Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast have granted HarperCollins exclusive rights to publish middle grade fiction and graphic novels tied to WotC roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons, the companies announced.

A graphic novel series by Molly Knox Ostertag (Witch Boy) and Xanthe Bouma (5 Worlds) from HarperAlley will launch with a first volume in Fall 2022, and second and third volumes planned for Fall 2023 and 2024.


IDW Publishing retains its Dungeons & Dragons comic license, a spokesperson told us, and is planning "…a big announcement about a new D&D comic project in the coming weeks."  IDW has held the license since 2010 (see "IDW Launching ‘D&D’ Comics"); recently it’s been publishing comics crossing over with other properties.  Those have included a crossover with Stranger Things, co-published with Dark Horse Comics (see "’Stranger Things’ Meets ‘D&D’"); and a crossover with Rick and Morty, co-published with Oni Press (see "Rick and Morty vs. ‘Dungeons & Dragons’")

The HarperCollins publishing program will begin with the first volume of a middle grade novel series, Dungeon Academy: No Humans Allowed, written by bestselling author Madeleine Roux with illustrations by graphic novelist Tim Probert (Lightfall), this fall.  Second and third volumes of the series are planned for Fall 2022 and Fall 2023.

The second series in the program will be Dungeons & Dragons: Harper Chapters, launching in Winter 2022, with second and third volumes in Winder 2023 and 2024.