The new companion to His Dark Materials, entitled Once Upon A Time In The North, is to be published on April 3rd next year. The story recounts the very first meeting of these two heroes, an encounter eagerly awaited by all Pullman fans. The book, which is “presented as an exquisitely designed cloth-bound book and includes many other teasingly authentic memorabilia and clues from the His Dark Materials universe gathered together” tells the tale of Lee Scoresby and Iorek Brynison’s first meeting.

“Lee Scoresby and his hare daemon, Hester, crash land their trading balloon on to Novy Odense, a port in the far Arctic North, and so find themselves right in the middle of a political powder keg that threatens to explode into a street-fight. Honour is at stake and Lee is not a man to duck a matter of honour. And this is the very first time that Lee gets to use his trusty and celebrated Winchester rifle . . .”

You can read the full press release from David Fickling Books (Pullman’s publishers), which includes further details, here.