in Mad Norwegian's guide to the Doctor Who books and audios. This volume is also slated to include coverage of the various Doctor Who anthologies.

The updated version of Lance Parkin's A History of the Universe has been brought forward to November.

I Books released a new edition of Hank Stine's 1970 Prisoner novel A Day in the Life in December. This book, as well as The Prisoner by Thomas M Disch, is also available as a downloadable eBook.

The title of the second book in Powys Media's forthcoming series based on The Prisoner has been announced. The Other will be written by popular Doctor Who author Lance Parkin. Award-winning author Robert Sheckley has also been signed up to write a novel for release in 2005.

BBCi have announced that the next Doctor Who eBook to appear online will be The Scales of Injustice by Gary Russell.

First published by Virgin Publishing in 1996 as part of the Missing Adventures range, it features the Third Doctor as well as the Silurians and Sea Devils. The book also marks the departure of regular character Liz Shaw, and is the first part of a loose trilogy that concluded with the Sixth Doctor books Business Unusual and Instruments of Darkness — both of which were published by BBC Books.

The first chapter will be go online on 12 February, and as usual will be accompanied by notes from the author and ilustrations by Daryl Joyce.

Mad Norwegian Press have released details of the third novel in their ongoing Faction Paradox series. Warlords of Utopia is to be written by Lance Parkin and is due to be published in paperback and limited edition hardback in August.

Late 2004 will also see the release of an updated and expanded version of Lance Parkin's 1996 non-fiction book Doctor Who: A History of the Universe, which attempted to produce a coherent timeline for all the adventures including the original Virgin Publishing books. The new version is not authorised by the BBC and will include details from all the books and Big Finish audio dramas released since the first edition.

David A McIntee has announced that he has found a publisher for his proposed trilogy of books featuring the character Guy de Carnac who was originally created for Doctor Who: Sanctuary in 1995.

The books are set in 13th century France and will contain no connections to Doctor Who or Sanctuary — hardly surprising as the end of Sanctuary saw the apparent death of the character. The first volume is to be pubished in late October.

The character also appeared in the 2002 audio drama The Quality of Mercy from BBV.

The fifth in BBV's ongoing series of Faction Paradox audio dramas was released in December. As with the other titles in the range, Faction Paradox: Movers has been written by Lawrence Miles.

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine has reported than 2004 will see a further four CDs and three books as part Big Finish's various Bernice Summerfield ranges. There will be one novel, a fourth collection of short stories and a book containing three seperate novellas. They will also be publishing a book detailing every appearance of Benny to date in print or on audio. This is expected to be in a similar format to the recently released volume that covers their range of Doctor Who audios.

Bounty Books have issued a new edition of The Television Crimebusters Omnibus — one of the cheap anthologies edited by Peter Haining. It contains What's a Ghoul Like You Doing in a Place Like This?, a story taken from the second Avengers annual.

Most of the online retailers are listing it as 'not yet released', but it is out — I spotted a copy in a local discount bookshop last week. Rather bizarrely, the front cover has a picture of Steed and Mrs Peel — the story actually features Steed and Tara King...