Bill Willingham — writer, artist, and creator of Elementals and the Eisner Award–winning Fables — is stepping into prose epic fantasy with his Outrider trilogy, a new series of three novels to be published by Raconteur Press beginning in January of 2027.
The first novel, The Giant, the Witch, and the Warlord, will be published by Raconteur Press in January 2027. This will be followed by The Sorcerer and The King of the West later in the year. All three manuscripts are complete and in production. Readers will not have to wonder when the series will be finished — it’s already done!
The Outrider series is epic fantasy in the classic tradition of sword and sorcery. The story features morally complex characters, heroes who behave heroically, and centers on an oath kept at any cost. It is Willingham’s first extended prose sword and sorcery work, and a deliberate return to the genre he loved before he ever worked in comics.
“I’ve always wanted to write this kind of story,” said Willingham. “This is the fantasy I grew up reading. Getting to write it, in prose, on my own terms — that’s exactly what this is.”
Willingham approached Raconteur Press directly. Founded by veteran law-enforcement officer Ian McMurtrie in 2022, the Texas-based independent publisher is known in the author community for its dedication to transparency and focus on treating authors as partners rather than IP assets.
“Recently I was presented with the worst publishing contract I’ve ever been offered in a forty-five year career. It had so many hidden traps and minefields at first I thought it must be a joke. Add to that everything that happened with Fables and DC, among a lifetime of bad deals, working with a publisher that puts its contracts where anyone can read them was not a small consideration,” said Willingham. “Raconteur does that. It mattered.”
“We understand why he came to us,” said McMurtrie. “And we intend to honor that trust by doing the job right.”
Raconteur Press has worked with more than 400 authors across its three book lines since 2022, publishing over 100 books including dozens of anthologies, story-first genre novels, and award-winning Boys’ Adventure titles.
A cover reveal is planned for June 2026. Pre-orders open August 1, 2026.
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English (US) · 