Del Rey announced today they are publishing a new Star Wars novel called Star Wars: From A Certain Point of View, which tells stories of A New Hope background characters. Everyone is joining in the celebration of the franchise's 40th anniversary, and there's plenty to celebrate. With the triumphant return of the series to the big screen and promises of new films on the horizon, Star Wars fans are living in an almost unprecedented time of new materials. The upcoming Star Wars Celebration convention next week is going to ring in this important anniversary with news about new films, returning TV shows, and everything in between, but before that, it's nice to look back at what made Star Wars so important to so many people.

The universe of A New Hope felt vast and full of potential, and everyone had a story. Some of these stories will now be told in Del Rey's Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View. A true Star Wars anthology in every sense of the word, the collection brings together 40 authors to tell 40 different stories from the perspective of background characters in A New Hope. Some stories will center on heroes, others on villains, and some on characters that fall between those two points.

You can see the cover below:

The authors involved in the collection have also all forgone profit, and all proceeds from the book will go to First Book, a nonprofit dedicated to providing new books and learning materials to educators working with children in need. To celebrate, Penguin Random House has also donated 100,000 children's books to First Book as well. This generosity is in line with one of the morals that A New Hope espouses - helping those who need it. It's good to see the Star Wars community using their collective power - which might even trump the Force at this point - for good. Fandom has always been a source of energy, and it's important that fans and creators alike channel that energy into reaching out and giving back.

From a fan point of view, the anthology idea is exciting and seems to tie into the direction Lucasfilm is going with their films. Having an anthology focused on the background characters of A New Hope, who captivated audience imaginations back in 1977, is a clever way not only to celebrate the film but to expand the universe. There are more stories in that galaxy than simply Luke's, Leia's, and Han's, and it'll be exciting to see those characters come alive on the page. The line-up of authors is interesting, featuring both Star Wars veterans such as Chuck Wendig and Gary Whitta as well as newcomers to the universe such as Meg Cabot and Mallory Ortberg, and should give us a wide look at a variety of characters.

Above all, this is a fun way to ring in the anniversary of what might be the most beloved film franchise of all time. The added bonus of the proceeds going to charity is only the cherry on top of a net positive. Del Rey Books will have a panel during Star Wars Celebration, so expect more information about the anthology, as well as a few more teases and reveals, to come out next week.

Source: StarWars.com

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