BBC America initiative: The Doctor Who books

You may be thrilled to find out that BBC America launched yesterday a Whovian initiative:

Eleven authors have been commissioned to write ebooks for the British publisher Puffin, based on the eleven Doctors, and these will have a staggered release across the year, on the 23rd day of each month, so that the Eleventh Doctor’s story arrives on November 23, the date of the actual 50th anniversary.

To raise anticipation for each book, the identity of the writers – each one a big name in children’s literature – is being kept a secret. What we can tell you is that the first book, featuring the First Doctor, is called A Big Hand for the Doctor, and it has been written by Eoin Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl books, and  the man who took on the formidable task of writing some more Hitchhiker’s Guidenovels.

Oh, and on the eleventh of each month (thematic numbering, see?) there will be a promotional video on the BBC Worldwide Doctor Who YouTube channel, that features each author as they come up. Eoin’s will be out on Friday, and A Big Hand For The Doctor is available for pre-order for $2.68 for Kindle onAmazon.com.