My next book has just been announced in The Bookseller – it’s called EXTERMINATE/REGENERATE: THE STORY OF DOCTOR WHO.
It’s out in 2025 but it’s available for pre-order now, if you want to be kind to your future self in a timey-wimey manner.
I’ll talk more about this in my next newsletter – but for now, here’s the press release:
W&N ACQUIRE ‘PLAYFUL AND PROFOUND’ STORY OF DOCTOR WHO
Doctor Who behaves in a way quite unlike any other fictional character. For sixty years the Doctor has sat at the heart of British culture and rewired the imaginations of generations. Yet no one person invented this strange character, and no one person controls them. They emerged from the space between many minds, able to evolve and adapt to our fast-changing world more skillfully than any other fiction.
The story of Doctor Who is a story of change, mystery and the role of imaginary characters in our lives. It is also the story of the thousands of people who have given part of themselves – and sometimes, too much of themselves – in order to bring this folk hero to life. Ncuti Gatwa, Russell T Davies and Disney+ are currently placing this glorious, imaginative and perfectly ludicrous British character at the heart of global culture, so it is time to acknowledge that the life of Doctor Who is far stranger, profound and uncanny than we usually assume.
Jenny Lord, Executive Publisher of Weidenfeld & Nicolson and Orion Literary, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights in EXTERMINATE/REGENERATE by John Higgs from Sarah Ballard at United Agents.
Jenny Lord says: ‘Sixty years after the birth of Doctor Who, I can think of no better writer to tell us the full story of how this fictional character continues to endure so many decades on. Both playful and profound, grounded and uncanny, EXTERMINATE/REGENERATE will be a delightful and fascinating biography for our age.’
John Higgs says: ‘The question of how something as joyous, absurd and mythic as Doctor Who came to exist is an endlessly fascinating one. Real life is stranger than fiction, but the real-life events that came together to create this fiction are the strangest of all. Doctor Who is the unholy marriage of extraordinary people seduced by wild imagination, and it’s a great pleasure to celebrate its ever-evolving story.’
John Higgs is the author I HAVE AMERICA SURROUNDED, THE KLF, STRANGER THAN WE CAN IMAGINE, WATLING STREET, THE FUTURE STARTS HERE, WILLIAM BLAKE NOW, WILLIAM BLAKE VS THE WORLD and LOVE AND LET DIE. He lives in Brighton.
EXTERMINATE/REGENERATE: The Story of Doctor Who by John Higgs will be published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in hardback, audio and ebook in spring 2025.
Having just read the KLF. Which by the way is one of the greatest things ever. I really wished John had expanded on the riveting discussion of Dr Who in this book. Well now he has and I am beyond delighted.
Thank you John you have brought back so many great memories and expanded my understanding of all things Chaotic. Mark Melbourne Australia