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Philip Pullman has confirmed that the first volume of The Book of Dust, his return to the worlds of His Dark Materials, will be published this October.

“People say, ‘Is it prequel? Is it a sequel?’ Well, it is neither,” Pullman told the BBC. “It’s an ‘equel’. It’s a different story which begins roughly 10 years before His Dark Materials and ends roughly 10 years after.”

Pullman also explained that “At the centre of The Book Of Dust is the struggle between a despotic and totalitarian organisation, which wants to stifle speculation and inquiry, and those who believe thought and speech should be free.” The story once again follows Lyra Belacqua, from a baby to aged around 20.