Tor launches new imprint Wildthorn
Tor is launching a new upmarket imprint, Wildthorn, which will publish the very best genre, genre-blending, and genre-bending stories with crossover appeal and/or a light speculative edge, serving the growing readership for speculative fiction and a SFF market that is maturing and becoming increasingly mainstream.
Wildthorn will be led by Tor co-publisher, Gillian Green and publish up to ten new titles a year.
Wildthorn will launch with major acquisitions including Sunday Times bestselling author Kiran Millwood Hargrave, whose debut adult fantasy novel City of Saints was sold to Green in an exclusive submission on partial from Hellie Ogden at WME. A loose literary reimagining of Joan of Arc, City of Saints is the first in an epic fantasy duology, publishing in hardcover, trade paperback, eBook and audio in September 2027. City of Saints was also pre-empted in Germany by Tor’s sister company Fischer-Tor. The Wildthorn launch list will also include new fiction from leading Tor authors including TJ Klune’s The Stars Look Like Home in January, described as a heartwarming story about found family from the perspective of a young dog.. Other titles on the first Wildthorn list will include Jenny Lundquist, Diana Peterfreund, and debut authors Carrie Kwiatkowski and June Harrington.
Tor Wildthorn launches globally with Tor US in January 2027, with the sister companies sharing lead authors while also commissioning in distinct areas. In the UK the list will concentrate on speculative book club fiction aimed at general fiction readers, as well as offering a home for Tor authors branching out into other genres.
The SFF market grew by 24% through the TCM in 2025 with the genre contributing £16.7 million more to the book market than in 2024. Tor is Pan Macmillan’s flagship SFF division and its growth has consistently outpaced the market with heavy investment in its talented authors, team expansion and savvy acquisitions.
‘Wildthorn is our response to a growing readership that is increasingly 'genre-blind,' and will provide a curated space for those high-concept, emotionally resonant stories that the UK book club market is currently craving, capturing the sweet spot between general fiction appeal and speculative magic.’
— Gillian Green, Wildthorn, Bramble and Nightfire publisher
The launch of Wildthorn follows the launch of Bramble, Tor’s romance, romantasy and fantasy romance list in November 2024 - which has already celebrated 10 Sunday Times bestsellers including a no.1 bestseller with Carissa Broadbent. Tor also launched Nightfire, a boutique horror list in 2025 with its lead title, Grady Hendrix’s Witchcraft for Wayward Girls also hitting the Sunday Times list. Across, Bramble, Nightfire and the original Tor list - overseen by co-publisher Bella Pagan - Tor achieved 19 Sunday Times bestsellers in 2025.
Gillian Green, Wildthorn, Bramble and Nightfire publisher said:
‘Today’s readers don’t see a genre label as a barrier, but as an invitation. Wildthorn is our response to a growing readership that is increasingly 'genre-blind,' and will provide a curated space for those high-concept, emotionally resonant stories that the UK book club market is currently craving, capturing the sweet spot between general fiction appeal and speculative magic. Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s adult fantasy debut personifies our ambitions here: City of Saints is utterly breathtaking in both its scope and beauty with the most exquisite pitch and it will appeal to Kiran’s existing readers as well as new fans. TJ Klune’s The Stars that Look Like Home IS also the perfect book to launch our list. It’s a heartwarming and heartbreaking tale of love and found family seen through the eyes of a loveable mutt.’
Kiran Millwood Hargrave said:
‘Fantasy was my first home in publishing, and I've always known that at the right moment, with the right publisher, I'd write my first fantasy for adult readers. With the Saint Mair duology, I've found a world I want to savour, and I couldn't be more proud to be publishing City of Saints with Wildthorn in September 2027. Wildthorn promises to deliver engrossing, beautifully written, lush fantasy and I am so enjoying relishing this brief. I can't wait for readers to meet Mair, my penitent saint, and follow her story of forbidden love, wild magic, and deep betrayal.’
‘Wildthorn promises to deliver engrossing, beautifully written, lush fantasy and I am so enjoying relishing this brief.’
— Kiran Millwood Hargrave
TJ Klune said:
‘I am so thrilled to be part of the launch of the new imprint, Wildthorn. My novel, The Stars Look Like Home, is an adventure inspired by my love of animals and favorite childhood films like Homeward Bound, The Adventures of Milo and Otis, and The Incredible Journey. Wildthorn is the perfect fit for this novel, as the imprint gives me the opportunity to tell a different kind of "fantasy" story.’
Tor Wildthorn: For stories that leave you spellbound…
