Louis Sachar’s first novel for adults is coming next year, People magazine reports.
Ace will publish Sachar’s The Magician of Tiger Castle in the summer. The press describes the book as “a modern fantasy classic of forbidden love, a crumbling kingdom, and the unexpected magic all around us.”
Sachar is known for his books for children and young adults, including the Wayside School series, which kicked off in 1979 with Sideways Stories From Wayside School, and the Marvin Redpost series, which launched in 1992 with Kidnapped at Birth?
He is best known for his 1998 children’s novel, Holes, which follows inmates at a juvenile detention camp in the Texas desert. The book won the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award and was adapted into a 2003 film directed by Andrew Davis and starring Shia LaBeouf, Sigourney Weaver, and Jon Voight.
The Magician of Tiger Castle will tell the story of Princess Tullia, who falls in love with an apprentice scribe despite the wishes of her father, who wants her to marry a prince. The king enlists Anatole, a magician, to concoct a potion that will convince Tullia to wed the nobleman.
Sachar told People that the book started out as a young adult novel. “That was my initial premise, but I never stick to a rigid outline,” he said. “Rather, I let the story and characters take me in different directions.…I was in the middle of the third draft when it became clear to me that Anatole had nudged his way into the center of the story. Well, it’s not a good idea to have a 40-year old-man, desperate to save his career, as the main character of a book for young people, so I decided to refocus and turn this into a novel for adults.”
The Magician of Tiger Castle is slated for publication on Aug. 5, 2025.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
