Shades of Magic author V.E. Schwab signs $1 million deal with Tor for four new books

V.E. Schwab, author of the popular Shades of Magic series, is writing a new trilogy set in the same world called Threads of Power. According to Entertainment Weekly, the books will be coming to publisher Tor as part of a massive $1 million deal.

According to Schwab, the new series will be set five to 10 years after A Conjuring of Light, the final book in the Shades of Magic trilogy, and will feature both new and returning characters. For those unfamiliar with Shades of Magic, it’s best known for its setting — the books span four parallel Londons, each with their own cultures and magic — and characters, including the cross-dressing pickpocket Lila Bard.

The $1 million Tor deal also includes a fourth book that Schwab describes as a “female Blade Runner”, tentatively titled Black Tabs, featuring a female assassin in a futuristic version of New York City.

While news of the Shades of Magic sequels and Black Tabs are sure to be interesting to Schwab fans, its worth noting from a business side that the scope of the deal is particularly impressive, with Tor Books seriously investing in Schwab as a major part of its publishing future. The deal puts Schwab in the same league as popular sci-fi author John Scalzi, who signed a blockbuster $3.4 million, 13-book deal with Tor back in 2015.