This was first spoken of at the Del Rey panel at Star Wars Celebration. Today, we got the official announcement from StarWars.com confirming the future release of a bindup called Star Wars: The Rise of the Empire from Del Rey.
The bindup will include novels A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller and Tarkin by James Luceno, which were the first of the new line of official canon novels announced by Del Rey last year.
The Rise of the Empire will also contain three short stories by John Jackson Miller, Jason Fry, and newcomer to Star Wars literature, Melissa Scott.
From Star Wars:
"“These three short stories will connect the two books and provide further insight into the power of the Galactic Empire.”"
Star Wars provided some background information on the short story authors.
"Melissa Scott is a first time Star Wars writer who earned a PhD from Brandeis University in comparative history. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1986 and has published over 30 novels, including licensed work with Star Trek and Stargate. Her most recent novel is Wind Raker, part of the Order of the Air series.John Jackson Miller is the bestselling author of Star Wars: A New Dawn, Star Wars: Kenobi, Star Wars: Knight Errant, and Star Wars: Lost Tribes of the Sith. Most recently, he wrote “Orientation,” an original Star Wars short story featured in Star Wars Insider magazine #157.Jason Fry is the author of the series Star Wars: Servants of the Empire. This fall, as part of “Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” Fry will pen The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure for Disney-Lucasfilm Press. He previously worked on Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare and Star Wars: The Essential Atlas. His original short story, Last Call at the Zero Angle, appeared in Star Wars Insider #156."
I like the idea of combining all the stories from a particular era into a single bundle. Though, I’m a little curious of why Paul S. Kemp’s Lords of the Sith isn’t included in this one. It’s listed as taking place before A New Dawn and Tarkin in the official timeline, so I would’ve thought that it would have been a part of The Rise of the Empire era, as well. But maybe it’s being excluded for marketing purposes, as it is several months newer than A New Dawn and Tarkin.
The short stories are a smart idea, especially with a bundle such as this. You get two full-length novels, plus three brand new stories that no one has ever read. John Jackson Miller and Jason Fry are both fan-favorites in Star Wars literature by now, so whatever they bring to the table will undoubtedly be a treat. As for Melissa Scott, I’m really looking forward to experiencing what she has to offer the Star Wars universe. I love that Del Rey is pulling in some new voices; it goes back to the idea of bringing in up and coming filmmakers to work on the Star Wars movies. Fresh faces, fresh perspectives.
Star Wars: The Rise of the Empire will go on sale on October 6th, 2015.