NEWS - OTHER WORLDS THAN THESE

Patton Oswalt to Narrate Other Worlds Than These

Posted: April 16, 2026, 22:49
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Patton Oswalt is the narrator of the upcoming third Talisman book, Other Worlds Than These.

“I've been a Stephen King fan since I was 10. His books were a huge part of how I fell in love with storytelling in the first place so having the opportunity to narrate Other Worlds Than These feels a little unreal. Being able to step into The Dark Tower universe and bring the final chapter of the Talisman trilogy to life is an absolute honor."
- Patton Oswalt

Credit : Courtesy Robyn Von Swank; Simon & Schuster
"Having Oswalt on board is a “wonderful” feeling. Spoiler alert: In Other Worlds, there's a character named Payton Orville, who's… a stand-up comedian!”
- Stephen King

Other Worlds Than These will be published on Oct. 6 and is now available for preorder:
US hardcover
US Audio
Kindle

UK hardcover

The Talisman 3: Other Worlds Than These Out Oct. 6

Posted: February 8, 2026, 02:56
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Amazon.co.uk has listed The Talisman 3 for release on October 6 and it’s title is Other Worlds Than These

'I wanted to go back to Mid-World, which was always the Territories by another name' - Stephen King

This is Stephen King and Peter Straub's epic and unforgettable finale to the Talisman Trilogy (including the novels The Talisman and Black House) and a wrapping up of the fate of the worlds in King's iconic, fiercely beloved Dark Tower epic. It is also a wonderful stand-alone novel, that will appeal to new readers, as well as to King's Constant Reader.

OTHER WORLDS THAN THESE is the story of Jack Sawyer, whom readers first met when he was twelve, crossing America and 'the territories' to save his mother's life, and met again in Black House, where Jack faces a child killer and the Crimson King (among other evils). In OTHER WORLDS THAN THESE Jack must stop a rampaging gang of infected teenagers from America-side, and the forces of the mysterious Gullet at the edge of Mid-World, before it destroys our world and all worlds. Jack is older now; his Ka-tet is fraying; and his task, nearly impossible.

Magnificent, riveting, full of heart, and humour, OTHER WORLDS THAN THESE is a spectacular, propulsive adventure, and features 30 exclusive black and white illustrations by artist Gabriel Rodriguez.

Pre-order your copy here.

Talisman 3, One More Holly Book And Then…

Posted: October 16, 2025, 00:48
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In an interview with USA Today King says he has two more books he wants to write and then we’ll have to wait and see what happens…

I’m trying to clear my desk as much as I can. At my age, you're off the warranty. You can't take anything for granted.

King is planning one more book starring Gibney that he hopes to write this winter.

I love Holly. Right now I am rereading The Outside’ because I have a way into this last Holly book so I need to refresh myself with that.

Before that he has to finish the third Talisman book. King says that at the end of Black House it was made “pretty clear” that the world of the Territories, is also the Mid-World of his Dark Tower books and that he plans to “button up” both series with the new tome. Straub had given King some ideas for their third book before his death in 2022.

I kept putting it off when Peter was alive. Peter had stuff to do, too. I mean, it wasn't all on me. But I would say, ‘Well, this time, this time…’ and time ran out for Peter. That made me feel really bad.

King also reveals that he wants to take some time off while he’s still healthy.

You can't guarantee anything once you get past the age of 75, 76. So you've got to be a little bit careful. Anything can happen to anybody. I got hit by a car while I was in my prime, so to speak. I might have another 10, 15 years, but you can't count on it, that's all.

In a recent interview about his new novel King Sorrow his son Joe Hill admitted he wants to be a “book-a-year guy” like King.

He’s a force, man. My dad (sneezes) and then he pulls out the tissue and goes, ‘Oh wow. Look, there's a novel there.’

King’s explanation:

The thing is, I try to entertain myself. I sit down like at quarter of 6 in the morning before anybody's up, and before my wife's having her first cup of coffee and she's in another part of the house. I really enjoy those three or four hours where I can play in a kind of a fantasy world. It's kind of nice.

But don’t worry. King’s not retiring tomorrow, if ever.

I’m a busy guy. However, I’d like to stop before I start to drivel. Like, repeat myself. I feel like I've still got a little more space to explore, but I have to watch out and not become a bore. I hate that idea, of being a boring person. I'd like to still surprise people a little bit.

Words we have heard before…

New Interview With King

Posted: September 1, 2025, 08:18
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Here is a new interview with King in which he speaks about his fear of dementia (no he doesn’t have it), having finished The Talisman 3 and is now on a temporary work halt.

In some areas the interview is behind a paywall but not all so check it out if you can here.

T3, Holly And Hansel & Gretel

Posted: May 24, 2025, 14:59
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Highlights from an interview King just did with Toronto Star.

- King just finished working on a draft of Talisman 3.

“I call it ‘T3.’ It’s done, so now I wander around the house and try to catch up with the real world.”

- About Hansel & Gretel

That project, King said, appealed to him because the essence of the story features “a sunny exterior, a dark and terrible centre, brave and resourceful children.”

- If there will be more Holly?

“Holly has become a part of my life. I’m always interested in what’s going on with her. I have an idea: what if Holly runs across a serial killer, somebody who is very charismatic? Like the hunky guy in a Colleen Hoover book. Only bad.”

King On The KingCast

Posted: January 29, 2025, 13:36
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Today King returns to The KingCast and during the hour they cover a lot. Here are the most important things that they talk about.

The Talisman 3
There will be a lot of Nebraska in The Talisman 3.

King is using Peter Straub’s words in The Talisman 3.

King confirms that The Territories are The Mid World and The Mid World are The Territories.

Characters from both The Talisman and Black House are in The Talisman 3.

Never Flinch
King rewrote Never Flinch completely after his wife Tabitha said it didn’t work.

Other news
King had an idea for the last book about the character Travis McGee (he shares part of it in the episode) but the relatives of John D. MacDonald said they didn’t want King to do the book so it didn’t happen and won’t.

It was King’s idea to do the harlequin cover for Misery.

King don’t have trunk novels but he have some unfinished stories that he thinks aren’t good enough.

Check out the episode (#265) here.

Always Holly: New Book, Talisman 3 & The Dark Tower

Posted: July 10, 2024, 11:17
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King was just interviewed in the podcast Talking Scared and here are some of the things he said:

He talks about the new book, You Like It Darker and mentions that he totally forgot about The Music Room but that it probably will be in the paperback edition.

His next book will be called Always Holly and in it we will see Holly as a bodyguard for a woman being stalked. Not sure if this is the book previous known as We Think Not but probably.

He has read The Talisman and will read Black House and then see if that leads to him writing The Talisman 3.

He also says that Roland’s main story is done. Might mean we won’t get any more Dark Tower books/stories but then you never know with King.

Listen to the full pod where you usually find your pods.

Straub Says Talisman 3 Is Unlikely

Posted: August 9, 2021, 13:50
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Here’s an interesting interview with Peter Straub. Among the things he talks about (starts 29 minutes in) is his collaboration with King on The Talisman and Black House. He also says it’s unlikely that the third book will ever be written…

The Talisman 3 At Least 2 Years Away

Posted: February 27, 2016, 00:44
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In an interview with Miami Herald Peter Straub talks about the third book in The Talisman series and it looks like we won't see it in atleas a couple of years...

Q. So is there any truth to the rumors that a third “Talisman” book is forthcoming?

I certainly hope so. It’s totally dependent on the patience of my saintly collaborator, Steve King. We were supposed to start it three or four years ago, but I had medical problems that stopped me in my tracks. Then I had problems with a book I was doing … so we’re no closer to being able to start it. But part of the reason he’s so patient is we have a great idea for the book. I won’t tell you what it is, but there was a famous story that happened in the world when we were young. He kept a scrapbook about it and so did I, him in Maine and me in Milwaukee. It has a lot of juice in it, and he and I both feel that way about it, so we are eager to do this book. I think he’ll cut me a break and let me go a year or two and then we’ll start working on it.


Thanks to Rick Urban

Peter Straub Talk Talisman 3 at a signing in 2014

Posted: March 19, 2015, 09:58
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This is an interesting clip from a signing with Peter Straub. It’s from May 2014 and in it he says that he and King plan on starting “The Talisman 3” the upcoming winter. We now know that didn’t happen but it’s nice to hear him talk about the books. Please note though that this is almost a year old and does NOT mean they will start writing the book now.



Thanks to Cody Williams

King & Straub hope to write Talisman 3 next year!

Posted: November 13, 2014, 16:12
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King gave us some very interesting news yesterday at the reading in Washington, D.C. about the third book about Jack Sawyer. King confirmed that it was supposed to be a trilogy and that he had already worked out the framework for the third book in his head. He also said he hoped to write it with Peter Straub during next year.

After reading this I emailed Peter who confirmed that the plan is to write the book next year. So, very good news for all fans of The Talisman and Black House!


Photo by Jordan M. Hahn

No third Talisman book in sight...

Posted: July 3, 2012, 14:37
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With so many new editions of The Talisman and Black House being released the speculations about if the third book is finally being written has once again started. So, I thought that who better to ask about this than Peter Straub. He should know, right? Well, I sent him an email asking if he and King was any closer to writing the third book about Jack Sawyer and got a reply within the hour. This is what he said:

Sorry, Lilja, plans for the third book have gone no further than before. The new editions of the first two came about because the 10-year licenses on the previous editions came to an end, freeing us to sell the books all over again.

So, there you have it. Despite new editions of the first two books we are far, far away from knowing how the tale of Jack Sawyer ends…

The Talisman 3, probably not too soon

Posted: February 9, 2012, 21:14
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The moderator of King’s official message board had the following answer to whether King and Straub has started to work on The Talisman 3.

Stephen and Peter haven't been able to coordinate schedules to begin working on the third book as they've each had other projects that needed their attention. I don't know if they have discussed plot development yet but even if they had, it would probably be too early to release any info.

Straub on Talisman 3

Posted: December 24, 2009, 23:41
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Peter Straub wrote this on his Twitter:

And for those who care, no worries. In about a year SK and I will begin planning a new book.


Thanks to Bev Vincent

More Talisman 3

Posted: May 6, 2009, 22:58
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In an upcoming interview in Cemetery Dance #61 (shipping this summer) Peter Straub talks about the third Talisman book.

Cemetery Dance: Are you going to do a third book with Stephen King?

Peter Straub: We plan to. We were going to start right about now, but King got sidetracked by a Broadway musical that he was writing with John Mellencamp. So that's been taking shape. And I think they were having out-of-town tryouts this autumn. Then we'll see what happens. But at some point we'll get back to it, because we have to. It's like two-thirds of a long, long story, and the other part really should be done.

Third Talisman boook in a year one or two?

Posted: April 8, 2009, 12:40
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Bev Vincent reported this in regards of the Writer's Digest: An Epic Conversation on Writing:

Lanny F. McKay tells me that one of the King's most interesting quotes was about how he has occasionally enjoyed the collaborative process, "enough so that Peter and I will probably write the third and last Talisman boook in one or two years."

Straub on Talisman 3

Posted: October 16, 2008, 15:15
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Peter Straub mentioned The Talisman in a recent interview:

Are you ever going to do a third Talisman book with Stephen King?

I believe so. Steve and I agreed years back that we would do a third one, and that would be it, because Black House virtually sets up, and all but promises a follow-up. And then we would have a three-volume fantasy novel. That's perfect. That's probably what it wanted to be from the beginning.

Read the entire interview here.

Thanks to Bev Vincent

Talisman 3 - sort of a ‘24’ thing

Posted: November 1, 2006, 22:19
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A poster at TheDarkTower.net said that King was asked about a third book in the Talisman series. I assume it was at one of the readings he has done in the US.

King replied that yes he has spoken with Straub. At the end of Black House Jack is dying in our world and goes to the territories. King sees a story where Jack has to return to our world, must only do so in brief periods as it accelerates his death. In King’s words: “sort of a ‘24’ thing”.

Thanks to Bev Vincent

Talisman 3 in four to five years...

Posted: November 16, 2005, 23:34
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I spoke with Peter Straub today and took the opportunity to ask him about the 3rd book about Jack Sawyer. He told me that he and King want to do it and that it might happen in four to five years.

Plans for Talisman 3?

Posted: November 8, 2004, 23:33
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Here is more info in the ongoing question if there will be a Talisman 3. This is from the message board on King's official site:

Question I recently read an interview in which Peter Straub said there will be a third book in the Talisman series.

Response from Moderator Stephen would agree that there are plans for one--it’s more a matter of when.

King opening up for a third Talisman?

Posted: October 7, 2004, 23:30
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Is King opening up for a third Talisman book? Well, this quote is from the message board on King's official site and is the answer to all the questions about Jack Sawyer they get:

Since there have been so many inquiries, I asked Stephen about this and his response is: "People who are interested in Jack Sawyer, don’t lose hope that you will see him again."

The Talisman 3 around 2006

Posted: November 9, 2001, 23:29
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In interviews (you can find one of them in The Interview Section) Peter Straub has said that he and King probably will write a third book about Jack Sawyer and now, according to a post in SKEMERs, he said (at a signing in Mequon, Wisconsin yesterday) that King and he hope to write another book in "around five years".

This means that we could have The Talisman 3 around 2006 or so...

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2026:
Stephen King: Not Just Horror (German ed.)
2026:
Stephen King: Stories From Five Decades of Storytelling (German edition)
October 2026:
Carrie TV Series
October 6, 2026:
Other Worlds Than These
2026:
Stephen King: Not Just Horror (Portuguese ed.)
2026:
Stephen King: Stories From Five Decades of Storytelling (Portuguese edition)
November 5, 2026:
An Exercise in Murder (Short story by Hill)
2026:
The Institute season 2
March 2, 2027:
Hunger (Joe Hill)

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