If you’ve been missing your short-form Star Wars storytelling, good news: From a Certain Point of View, the anniversary anthology format Del Rey used to weave new stories around the events of A New Hope for its 40th anniversary is back. And it’s, well, striking.
40th anniversary this year, From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back will launch in November. As with the anthology for A New Hope, it will bring together 40 stories from 40 different authors, all weaving in and out of the chronological events of Empire, adding context to familiar scenes, telling new tales, and, if it thematically matches up with its predecessor, going to some really weird and interesting places.
Which is great! One of the joys of From a Certain Point of View wasn’t just what it added from a contextual point of view to the world presented in A New Hope. But also how its vast roster of authors brought different styles, tones, and ponderances to the Star Wars universe, leveraging all the years and years of storytelling in the galaxy far, far away that had happened since the movie to enrich it not just a canonical level, but crucially also a thematic level.
If we can expect the same sort of thing ” and we likely should, given that this is for all intents and purposes the same project just for another movie ” then getting to see so many voices tackle Empire, a significantly darker, more spiritual, and more complex movie than its predecessor, is very exciting indeed.
Lucasfilm has yet to reveal the full list of authors involved with From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back, but many have already taken to Twitter to share the news of their contribution.
Excited and so so honored to contribute to this Star Wars anthology for charity! #ACertainPOVStrikesBack Can’t wait to share this story. ???????????? pic.twitter.com/rrh8Hqk1Fu
— CB Lee (@cblee_cblee) June 12, 2020
I’m SO thrilled to share this news! It’s been my dream–ever since I saw Heir to the Empire displayed in Waldenbooks when I was 11–to write Star Wars prose. And now–
I’m contributing a story STAR WARS: FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW STRIKES BACK!#FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack pic.twitter.com/5BMZFb7vQT
— Michael Moreci (@MichaelMoreci) June 12, 2020
I can’t reveal which POV I picked, but if you know me and the different hats I wear, it’s obvious. Also..check my insta feed. The answer is hiding there from weeks/months ago. Hehehe. #FromACertainPOVStrikesBack
— lydiaykang (@LydiaYKang) June 12, 2020
One more time? Well… why not! Not every day I get to share a table of contents with the sorts of writers in this monster; feeling very lucky to have gotten the invite. (Just look at the amazing authors in the first one!)#FromaCertainPOVStrikesBackhttps://t.co/PVluXYYSBv
— Alexander Freed (@AlexanderMFreed) June 12, 2020
Hello, what have we here?#FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack pic.twitter.com/bHWyMgTJPs
— Tracy Deonn ????⚔️❤️ (@tracydeonn) June 12, 2020
ehehehe anyways the big secret is they let me write for STAR WARS!!!! https://t.co/Sqe6wcKIfe
— Rebecca F. Kuang (@kuangrf) June 11, 2020
Okay, okay. I can’t talk about the story I’m contributing to #FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack YET–you’ll know more soon enough–but I can say that the clues are out there… https://t.co/l678YtSaBx
— austin walker (@austin_walker) June 12, 2020
I did a thing. And I can’t wait to say more. For now I’ll say I am thrilled and honored to get to write a story set during my favorite film ever. ????https://t.co/7JdVyfiqJh pic.twitter.com/pEWPLy4ywU
— Amy Ratcliffe (@amy_geek) June 12, 2020
I always said that if Lucasfilm asked me back I’d return to the galaxy far, far away in a heartbeat. And so:
On its 40th anniversary I’m honored to be a part of @DelReyStarWars’ amazing celebration of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK!https://t.co/IbBS5tgFpL#FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack pic.twitter.com/jadMr1gwoV
— Gary Whitta (@garywhitta) June 12, 2020
I have a small announcement to make.
I am part of this amazing thing, which means I got to write a Star Wars story, which means the little girl who was Leia SEVERAL Halloweens running is STILL crying in disbelief. #FromaCertainPOVStrikesBack https://t.co/a6iiPAwUve
— Quarynnetine Valente (@catvalente) June 11, 2020
Every one of the authors involved with the anthology has forgone compensation for their contribution, and the proceeds from the book will instead be donated to First Book, a nonprofit providing books, educational materials, and other reading tools to educators helping children in need, on top of a $US100,000 ($145,480) donation from Penguin Random House and a donation of 100,000 books from Disney and Lucasfilm to the organisation.
A full list of all 40 authors will be revealed on Monday, June 16. From A Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back is set to release on November 10.