--- description: The first in the "Book of Dust" trilogy will be published around the world in October as a follow-up to "His Dark Materials" title: Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Is Getting a Follow-Up Trilogy image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt351e2915bcf72e22/6988ba6e097b9024af9b8eab/philip-pullman.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Is Getting a Follow-Up Trilogy by [Zamira Rahim](/author/zamira-rahim/) ## Zamira Rahim Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 15, 2017 12:30 PM CUT  Philip Pullman poses for a photograph outside of Worcester College, in Oxford, England on Jan. 11, 2017. Philip Pullman poses for a photograph outside of Worcester College, in Oxford, England on Jan. 11, 2017.Michael Leckie—Penguin Random House/AP by [Zamira Rahim](/author/zamira-rahim/) ## Zamira Rahim Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 15, 2017 12:30 PM CUT [Philip Pullman fans rejoice](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/feb/15/philip-pullman-unveils-epic-fantasy-trilogy-the-book-of-dust "undefined") — the British author’s hugely popular [His Dark Materials](http://www.philip-pullman.com/hdm "undefined") trilogy is getting a follow-up in October. The first of the ‘Book of Dust’ trilogy will be published this fall around the world and will be set in London and Oxford, The Guardian [reports](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/feb/15/philip-pullman-unveils-epic-fantasy-trilogy-the-book-of-dust "undefined"). Lyra Belacqua, Pullman’s heroine from the previous trilogy will return in the first two books, appearing first as a baby and then as a twenty year old, with the plot running parallel to that in His Dark Materials. The author said on Twitter that the new trilogy was neither a sequel nor a prequel to those in the original series but instead more an “equel”. > [](https://twitter.com/PhilipPullman/status/831815351675604993) The Book of Dust will focus on “the struggle between a despotic and totalitarian organization, which wants to stifle speculation and inquiry, and those who believe thought and speech should be free,” Pullman said. \[[The Guardian\]](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/feb/15/philip-pullman-unveils-epic-fantasy-trilogy-the-book-of-dust "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4671572/phillip-pullman-his-dark-materials-the-book-of-dust/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4671572/phillip-pullman-his-dark-materials-the-book-of-dust/"},"headline":"Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Is Getting a Follow-Up Trilogy","datePublished":"2017-02-15T12:30:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:20:12.004Z","description":"He's calling the new trilogy an \"equel\"","url":"https://time.com/4671572/phillip-pullman-his-dark-materials-the-book-of-dust/","keywords":["Books","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt351e2915bcf72e22/6988ba6e097b9024af9b8eab/philip-pullman.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zamira Rahim","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zamira-rahim/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt351e2915bcf72e22/6988ba6e097b9024af9b8eab/philip-pullman.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Books Philip Pullman","caption":"Books Philip Pullman","creditText":"Michael Leckie—Penguin Random House/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4671572/phillip-pullman-his-dark-materials-the-book-of-dust/","name":"Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Is Getting a Follow-Up Trilogy"}}]}] ```