Leigh Bardugo reveals ‘Demon In The Wood’ ― a Grishaverse Graphic Novel

On December 16, GMA revealed in an exclusive announcement in which Leigh Bardugo provided a first look into the first-ever Grishaverse graphic novel and prequel releasing in 2022, which illustrates the origin story of the Darkling, titled Demon In The Wood.

According to Bardugo’s exclusive, the graphic novel will tell the story of “a young many burdened by an extraordinary power who will become the Darkling.”

Bardugo ends the announcement with this question “But is this the origin story of a hero, or a villain? That’s for you to decide…”

Original artwork will be done by Dani Pendergast and adapted by Kyla Vanderklugt, slated for a Fall 2022 release.

Before he led Ravka’s Second Army, before he created the Fold, and long before he became the Darkling, he was just a lonely boy burdened by an extraordinary power.

Eryk and his mother, Lena, have spent their lives on the run. But they will never find a safe haven. They are not only Grisha—they are the deadliest and rarest of their kind. Feared by those who wish to destroy them and hunted by those who would exploit their gifts, they must hide their true abilities wherever they go. But sometimes deadly secrets have a way of revealing themselves…

Discover the start of a grand and sinister destiny in this must-have graphic novel prequel to the bestselling series and international Netflix sensation Shadow and Bone from spectacular new talent Dani Pendergast and #1 New York Times bestseller Leigh Bardugo.

Demon In The Wood by Leigh Bardugo, with artwork from Dani Pendergast is set to be released September 27, 2022!

Shadow And Bone Score Revealed During NYCC 2020 Panel

On October 10 during NYCC’s virtual panel as part of their 2020 Metaverse series of programming, Leigh Bardugo and showrunner Eric Heisserer were part of a much-anticipated panel primarily discussing Bardugo’s Grishaverse and the upcoming adaptation for Shadow And Bone.

In the days leading up to the panel with Heisserer, Bardugo made it clear in her tweet that there would be no trailer stating it was “beyond our powers.”

However, at about 20 minutes into the discussion Bardugo began to say that she knows how patient fans have been and while no trailer exists yet, she revealed they’d be sharing “a little something” which in this case was a score they did not advertise to keep it a surprise.

The score that went viral across social media and garnering over 50,000 views, was from show composer Joseph Trapanese’s ‘Grisha Theme’. Although it’s just “a teeny tiny taste” of Trapenese’s work, Heisserer stated he had recently received new pieces to review just the day before.

Bardugo continued to say “we kind of had to beg to share…I get so emotional hearing it…” Heisserer noted that there’s a distinct “Slavic sense” and still feels “second world.”

Bardugo and Heisserer than discussed the journey of adapting works with lots of fans and shared that it’s much better for fans to avoid “torment” of waiting for tastes of the show and just have “a whole meal.”

Throughout the panel, there were many little Shadow And Bone moments from set that they shared throughout the 40-minute discussion:

• Jessie Mei Li (Alina) would often go onto set on her day’s off and support other cast members
• A Crow Club scene that felt so real to Hessierer was where everything is written in Kerch, there were Crow Club cards with a custom-designed number system and he said to a cast member “here’s the way people in Kerch count money.”
• Ben Barnes (The Darkling) came up behind Bardugo on a day he wasn’t shooting to say “Fine, make me your villain” when she was there on her first set day.
• Bardugo’s favorite moment in the show is “a book being thrown at someone’s head” featuring her Ravkan edition of S&B.
• Amita Suman (Inej Ghafa) in her Inej costume pulled off a “crazy hand maneuver” with a knife and then immediately tripped
• Seeing Kaz’s cane was a big deal for Bardugo as was seeing the First Army Camp
• Jesper’s guns were made by a custom Hungarian gunsmith

During the panel, there were hints as to the current state of production for Shadow And Bone which included: no trailer exists yet and the amount of time needed to get visual effects (VFX) done has made the process “longer.” No other specific details about the show’s release were announced.

Are you looking forward to watching Shadow And Bone?

Rule Of Wolves by Leigh Barduo Cover Reveal

As of August 22, the cover to Leigh Bardugo’s Rule Of Wolves was revealed through a virtual Grishaverse meet-up and Entertainment Weekly.

Bardugo considers this upcoming installment to the King Of Scars duology “the grand finale for the Grishaverse.” It was also mentioned that Bardugo told EW “I think of this as the allies and enemies book, because those relationships are constantly shifting as Nikolai tries to keep his country from all-out war.”

King Of Scars is Bardugo’s newest series in her world of the Grishaverse following Nikolai Lanstov whose looking to rebuild after the Ravkan civil war and struggles to control a dark magic that rests within him.

Cover designer is Natalie Souza and artist is Hedi Xandt.

Bardugo also mentioned that the designer’s idea was “something sinister and beautiful that would evoke carved bone, as if the glamour of the gold from King of Scars had been stripped away to reveal the truth of the story.”

According to her Twitter, Bardugo even stated that the length for Rule Of Wolves will be the same length as Crooked Kindom, about 160k words.

Both the US and UK editions are available for pre-order.

The wolves are circling and a young king will face his greatest challenge in the explosive finale of the instant #1 New York Times-bestselling King of Scars Duology.

The Demon King. As Fjerda’s massive army prepares to invade, Nikolai Lantsov will summon every bit of his ingenuity and charm—and even the monster within—to win this fight. But a dark threat looms that cannot be defeated by a young king’s gift for the impossible.

The Stormwitch. Zoya Nazyalensky has lost too much to war. She saw her mentor die and her worst enemy resurrected, and she refuses to bury another friend. Now duty demands she embrace her powers to become the weapon her country needs. No matter the cost.

The Queen of Mourning. Deep undercover, Nina Zenik risks discovery and death as she wages war on Fjerda from inside its capital. But her desire for revenge may cost her country its chance at freedom and Nina the chance to heal her grieving heart.

King. General. Spy. Together they must find a way to forge a future in the darkness. Or watch a nation fall.

Rule Of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo is set to be released March 30, 2021!

Shadow And Bone Collector’s Edition and new Grishaverse Book From Leigh Bardugo!

On June 30, it was announced through Fierce Reads that Leigh Bardugo is releasing two new Grishaverse books in 2020!

The Lives Of Saints will be an illustrated collection of tales featuring familiar saints such as “Sankta Lizabeta of the Roses and Sankt Ilya in Chains, to the strange and obscure stories of Sankta Ursula, Sankta Maradi, and the Starless One…”

It’ll contain full-color artwork of each saint, with illustrations from Dan Zollinger.

Alongside that, Shadow And Bone will also be getting a deluxe collector’s edition which will contain brand-new artwork, a hardcover slipcase with an exclusive design, frontispiece artwork from Zoe Keller and much more.

Both novels, Shadow And Bone: The Collector’s Edition and The Lives Of Saints will be releasing on October 6, 2020 in the US and UK.

According to the blog post, Bardugo mentioned that she’s a “habitual doomsayer, so if ten years ago, you’d told me we were going to end up here, I never would have believed you…”

Shadow And Bone Collector’s Edition (slipcase). Credit: Fierce Reads

Bardugo also mentioned in a following quote tweet that the wait for Netflix’s Shadow And Bone will have to be a bit longer. She stated that “covid has slowed down post-production and we want to keep people safe…” However, she hopes she’ll be able to share more info soon.

Jessie Mei Li will have a prop of Saints (Istorii Sankt’ya) in the show according to the Fierce Reads blog post.

The Netflix adaptation for Shadow And Bone is currently in pre-production after shooting wrapped up in February. On June 11 it was revealed in Collider, that Shadow And Bone‘s composer will be Joseph Trapanese whose done music for films such as ‘Tron: Legacy’, ‘The Greatest Showman‘, and more recently ‘Lady And The Tramp‘ for Disney+.

The Lives Of Saints and Shadow And Bone: The Collector’s Edition are available to add on Goodreads.

Shadow And Bone Season 1 Filming For Netflix Has Wrapped

As of February 28, filming for Netflix’s upcoming series Shadow And Bone has wrapped! The official Twitter account, Shadow And Bone released a minute-long video introducing the main cast and their role for the show.

From Jessie Mei Li (Alina Stakov), to Freddy Carter (Kaz Brekker), Archie Renaux (Mal Oretsev) even Calahan Skogman (Matthias Helvar), Danielle Galligan (Nina Zenik), Kit Young (Jesper Fahey), Amita Suman (Inej Ghafa), and Sujaya Dasgupta (Zoya Nazyalensky).

Ben Barnes also introduced himself, but not his character. Though at the end of the video its shown he’s standing in front of a trailer with a paper saying “Bad Guy.”

To celebrate the announcement, author Leigh Bardugo also shared on her Twitter, a one of a kind Ravkan edition of Shadow And Bone that appears “in one of my favorite show moments.”

Screen Rant, according to their article on the news, that “there’s still plenty of work to be done in post-production of course, so it may still be some months before first look photos or footage is released. Perhaps Netflix will have something ready by the time BookCon rolls around in late May, or the streamer may do a big push for Shadow and Bone at San Diego Comic-Con…“

The adaptation of Shadow And Bone was filmed in Budapest for about six months.

No news yet as to a release date or trailer, however the show does have an official Netflix page.

“Shadow and Bone has officially wrapped production and a few friends would like to wish you a warm welcome to the Grishaverse…”

Shadow And Bone Via Twitter

Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold–a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed.

Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue as she trains with the Grisha, her country’s magical military elite–and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift.

As the threat to the kingdom mounts and Alina unlocks the secrets of her past, she will make a dangerous discovery that could threaten all she loves and the very future of a nation. 

Welcome to Ravka . . . a world of science and superstition where nothing is what it seems. 

The Shadow And Bone Netflix Adaptation Has Its Cast

If you’ve been keeping up with the latest bookish news online, then its no surprise to you that Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse has officially gone through its first round of casting!

Posted on See What’s Next (Netflix’s news Twitter account) October 2, were six of the main characters for Netflix’s upcoming adaptation Shadow And Bone. All of who were revealed via a special photo shoot.

Shadow And Bone Cast (Round 1) via See What’s Next

• Jessie Mei Li is cast as Alina Starkov
• Archie Renaux is cast as Malyen Oretsev (Mal)
• Amita Suman is cast as Inej Ghafa
• Freddy Carter is cast as Kaz Brekker
• Kit Young is cast as Jesper Fahey
• Ben Barnes is cast as General Kirigan (aka The Darkling confirmed by Bardugo & Barnes via their Twitters)

The upcoming adaptation, originally announced back in January, will bring together the novels of Bardugo’s Grishaverse with the two main titles being Shadow And Bone and Six Of Crows.

Throughout the day, other characters were revealed as well from Nina Zenik and Genya Safin, first mentioned in SyFy’s Wire Buzz article, to Zoya Nazyalensky and Simon Sears as Ivan via Variety (who was confirmed by Bardugo via Twitter).

Barnes, playing General Kirigan, shared a video through his Twitter on October 2, revealing that the team was officially on day 1 of filming for the show.

The adaptation is being filmed in Budapest and the cast has already kept fans updated with photos and various Instagram stories together.

There is no set release date and Bardugo has yet to confirm actors mentioned in various articles such as Danielle Galligan who will play Nina Zenik and Daisy Head who will be Genya Safin.

According to Deadline Bardugo said “I was so wary going into this process because these characters have lived in my head for so long. Turns out I had nothing to fear. Watching these actors begin to inhabit these roles has been pure magic…”

Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold–a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed.

Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue as she trains with the Grisha, her country’s magical military elite–and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift.

As the threat to the kingdom mounts and Alina unlocks the secrets of her past, she will make a dangerous discovery that could threaten all she loves and the very future of a nation. 

Welcome to Ravka . . . a world of science and superstition where nothing is what it seems. 

Shadow & Bone Netflix Highlights During Leigh Bardugo And Erin Morgenstern’s SDCC 2019 Panel

During the first day of San Diego Comic Con 2019 on Thursday, fantasy authors Leigh Bardugo and Erin Morgenstern took part in a “Spotlight” panel from noon to 1 pm!

Based on Tor’s write-up of the panel, it was revealed that Bardugo shared some info about the upcoming Netflix adaptation of her Grishaverse, Shadow And Bone!

Moderated by NPR’s Petra Mayer, they discussed ” world-building, writing tips, and the inspiration for their latest works…”

With many readers worried whether Shadow And Bone and Six Of Crows won’t get equal screen time, according to the write-up the show will be “a 50/50 split” stated by Bardugo.

It was also revealed that language director, David Peterson, who’s also worked on the languages for Game Of Thrones, will be working on the languages for Shadow And Bone.

The adaptation of Shadow And Bone is set to start filming in Budapest in “less than two months…” according to Bardugo (added July 19 via the SDCC panel now available on YouTube).

Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold–a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed.

Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue as she trains with the Grisha, her country’s magical military elite–and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift.

As the threat to the kingdom mounts and Alina unlocks the secrets of her past, she will make a dangerous discovery that could threaten all she loves and the very future of a nation. 

Welcome to Ravka . . . a world of science and superstition where nothing is what it seems. 

Young Adult Publishers Schedules For SDCC 2019

SDCC 2019 is almost here and schedules from YA publishers are starting to be revealed, detailing everything from signings, panels, and even ARC Drops!

Today on The Booked Shelf, I’ll be highlighting and sharing some of these schedules for you readers of YA to keep an eye out for!

1.Penguin Teen

On July 9, Penguin Teen posted their SDCC schedule which will start July 18:

They made in important note stating “A limited number of tickets for all in-booth author signings will be given out each morning…”

Events include: Galley giveaways of Fireborne & A River Of Royal Blood

and Comic-Con exclusive giveaways for Pre-Orders of Renée Ahdieh’s The Beautiful

Panels will include authors such as: Ally Condie, Marie Lu, Tochi Onyebuchi, & Renée Ahdieh!

2.Fierce Reads

Only July 5, Fierce Reads shared their SDCC schedule which will start July 17:

Events include: Getting a Grishaverse passport & stamp, Children of Virtue and Vengeance swag & temporary tattoo parlor, There Will Come A Darkness & The Tenth Girl ARC drops, also giveaways of Supernova samplers & swag!

There will be tons of author signings from authors such as: Danika Stone, Marissa Meyer*, Rainbow Rowell*, Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu (Rebel samplers), Hafsah Faizal, Tricia Levenseller, & more!

*Ticketed

3.Simon Teen

On July 11, Simon Teen revealed their SDCC schedule which will start on July 18:

Events include: Shadowhunter’s Poster drop, Slay & The Lady Rogue ARC Drops!

Panels will include authors such as: Margaret Rogerson & Kiersten White!

Signings are set to feature authors: Margaret Rogerson, Kiersten White, Frank Miller, Thomas Weehler, Whitney Garner & more!!

San Diego Comic Con 2019 will run from July 18 through July 21!

Shadow And Bone Netflix Adaptation Updates

On June 21, Christina Strain, one of the writers/producers on Netflix’s adaptation of Shadow And Bone shared tweets stating the “wrap on the writers room for season 1 …”

The featured photo of the first tweet is a shot of various knives in a circle.

In the second tweet, Strain shared information about the knives and stated:

For those of you asking if these are Inej’s knives: They are…”

Christina Strain (@christinastrain)

In addition to this photo of Inej Ghafa’s knives, creator, writer and showrunner Eric Heisserer shared in a quote tweet, “Hard to tell in this pic, but each knife is inscribed with the name of a saint. #SanktaAlina #NoMournersNoFunerals…”

The news of Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse being adapted for Netflix was originally announced January 10, 2019 via Deadline.

As of June 17 & 19, Bardugo and Heisserer answered tweets in regards to casting. Both shared that Alina’s casting was the only “open call” they could “afford.”

Other recent news in regards to the adaptation also came from Bardugo’s newsletter from May 28, 2019 which states:

” Location scouting has begun! I’d love to be there but, y’know, books to write, and I still get to wake up to exciting new images on my phone every morning. We’ve also had some major developments in casting. I can’t say more just yet, but I’m truly over the moon. And I have to admit . . . Watching auditions for this show has been overwhelming in ways I never anticipated. The reality of seeing someone embody a character that began in my head and heart ten years ago is so crazy and incredible…”

Thoughts on this news for the Grishaverse Netflix adaptation?