Trailer Wrapped and Side Jobs on Sale

We’ve wrapped filming on the Peace Talks book trailer! Director and superfan Priscellie (me, your humble Jim-Butcher.com content manager) offers her boundless thanks to all the readers who joined us in this endeavor, from department heads to extras to a kickass band of hard-working PAs.

Speaking of Peace Talks, a release date has been set, and we should be able to announce it VERY soon! Join our snazzy new mailing list to ensure you’re among the first to know. (If you were a member of our old Yahoo Groups mailing list, you’re good! Your subscription has been automatically transferred.)

While waiting for Peace Talks‘ release, why not catch up on some material you might have missed? Did you know Jim has written TWO volumes of Dresdenverse short stories, Side Jobs (2010) and Brief Cases (2018), which contain novellas from the points of view of Murphy, Molly, Marcone, Luccio, Butters, Maggie, and even Mouse? The Side Jobs eBook is currently on sale for $1.99 through December 22nd, so don’t miss this opportunity to catch our favorite wizard for hire in some slightly less world-threatening cases.

Buy Side Jobs and support independent bookstores with Books-a-Million or Kobo (learn how to buy ebooks from your favorite indie bookstore with Kobo), or snag it from Google Play, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, or Amazon. Join BookBub to learn about future promotions!

We Have a Release Date!

At long last, we have a release date for Peace Talks, 16th novel of the Dresden Files! Check out Tor.com’s exclusive announcement for the full scoop, including a tease for some upcoming festivities surrounding the series’ 20th anniversary.

Christmas Eve 2019

Circumstances conspired to prevent us from posting this last night, but we know sleeplessness around the holidays isn’t confined to the night before Christmas alone. Enjoy last year’s unforgettable Dresden Files short story “Christmas Eve,” now with illustrations by Adam Mathison-Sward and art direction by Priscilla Spencer. Read it here!

Note: While this story is intended to be read before Peace Talks, it takes place several months after and contains references to some of the fallout of the book. Spoiler-Averse folks, proceed with caution.

Wishing you and your loved ones joy, peace, and good health this holiday season.

Welcome to the Year of Dresden!

Storm Front was first published April 1st, 2000, which makes this year The Dresden Files’ 20th anniversary! To honor that milestone and to thank the phenomenal fans who got us there, we will be posting “Dresden Drops” on jim-butcher.com every Tuesday this year. Dresden Drops will feature never-before-seen artwork, microfiction, interviews, sample chapters for Peace Talks, contests, and other tasty tidbits throughout 2020.

We’re also recruiting some of your favorite geeky and literary websites to help us celebrate the series with readalongs, giveaways, and more, and we’ll be announcing the first tie-in event later this week. Be sure to join our new mailing list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter, so you don’t miss a moment in this fuego-licious fiesta of fansquee.

Hang on tight, because this year is going to be lit! Because it’s on fire. And it is definitely Harry’s fault.

Now without further ado, here’s our first piece of microfiction, “Mike.” It’s set between White Night and Small Favor–shortly after the graphic novel Wild Card. Spoiler Level: LOW.

Mike

By Jim Butcher

I had to push the Blue Beetle the last thirty feet and into the parking lot of Mad Mike’s Motorcycle and Volkswagen Repair. Then, because it was on a slope, all six-feet and eight or nine inches of me had to jump into the Bug and steer it toward one of the repair bays.

When I hit the brakes they screamed protest.

And the driver-side door fell off.

I staggered out of the car, scowled in drunken exhaustion down at the door and said, “You’re weak. And your line is weak.”

From an office inside the grimy garage came the sound of a flushing toilet, and Mike Atagi appeared, a man who had looked like he was in his mid-fifties by thirty and just stayed that way. He was a lean guy with shaggy grey hair and still-black beard.

“My God,” he said, eyeing the Beetle’s corpse. “What happened this time?”

“Would you believe me if I said I was attacked by a giant owl?” I asked.

“No, man,” Mike said, half of his mouth curling up lazily. “Cause you’re a lunatic. But your money spends fine, right?”

“I’ll take it,” I said, grinning, and shook his hand. “Can you help?”

“Could build a Bug from raw steel if I had to,” Mike said, and started a walkaround of the car.

He paused at the puncture marks in the car’s roof. I mean, they looked exactly like what they were — the evidence of contact with an enormous creature with talons that could shred through steel.

“Seriously,” he said. “Level with me. What happened?”

I’d been being level the whole time. You would not believe how level I’d been.

But what Mike was asking me for wasn’t the same as what he wanted. He didn’t really want to know what had happened to my car. He wanted to know that the world he knew was still there.

“I was doing a stakeout on a case,” I said. “Some mob guys came after me with a backhoe, of all the cockamamie things.”

“Hah,” he said. “Knew it. You’re living an exciting life, kid. Like a bad TV show.” He squinted at the Beetle’s wounds and then at me. “How much do you want to spend?”

“Ideally, I would bake you a plate of cookies,” I said.

He snorted. “The usual deal, then. Cheap, fast, or good, pick two.”

“Cheap and good,” I said.

“Yeah,” Mike said. “That’s you, all right.”

Dresden Drop Archive

• 12/25/2019: Christmas Eve illustrated edition
• 1/7/2020: “Mike” microfiction

Don’t miss a moment in the Year of Dresden! Join our new announcement list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter.

Dresden Drop: Series Read-Along Begins and Fool Moon On Sale!

As we announced earlier this month, every Tuesday in 2020 will feature weekly Drops of never-before-seen artwork, microfiction, interviews, contests, sample chapters for Peace Talks, or other tasty tidbits. Join our new mailing list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment in our 20th Anniversary celebration! Check the announcement post to catch up on prior Drops.

This week’s Dresden Drop: The official series reread has begun with Storm Front! Join us on Goodreads for an epic undertaking as we reread and discuss all 15 published novels, then take on the 16th! The schedule:

• #1, Storm Front: 1/13 – 26
• #2, Fool Moon: 1/27 – 2/9 (now on sale for $1.99! See below)
• #3, Grave Peril: 2/10 – 23
• #4, Summer Knight: 2/24 – 3/8
• #5, Death Masks: 3/9 – 22
• #6, Blood Rites: 3/23 – 4/5
• #7, Dead Beat: 4/6 – 19
• #8, Proven Guilty: 4/20 – 5/3
• #9, White Night: 5/4 – 17
• #10, Small Favor: 5/18 – 31
• #11, Turn Coat: 6/1 – 14
• #12, Changes: 6/15 – 28
• #13, Ghost Story: 6/29 – 7/12
• #14, Cold Days: 7/13 – 26 (Peace Talks out 7/14th!)
• #15, Skin Game: 7/27 – 8/9
• #16, Peace Talks: 8/10 – 31

(Note: This schedule may seem counter-intuitive, as Peace Talks comes out just as we’re diving into Cold Days. The advantage is that it gives all fans the opportunity to read and digest Peace Talks before diving into group discussion four weeks later–we know not everyone is going to be able to devour the book the week it’s out! You’ll definitely want to read ahead on your own and make sure you’re caught up before reading the new release.)

Missing any books in your collection? Snag a copy through the jim-butcher.com store! You can also preorder Peace Talks, due out simultaneously in hardcover, ebook, and audio July 14th.

Bonus: get a jump on the Fool Moon discussion by snagging the ebook for only $1.99! Support independent bookstores by buying through Kobo (here’s how to support your favorite local shop!) or Books-A-Million, or order from the following vendors: Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble, or Google Play. The sale runs through January 26th.

That’s it for this week! Check out the Storm Front read-along, then come back next Tuesday for the next Dresden Drop!

Peace Talks Cover Revealed!

We try to avoid posting more than once a week out of respect for your inboxes, but this time, we have to make an exception. Part 2 of this week’s Dresden Drop: Entertainment Weekly has revealed the cover for Peace Talks, as well as an EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT from the book! Visit their website for all the juicy details!

You can preorder Peace Talks (or catch up on any material you’ve missed) through our store.

For those just tuning in, this year is 20th Anniversary of the publication of Storm Front. To honor that milestone and to thank the phenomenal fans who got us there, we will be posting weekly “Dresden Drops” on jim-butcher.com every Tuesday, featuring new artwork, microfiction, interviews, contests, sample chapters for Peace Talks, or other tasty tidbits.

Join our new mailing list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment in our 20th Anniversary celebration! Check the announcement post to catch up on prior Drops.

Fanart Contest and Artist Spotlight

Last Thursday, Entertainment Weekly revealed Chris McGrath’s cover of Peace Talks and an exclusive excerpt from the book. So while we’ve got visuals on the brain, we’d love to see YOUR version of Harry’s world. For this week’s Dresden Drop, we’re launching the Official “Year of Dresden” Fanart Contest! 

(What is the Year of Dresden? 2020 is the 20th anniversary of Storm Front, and we’re celebrating with weekly “Dresden Drops” of artwork, microfiction, interviews, sample chapters of Peace Talks, contests, and other goodies every Tuesday throughout the year. Catch up in our introductory post, then join our announcement list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a beat!)

Contest prizes includes a signed ARC of Peace Talks and poster prints by fan favorite illustrator Mika Kuloda (aka Mika Merrylark aka Mika Blackfield). Submissions are due Thursday, February 13^th, and winners will be announced Tuesday, February 18^th. Scroll down to the bottom of this post for all the rules!

To get your creative juices flowing, over the span of the contest, we’ll be spotlighting some of the fabulous official artists who have contributed their visions of the Dresdenverse to alternate editions and tie-ins. (No need to feel intimidated–the official artists featured in these Spotlights are ineligible for this fanart contest. We want as level a playing field as possible!)

Artist Spotlight, Part 1

Fans worldwide know and love Chris McGrath’s gritty, iconic style, but he’s not the only artist to lend his talents to Dresden covers! Today’s three spotlight artists have created covers for “special editions” of Jim’s material.

Dan Dos Santos is best known in the Dresdenverse for creating the illustration of Harry riding Sue into battle, originally commissioned for the SFBC omnibus Wizard at Large, and since enshrined on TV Tropes as the definitive representation of the series’ Crowning Moments of Awesome.

As far as official art goes, he’s also illustrated covers for two other omnibus editions and the short story anthology Naked City (featuring the Dresden story “Curses”). But fans were in for a rare treat when a client commissioned him for another piece, and Dan generously documented his process: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. His unused “sketches” are some of the most striking images in the fandom!

You can buy prints of Dan’s art through his store.

Mike Mignola, best known as the creator of Hellboy, lent his bold, graphic style to the novella “Backup,” our first taste of the Dresdenverse outside Harry’s point-of-view. This Subterranean Press limited edition is long since sold out, but copies are easily found through used book resalers.

Vincent Chong has been consistently producing eye-catching covers and dreamlike, evocative illustrations since Subterranean Press began publishing their illustrated special editions of the Dresden novels in 2008. Ghost Story is in preorders now! Check out the full gallery of his Dresden cover work, then enjoy a sampling of his interior art. Inquire about prints here.

Fanart Contest Rules

Now that you’re all sufficiently inspired, here are the details of the Official Year of Dresden Fanart Contest!

AWARDS

1 Grand Prize: ARC of Peace Talks and 12”x18” print of the Mika Kuloda illustration of their choice, both signed by Jim Butcher

3 Runners-Up: 12”x18” Mika Kuloda art print, signed by Jim Butcher

As Many Honorable Mentions As We See Fit: Eternal Glory and Bragging Rights

Note: We’d love to see entries from all around the globe, but regretfully we can only send physical prizes to residents in the United States.  Therefore, international entries are eligible for Honorable Mentions, but not for the other prize tiers.

HOW TO ENTER

Email the file to yearofdresden@.... Accepted file types are jpg, png, and gif.  Must be under 30MB.

Please include the name you’d like to be credited as, a link to your portfolio (if you have one), and your country (mostly for the prize tier thing, but also because we’re nosy).

Submissions are due February 13^th, 2020 at midnight Pacific time. 

Winners will be announced February 18^th.

RULES

This contest is open to fans at all skill levels, professional and amateur alike! 

Feel free to create in any medium, though keep in mind that this contest is not for cosplay or fan films.  Creators can submit up to 10 works, though each entry will be considered individually.  Sequential art of maximum 8 pages can be considered a single work.

Entries do not have to have been created specifically for this contest—you may submit prior work.

You’re welcome to make use of characters, quotes, and other elements from the Dresden Files novels, shorts, comics, RPGs, and other tie-ins, but note that the art itself must be your own original work.  If integrating existing imagery, it must be royalty free and follow the rights holder’s terms and conditions for use.  “I found it on Google Images” does not mean “royalty free.”  Photomanipulations of official Dresden artwork and stills from the 2007 SciFi TV series are ineligible.

Try to keep entries at or below an “R” rating, in line with the spirit of the books.  Pornographic, abusive, or excessively vulgar entries will be disqualified.

THE FINE PRINT

This contest is all about elevating the incredible artists who make this fandom a vibrant, thriving creative community. To that end, we want to show our admiration by respecting their rights and not taking advantage of free labor. In submitting to this contest, participants give us permission to post their submissions WITH attribution on our website and various social media platforms, but the artwork remains the artists’ property.  We make no claim on the art and will not repurpose it for merchandise, media tie-ins, or other use without securing additional permissions from the artist and negotiating additional compensation. Because y’all are awesome and deserve nothing less.

Special Bonus For Reading To The End

To celebrate the upcoming release of Peace Talks, Penguin Random House is giving away a signed set of every novel in The Dresden Files so far! Enter before January 28th for your chance to win.

That’s it for today’s Dresden Drop! Don’t forget to join our announcement list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter for more Dresden goodness. See you next week!

20th Anniversary Party at ECCC!

Another awesome news story that couldn’t wait for the next Dresden Drop: Emerald City Comic Con is hosting a 20th Anniversary Party at 6pm on March 12th, and tickets are on sale NOW! This event is available to anyone with a ticket–you do NOT need to have a con badge to attend the event.

Here’s the press release:

Celebrate 20 years of the Dresden Files with Jim Butcher! At this intimate event, fans will have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A with Jim, have their books signed*, receive exclusive swag—and be the first to hear some very exciting news!

The price of the ticket includes: 1 copy of the special Storm Front Con Edition hardcover (available only at select conventions throughout the year) a Dresden Files tote bag, 2 enamel pins, a Harry and Mouse magnet, a Peace Talks sampler and signed bookplate, and 2 drink tickets to toast Harry Dresden!

*Limit 3 items/person. A bookseller will be on-site if you would like to buy books at the event.

The party will be held at the Sheraton Grand Seattle’s Ravenna Room, 1400 6th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101.

Tickets permit one person only. Kids will need their own ticket.

Please note that alcohol will be served at the event, so remember to bring photo ID, as you will be carded. For non-drinkers and guests under 21, soda and other non-alcoholic beverages will be available.

Get your tickets now, as the event is certain to sell out!

Subscribe to the Jim-Butcher.com newsletter and follow @JimButcherNews on twitter to ensure you’re always the first to hear about exciting new developments in the Year of Dresden!

Events, RPG Art, and More!

There’s a LOT going on this week, and we can’t wait to share it with you. If you haven’t yet, join our announcement list and follow @jimbutchernews on Twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment in the Dresden Files’ 20th Anniversary Spectacular!

Travel Schedule, Part 1

We’re glad we broke protocol and messaged you all about the ECCC 20th Anniversary Party a day early, because tickets sold out in less than four hours! Hell’s bells, you guys are dedicated. :D

Jim’s publicity team is busy hammering out the dates and details for his signing tour, but to start the ball rolling, here are the first three (of many!) events Jim will be attending in 2020.

Superstars Writing Seminar (NOT a con–a series of workshops on the craft and business of being/becoming a professional writer)
February 5 – 8, 2020
Antlers Hotel
4 S. Cascade Ave
Colorado Springs, CO 80903

Jim’s tentative schedule includes seminars on crafting protagonists and antagonists, dealing with feedback, spinoffs, finding balance, the art of the con, and more!

Pensacon
February 28 – March 1, 2020
Pensacola Bay Center
201 E Gregory St
Pensacola, FL 32502

Emerald City Comic Con
March 12 – 15, 2020
Washington State Convention Center
705 Pike St
Seattle, WA 98101
Unfortunately, the the 20th Anniversary Party SOLD OUT in under 4 hours!

We don’t have information yet about the timing of Jim’s panels and signings for Pensacon or ECCC, but we’ll announce those details as soon as we have them.

Artist Spotlight, Part 2

During the four-week duration of the “Year of Dresden” Fanart Contest, we’ll be spotlighting some of the incredible artists from our official tie-ins to help inspire you to create your own pieces! If you missed last week’s roundup and the rules of the contest, you can view that post here.  Submit your entries to yearofdresden (at) gmail.com by February 13th for a shot at the grand prize: a signed ARC of Peace Talks and the print of your choice from Mika Kuloda! 

This week and next, we’re celebrating some of the artists who contributed to the Dresden role playing games. Today’s crew contributed their talents to the first two volumes, “Your Story” and “Our World,” which you can snag in pdf format from the Evil Hat store. (The hardcovers are out of print.)    Check out all the gorgeous art on our website!

Read-Along Revised

We heard your comments, and we're revising our Read-Along methodology!

First, we're reducing the discussions for Fool Moon, Grave Peril, and Summer Knight to one week each, so the timing of the release of Peace Talks dovetails with the beginning of its discussion.

Second, we're creating two discussion threads for each book. The Non-Spoiler thread will contain ONLY spoilers through end end of that book, and the Spoiler thread will be fair game for EVERYTHING up until Peace Talks. That way, long-time fans have the freedom to dissect the how the events of the earlier books echo into later books without spoiling the experience of first-time readers.

And finally, we're adding additional focus questions to help steer conversation to juicier lines of discussion.

So join us as we dive into Fool Moon for one week only! Here are links to the spoiler-friendly and spoiler-free threads, as well as a new open thread for general discussion of all things Dresden.

Ongoing Goodies

Also, TODAY is the last day to enter the sweepstakes for a signed set of every Dresden novel through Skin Game! US residents only.

And that’s all the news that’s fit to print! See you next week for another Dresden Drop.

Morgan Microfiction, RPG Art, and More!

Readers rejoice, for this week, we bring you the Year of Dresden’s second never-before-seen Microfiction! We also have another fabulous array of images to inspire you to enter the Fanart Contest (submissions due February 13th), the launch of the Grave Peril reread, and another sweepstakes for signed goodies.

(What is the Year of Dresden? 2020 is the 20th anniversary of Storm Front, and we’re celebrating with weekly “Dresden Drops” of artwork, microfiction, interviews, sample chapters of Peace Talks, contests, and other goodies every Tuesday throughout the year. Catch up in our introductory post, then join our announcement list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a beat.)

Let’s jump right in! Today’s microfiction gives us a little insight into what was going on in Morgan’s head during the events of Turn Coat. WARNING: Contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Turn Coat, Changes, and Cold Days!

Microfiction #2: Journal

by Jim Butcher

You lose track of time, as the years go by. The things that seem significant, that rise above the rest, become your measure of its passage. And the longer you live, the more significant the event has to be to catch your notice.

It makes for infrequent milestones.

I haven’t kept this journal since my seventies. I only started it because I thought it would make a good impression on Anastasia, who I presume will be reading this entry.

I will spare you the schoolboy platitudes, my teacher. My old friend. Though you have never said it, I have always known that you have always known my heart.

Now I return to these papers, and read the last few pages, and realize that the lessons that keeping this journal would have taught me might have prevented this from being my last entry.

My final confession, really.

There’s little time, and far too much to say. I am losing blood and my thoughts wander when I must be concise.

Despite my promise to Margaret, I failed to protect her son.

I tracked him and his father until the time of Malcolm’s death. To this day, I’m not sure who killed him. I suppose it’s possible that Malcolm’s death was natural, but given this child’s ongoing misfortune it seems clear to me that he has been marked with an Adversary from the moment of his birth.

Malcolm died while I was on mission elsewhere. I arrived less than ten hours after the child went into the foster care system, and someone made him vanish. Magically, physically, bureaucratically. There was no trace of him, and I searched for years.

That bastard Justin DuMorne got to him before I could.

From then on, we could not be sure that the child was not molded to be a creature of Nemesis.

The child apparently murdered Justin in something very like a duel, and I am unsure if I am more frightened by the prospect that it was a deception to simulate Justin’s death — or if it wasn’t.

Given what is at stake, it would have been better to remove the child from play — but the Blackstaff couldn’t let his daughter’s son be neutralized. So I tracked him. I hounded him. I pushed him, constantly, in an attempt to draw out any controls that may have been emplaced — or any corruption of black magic that he might have been concealing. Even now, I cannot be sure that he is not the monster we all fear, in the process of being born.

But the enemy has invaded the Senior Council itself. And, regardless of his true allegiance, Dresden is not ensnared in the web of conflicts between them, and has both the inclination and the strength to defy them, at least for a time. Until I am certain where to lay the blame for LaFortier’s death, I will seek his assistance. Given who he is, he will have little choice but to give it. If nothing else, the pressure might show me his true colors.

Perhaps I have been too hard on him. Perhaps I really have become paranoid and mad. Perhaps I have wronged a good man. But there is too much at stake to take that chance. The thought of allowing a Destroyer to be birthed among us when I could have stopped it is too heavy to bear.
To those who come after me and read this… well. History will be my judge.

I bore the fear of multitudes in silence and fought the darkness as best I knew how. I can say that without hesitation.

But I wish I’d done better by that child.

I have the honor to be Respectfully Yours,

Donald Morgan
Warden

Illustration by Mika Kuloda

Art Spotlight #3: More Gaming Goodness

Today’s official artists hail from the more recent Dresden RPG publications: The Paranet Papers, Dresden Accelerated, and the Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game. Check them out on our website, then snag all the games from Evil Hat directly or your favorite local gaming store!

Seeking Fanart Contest Submissions Now!

Again, all these fabulous official artists are ineligible for the fanart competition, so you don’t have to worry about one-upping them. We want to keep the playing field as level as possible!

Submit your entries to yearofdresden (at) gmail.com by February 13th for a shot at the grand prize: a signed ARC of Peace Talks and the print of your choice from Mika Kuloda! Or if you don’t have any fanart of your own, why not reach out to your favorite Dresden fanartists and suggest they enter? The rules and the details can be found in our Announcement Post.

Grave Peril Read-Along

The Goodreads Read-Along continues full steam ahead with Grave Peril. In response to fan feedback, we reduced the discussions for Fool Moon, Grave Peril, and Summer Knight to one week each, so the timing of the release of Peace Talks dovetails with the beginning of its discussion.

We’re also creating two discussion threads for each book. The Non-Spoiler thread will contain ONLY spoilers through end end of that book, and the Spoiler thread will be fair game for EVERYTHING up until Peace Talks. That way, long-time fans have the freedom to dissect the how the events of the earlier books echo forward into later books without spoiling the experience of first-time readers.

So join us as we dive into Grave Peril for one week only! Here are links to the spoiler-friendly and spoiler-free threads.

Storm Front Sweepstakes

Next, Penguin has announced another sweepstakes! They’re giving away five signed copies of the book where it all began, Storm Front. Enter by February 16th for your chance to win. For legal reasons, this sweepstakes is open to U.S. Residents only.

And that’s all for today! See you for next week for another fabulous Dresden Drop. Join our announcement list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment in the Year of Dresden!

Send Valentines, Vote on Jewelry, and More!

What’s in this week’s Dresden Drop?

• Dresden Valentines
• Fanart contest EXTENDED!
• VOTE on 20th Anniversary Jewelry Piece
• Summer Knight Read-Along Begins
• Storm Front Sweepstakes Reminder

Woohoo, let’s do this thing!

Dresden Valentines

How better to celebrate Thomas’ birthday this week than with Dresden-themed Valentines? Send that special someone in your life a message from Harry’s friends, foes, and frenemies, and share the spirit of love, friendship, and unresolved sexual tension.  View them all at Jim-Butcher.com!

If you dig the illustrations, be sure to give some love to artist Tyler Walpole (he sells officially licensed prints of his Dresden art!) and consider snagging a copy of The Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game or Dresden Accelerated from Evil Hat Productions. This represents only a fraction of all the amazing artwork packed into the games!

Fanart Contest Extended

We’ve EXTENDED the deadline for the fanart contest by a week. You now have until February 20th to submit your artwork, or to convince your favorite fanartists to submit theirs! Get the rules here.

Vote on Harry’s 20th Anniversary Pentacle

Our friends at Badali Jewelry are creating a special edition of Harry’s pentacle amulet to commemorate the series’ 20th Anniversary! Instead of his mother’s ruby (which they will continue to sell), the 20th Anniversary necklace will have a different stone, and they want YOUR input on which option to produce! They’ve come up with four options that reflect different parts of Harry’s magic and his connection to the larger world–vote for your favorite here!

Option A embodies the aura of blue light let off when Harry infuses his pentacle with his will.

The next two options represent Harry’s connection to Demonreach: Option B‘s opal has flecks of green and black that conjure images of running (or parkouring) through Demonreach’s subterranean crystalline tunnels. Option C‘s opal is a vivid green-gold–the color of much of his magic since bonding with the genius loci.

Option D symbolizes Harry’s fealty to Mab as the Winter Knight–its opal is the same ice blue as the earring Mab gave Harry in Skin Game.

Which are your favorites? Vote on Badali Jewelry’s Facebook page by “Liking” whichever ones you dig the most! (And give their page a Like while you’re at it. This isn’t the only new Dresden piece they’ll put out this year! And chances are, if you love their Dresden line, you’ll love many of the other authors in their officially licensed catalogue.) The poll will run through Friday, and we’ll announce the results here next week!

Summer Knight Read-Along Begins

You know the drill! This is the last of the “lightning round” of the one-week discussions. After this, we’ll switch to two weeks per book. Choose the Non-Spoiler Thread or the Spoiler-Friendly Discussion.

Sweepstakes Reminder

Don’t forget, the sweepstakes for one of five signed copies of Storm Front ends Monday the 16th! Open to US residents, 18 and older.

And that’s it for today! As always, we’ll be back for more Dresden-y goodness next Tuesday. See you then! In the meantime, be sure to join our announcement list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment in our 20th Anniversary Extravaganza!

Peace Talks Giveaway

Sorry for the non-Tuesday post, but this couldn’t wait! Shelf Awareness is holding a giveaway for 25 advance copies of Peace Talks. Enter by Monday, Feb 17th, for your chance to win! Open to U.S. residents ages 18 and up.

Visit jim-butcher.com every Tuesday this year for artwork, microfiction, interviews, contests, sample chapters for Peace Talks, and other tasty tidbits. Be sure to join our announcement list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment in our 20th Anniversary Extravaganza!

Art Spotlight #4, Jewelry Poll Winner Revealed, and More!

With the extended Fanart Contest deadline looming this Thursday, we want to share one more batch of official art to inspire your submissions! Our focus this week is Sequential Art, including the comics and the illustrated Christmas Eve!  As always, because this newsletter system doesn't display image galleries well, VIEW THE ART GALLERY ON JIM'S WEBSITE! 

We also have the usual goodies going on, including the launch of the Death Masks discussion on Goodreads and discounts on Grave Peril and Darkest Hours. Let’s dive in!

Fanart Contest Reminder

Two days left! Submit your entries to yearofdresden (at) gmail.com by February 20th for a shot at the grand prize: a signed ARC of Peace Talks and the print of your choice from Mika Kuloda! Or if you don’t have any fanart of your own, why not reach out to your favorite Dresden fanartists and suggest they enter? The rules and the details can be found in our Announcement Post.

Special Edition Pentacle Revealed

As we announced last week, our friends at Badali Jewelry are creating a special edition of Harry’s pentacle amulet to commemorate the series’ 20th Anniversary! The 20th Anniversary necklace will have a different center stone reflecting Harry’s ties to the magical world, and they asked for the fans to decide which option to produce.

This week, the votes are in: By a narrow margin, the winner of the Special Edition Anniversary Pentacle poll is the green-black Demonreach opal. The amulet will be available for purchase this spring! We’ll let you know when orders open.

Death Masks Read-Along

Next, the Goodreads Read-Along continues with Death Masks! We’re now on schedule to hit Peace Talks a few days after the book comes out, so we can ease up on the throttle and spend two weeks discussing each book instead of just one. Join the Spoiler-Free or Spoiler-Friendly discussions today!

Book Deals

The Grave Peril ebook is on sale for $1.99! Support independent bookstores by buying through Kobo (here’s how to support your favorite local shop!) or Books-A-Million, or order from the following vendors: Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble, or Google Play. The sale runs through March 1st.

(Note: As of publication, Apple Books has not dropped the price yet, but we expect them to do so soon. If they’re your preferred ebook source, try checking once a day until they catch up!)

And Today Only: Jim’s Spider-Man novel Darkest Hours is Audible’s Daily Deal! Audible members in the US and Canada can snag a copy for just $4.95.

And that’s it for this week! Be sure to visit Jim-Butcher.com every Tuesday in 2020 for weekly Drops of never-before-seen artwork, microfiction, interviews, contests, sample chapters for Peace Talks, or other tasty tidbits. Join our new mailing list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment in our 20th Anniversary celebration, and check the announcement post to catch up on prior Drops.

Trailer Teaser and Pensacon Prep

The announcement of the fanart contest winners has been delayed until next week, so Jim can weigh in on the artwork while he’s at Pensacon this weekend. The submissions we’ve received are INCREDIBLE, and we can’t wait to share them with you and crown the winners.

Trailer Teaser

But today’s big news? We have a premiere date and a sneak peek at some of the storyboards for the upcoming live-action book trailer for Peace Talks!

We’re thrilled to announce that the trailer will premiere at the 20th Anniversary fan party at Emerald City Comic Con on Thursday, March 12th! Tickets to the party are long since sold out, but ECCC attendees can catch it again at a Q&A with Jim and director Priscilla Spencer on Sunday, March 15th. Full ECCC schedule coming soon.

As for the rest of the world, the trailer will hit the net early the following week! We’re still working on nailing down the exact date.

To whet your appetite, we've posted a handful of storyboards to Jim-Butcher.com.  Check them out!

Megan Lloyd is a storyboard artist for Dreamworks TV. If you’re a fan of Hamilton or Wicked and you haven’t seen her fanmade animatics for “The World Was Wide Enough” or “Defying Gravity,” you need to rectify that immediately. Find more of her art on tumblr!

Pensacon Prep

This week, Jim is headed off to Pensacon in Pensacola, Florida! Here’s his schedule:

Friday, 2/28/20:

• 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM — Signing at Bard’s Tower, E6/7-F6/7
• 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM — Signing at Bard’s Tower, E6/7-F6/7

Saturday, 2/29/20:

• 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM — Signing at Bard’s Tower, E6/7-F6/7
• 12:15 PM – 1:00 PM — Comic Book Adaptations. Pensacola Little Theatre Courtroom. Other panelists: Nancy A. Collins, Victor Gischler, Tony Isabella, Robert Pope.
• 1:30 PM – 2:15 PM — Jim Butcher Solo Panel: Wizards, Airships, and Romans Oh My! Pensacola Little Theatre Courtroom.
• 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM — Signing at Bard’s Tower, E6/7-F6/7

Sunday, 3/1/20:

• 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM — Signing at Bard’s Tower, E6/7-F6/7
• 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM — Signing at Bard’s Tower, E6/7-F6/7

Hope to see you there!

Read-Along Reminder

The discussion of Death Masks continues apace at Goodreads! Join the Spoiler-Free or Spoiler-Friendly discussions.

Also, the Grave Peril ebook is still on sale for $1.99! Support independent bookstores by buying through Kobo (here’s how to support your favorite local shop!) or Books-A-Million, or order from the following vendors: Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble, or Google Play. The sale runs through March 1st.

2020 is the 20th Anniversary of the Dresden Files! Be sure to visit Jim-Butcher.com every Tuesday this year for weekly Drops of never-before-seen artwork, microfiction, interviews, contests, sample chapters for Peace Talks, or other tasty tidbits in the Year of Dresden. Join our new mailing list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment in our 20th Anniversary celebration, and check the announcement post to catch up on prior Drops. See you next week!

Art Awards and Pensacon Panels

This week’s Dresden Drop includes videos from Pensacon, the results of the fanart contest, the launch of the Blood Rites read-along, and a new giveaway from Penguin Random House!

Want to make sure you never miss a moment in the Year of Dresden? Join our mailing list and follow @jimbutchernews on Twitter.

Pensacon Panel Videos

We’re back from Pensacon! Thanks for the warm welcome and the southern hospitality. Check out the videos of Jim’s two panels here:

• Comic Book Adaptations
• Jim Butcher Spotlight

Apologies for having to go handheld! I brought my tripod to the panel room, but I accidentally left the cell phone adapter in my suitcase. D’oh. XD

Fanart Contest Results

We have our winners!  Check them out on Jim's website.

Blood Rites Read-Along

The Goodreads Read-Along continues with Blood Rites. Join the spoiler-friendly or spoiler-free discussions!

March Giveaway

Penguin Random House’s March giveaway is a copy of Welcome to the Jungle, the graphic novel written by Jim Butcher and illustrated by Ardian Syaf. Enter for your chance to win one of five! Open to U.S. residents ages 18 and older.

2020 is the 20th Anniversary of the Dresden Files! Be sure to visit Jim-Butcher.com every Tuesday this year for weekly Drops of never-before-seen artwork, microfiction, interviews, contests, sample chapters for Peace Talks, or other tasty tidbits in the Year of Dresden. Join our new mailing list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment in our 20th Anniversary celebration, and check the announcement post to catch up on prior Drops. See you next week!

Microfiction #3, Con Swap, and Virtual Signing

I could write up an introduction to this post, but let’s be honest. You’re all skipping straight to the new Microfiction, aren’t you? Enjoy!

New Con Appearance & New Trailer Date

Due to public health concerns, Emerald City Comic Con is being rescheduled for sometime this summer. Jim won’t be able to determine if he can attend until they announce the exact dates, but in the meantime, that means we need a new home for the debut of the Peace Talks trailer!

We’ll now be premiering it the following weekend at Planet Comicon in Kansas City. Details are still being worked out, so look for his schedule in next week’s Drop. We should also have a firm date for the online release of the trailer, which has similarly been nudged back a week.

For those who had tickets to the ECCC fan party, ReedPop (the con organizer) should be reaching out to you all to process refunds soon, if they haven’t already. Your patience is appreciated–they have a LOT going on right now!

This week’s Microfiction is concurrent with the end of Changes and contains RADIOACTIVE-LEVEL SPOILERS for Changes and Ghost Story.

Microfiction #3: “Goodbye”

by Jim Butcher

I hung up the phone on Dresden and stared at it for a moment.

Damn.

And I thought I was a hard case.

Only goes to show you that not only do principles get you raked over the coals, they make you lay, light, and rake them for yourself. A man should live his life for more practical things.

But I had to respect him a little. He believed goofball things about the world, but he meant it.

I went to the closet, opened the safe, and removed my most dangerous weapon, my laptop. It had been secured with absolutely every software and hardware precaution I could arrange, all the most up-to-date surveillance countermeasures that were available. It was impregnable. For the next few weeks. Then someone would do something clever and I’d have to update.

I arranged for travel to Chicago. I arranged for hardware to be waiting for me.

I’d already figured my approach for Dresden as a potential target. He was too annoying for words, and too powerful to ignore. Sooner or later, someone was going to contract him. I just hadn’t expected him to do it himself.

I got my coat and walked out of my bedroom in the safehouse.

The Archive was standing in the hallway outside my room, between me and the door.

She was at that awkward age, where if I’d actually been the single father I was being paid to imitate, I’d have been getting worried about uncomfortable conversations. But she wasn’t a pubescent girl. She was the Archive, the living memory of humanity, and one of the most powerful beings on the planet.

And she was furious.

Dresden had named her Ivy. And she had clung to it like a teddy bear.

I stopped and faced her. I had a gun in the small of my back, another in an ankle holster. I’d store them in a secured compartment in the car before I went into the airport. Not that the gendarmes would appreciate the distinction if I was caught with them.

If the Archive decided to come at me, I doubted they’d do me much good.

She stared at me. A child who I’d been attending since shortly after she could walk. Who I’d watched grow up. Who sometimes had nightmares. Who sometimes got sick.

I’d taken care of her.

If I’d been her father, and not a hired driver and gun, that look would have broken something small and fragile, way down inside.

She knew.

“In the chest, Kincaid,” Ivy said.

If you’re shooting at someone, you’ve already decided to kill him. There’s no reason to shoot him anywhere other than the head, if you can. And I can.

She took a step toward me, maybe ninety pounds of furious, tearful eyes and newly-filled-out lips pulled away from a snarl. “In the chest. Or face me.”

I thought about asking her why. But in the end, it didn’t really matter. She had the power to stop me, for good. And she would use it if I didn’t comply. A chest shot might give the wizard time to throw a death curse at me, if he changed his mind.

It was a less risky proposition than going up against the Archive herself, here, now.

I gave her a small bow.

She returned it. Then she stepped aside, so that I could walk to the door.

“I’ll be back in two days,” I said.

“Kincaid,” Ivy said quietly.

I paused at the door.

“He’s my only other friend,” she said.

I looked back at her.

All the knowledge of humanity in once place. But she still couldn’t keep the schoolgirl stockings from rumpling by herself. She had power and ageless wisdom, but she was still a child. Tears stained her cheeks.

“My feet reach the pedals, now,” she said. “Your services are no longer required.”

For a moment, it was hard to move.

But I owed the wizard. And I repay what is rightfully owed.

Spend enough time on this earth, and that’s all that makes sense.

It was only a job, I told myself.

I turned my back on the little girl and left to kill the wizard.

Never did say goodbye.

Virtual Signing

Want to pre-order a signed and personalized copy of Peace Talks? Now you can do so through our Virtual Signing! Our long-time partner Dog Eared Books is no longer in business, but another fabulous independent bookstore, Bard’s Tower, is taking up the tradition.

What is a Virtual Signing? It’s essentially a signed preorder. Submit your order now and specify an optional personalization, and around the time of the book’s release, Jim will sign them all, and Bard’s Tower will mail them your way!

NOTE: Because of the timing of Jim’s signing tour, it is likely that you will not receive your books until 2-3 weeks AFTER the release date. If it’s important to you that your books arrive sooner, sit tight. There will be other opportunities in the coming months to preorder signed copies of Peace Talks. But this will be the only chance for personalizations and signed books from Jim’s back catalogue, so if that’s your priority, then the Virtual Signing is for you!

You can snag up to two copies of Peace Talks for $30 each, then fill in your bookshelf’s back catalogue while you’re at it: Mass Market paperbacks of the Dresden, Alera, and Cinder Spires novels are $12 each; paperbacks of Side Jobs and Brief Cases are $20; and the paperback of Spider-Man: Darkest Hours is $30.

Signatures are free, and Jim is happy do personalizations (brief notes like “Thanks, Jamie!” or “To Al: Polka Will Never Die!”) for an additional $5 each, which will be donated to Jim’s favorite charity, Missouri Pitbull Rescue.

Email btvirtualsigning@... with a list of the books you want, and the Bard’s Tower team will issue you an invoice and calculate shipping. All questions regarding the virtual signing should also go to that address.

And that’s it for this week!

Be sure to visit Jim-Butcher.com every Tuesday this year for weekly Drops of never-before-seen artwork, microfiction, interviews, contests, sample chapters for Peace Talks, or other tasty tidbits in our celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Dresden Files. Join our new mailing list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment, and check the announcement post to catch up on prior Drops. See you next week!

Trailer Update, Dead Beat Read-Along, and Fandom Fun

I don’t know if Nicodemus got his hands on the Shroud again or if Mother Summer got a little over-excitable with her plague jars, but either way, we’ll be spending a lot of time catching up on reading at home as we do our part to flatten the curve!

Need something to keep you entertained during this period of isolation? You can catch up on all our 20th Anniversary “Dresden Drop” posts so far here!

Trailer Update

First Emerald City Comic Con was canceled, then we rescheduled for Planet Comicon, which was also canceled, and now entire countries are shutting down. Alas, an in-person premiere wasn’t meant to be. But the online premiere date remains unchanged: look for it here next Tuesday, March 24th!

Director Priscilla (me!) is heartbroken that she won’t be able to see all of your faces in person as you watch the trailer for the first time, so she has a request for the fans: when the trailer drops next week, record yourself watching it, then send the reaction video to yearofdresden@.... We’ll edit them together into a big compilation!

To whet your appetite, here’s a sneak peek at some of our characters…

Actors featured here: Kamy Bruder as Thomas, Birgit Ludemann as Lara, and Christopher Showerman as Marcone.

Fandom Fun

To fill out today’s Drop a bit, here are some treats generated by the fandom in the past week.

Need something to keep you entertained during the period of social isolation? Adam Mathison-Sward has the answer: Dresdenverse bookmarks! Color your favorite(s), then use one to hold your place in your favorite Quarantine Read. Click to download at full size.

Also, the fan-run Molly Carpenter twitter account offers a suggestion for ensuring you wash a full 20 seconds for optimal virus-fighting effectiveness. Spoilers for Cold Days.

Dead Beat Read-Along Begins

The world may be becoming increasingly unpredictable, but at least you can rely on our series read-along to stay on schedule! Join the discussion of Dead Beat in our Spoiler-Friendly or Spoiler-Free threads.

And that’s it for today. Be kind to each other this week, because we’re all in this together, and don’t skimp on the soap! We look forward to dazzling you with the trailer and some other spectacular surprises next week.

Be sure to visit Jim-Butcher.com every Tuesday this year for weekly Drops of never-before-seen artwork, microfiction, interviews, contests, sample chapters for Peace Talks, or other tasty tidbits in our celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Dresden Files. Join our new mailing list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment, and check the announcement post to catch up on prior Drops. See you soon!

Trailer Premiere Tomorrow

It’s almost here! Tuesday morning at 10:30am Eastern, join us for the premiere of the long-awaited Peace Talks trailer.

We’ll give you a couple hours to watch the trailer a half-dozen times and flail with all your friends about the explosive new details therein, then at 12:30pm Eastern, Jim and director Priscilla Spencer will be jumping on Zoom for a Q&A. After seeing the trailer, folks can tweet questions about the day’s news to @jimbutchernews, and we’ll answer as many as we can until the call ends at 1:30.

The first 100 fans can watch live on Zoom. For everyone else, we’re hoping to stream the Q&A on YouTube or Facebook, so everyone can participate and submit their questions live. However, in our tests today, Zoom’s livestreaming capability seemed to be (understandably!) overloaded. If we’re not able to livestream, we’ll record it and post to YouTube afterwards, so everyone will still be able to see it. Keep an eye on @jimbutchernews for updates!

Today will be more explosive than a fuego at a fireworks factory. The trailer is here, and we have massive news! And y'all are so passionate our website went down last night just from the anticipation of the trailer. If it happens again, we'll be keeping you updated on twitter at @jimbutchernews, so you don't miss a thing!

Here's what today's schedule looks like:

10:30am Eastern: 

• The trailer is here! Hit up io9 for the exclusive premiere of the long-awaited Peace Talks trailer AND read chapter one!
• WE WANT TO SEE YOUR REACTION. Film yourself watching the trailer for the first time and send the video to yearofdresden@... using the large file sending utility of your choice: Google Drive, WeTransfer, etc. We'll be editing them together into a massive compilation video, and we'd love to include you.
• Spend the next couple hours rewatching the trailer obsessively, cataloguing every detail, and screaming over the explosive new info with your friends.  
• Realize you have a million questions for Jim and trailer director Priscilla Spencer about what you just saw. Tweet them to @jimbutchernews, and we'll try to answer as many as we can at:

12:30pm Eastern: 

• Jim and director Priscilla Spencer will jump on Zoom for a Q&A, and you should join us! The first 100 fans can watch live on Zoom's webinar feature. For everyone else, we’re hoping to stream the Q&A on YouTube or Facebook, so everyone can participate and submit their questions live. If that livestreaming capability is overloaded, we’ll record it and post to YouTube afterwards, so everyone will still be able to see it. Keep an eye on @jimbutchernews for updates!

The Trailer

The Peace Talks trailer was written, directed, and co-executive produced by Priscilla Spencer, working closely with Jim, and it stars Jason Bernardo as Harry Dresden, Sarah Flannery as Karrin Murphy, Christopher Showerman as John Marcone, and Birgit Ludemann as Lara Raith.  A complete list of cast and crew can be found in the description on YouTube.

Preorder Books

Preorder from the bookseller of your choice at https://www.jim-butcher.com/store/, or order a signed, personalized copy from Bard's Tower by emailing btvirtualsigning@gmail.com.

Stay In the Loop!

Join the Jim-Butcher.com mailing list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment in the Year of Dresden, and check the Announcement Post to catch up on prior Drops.