WIZARD BOOKS PROFILE (Back to information)

Wizard Books is the children’s imprint of IconBooks, an independent British publisher of non-fiction. Formed in 1991, Icon is most known for the Introducing series of illustrated guides to big thinkers and ideas like Freud, Postmodernism and Quantum Theory.

Wizard Books was formed in 2002 with a remit to publish exciting, intelligent and (most of all!) fun fiction and non-fiction primarily for children between the ages of 8 and 13. Our lead project is the republication of Fighting Fantasy™, Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone’s series of adventure gamebooks first launched in 1982.

Fighting Fantasy™ was the children’s publishing phenomenon of the 1980s. Selling over 15 million books and extending to 59 titles and spawning myriad offshoots, Fighting Fantasy™ dominated children’s bestseller charts and left an indelible mark upon a generation. The creators became celebrities, founded the Games Workshop shop chain and went on to achieve huge success in the world of computer games, Ian Livingstone at Eidos, creators of Tomb Raider, and Steve Jackson at Lionhead, developers of the best selling God game Black & White.

Wizard Books decided that the time was right to bring this incredible idea to a new generation. Repackaged for the 21st century, Wizard published 4 titles in June 2002, including the first ever book (which sold 2 million copies in its original format), Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

Two more titles followed this in the autumn, with further books arriving throughout 2003.

But there is much more to Wizard Books than Fighting Fantasy™. In non-fiction we have an illustrated guide to Lord of the Rings creator J. R. R. Tolkien, and, in spring 2003 a very special series bringing the heights of science, philosophy and psychology to children.

If you would like more information about Wizard Books, please do not hesitate to contact us. See the contact details page or simply email us at wizard@iconbooks.co.uk.