WizKids LLC, the category-defining manufacturer of collectible miniature games (CMGs), has announced plans for expanding its in-house publishing group into a new division called WizKids Publishing.  The new division will publish novels, comic books, and children's books based on WizKid's intellectual properties, as well as continue to publish the recently acquired (from Studio Foglio) Girl Genius comic book series.

WizKids Publishing's first release, MechWarrior: Technology of Destruction, will ship this October.  An oversize volume explaining the fictional science behind the MechWarrior universe, MechWarrior: Technology of Destruction includes elaborate illustrations and detailed computer graphics.

WizKids will continue to license its MechWarrior science fiction novels to ROC, a division of Penguin Putnam, and its Mage Knight fantasy novels to Del Rey.  Mort Weisman, President of the newly formed WizKids Publishing commented on these long-standing relationships: 'We have had great success with these novels to date and plan to continue our relationships with these outstanding publishers well into the future.'