Since Star wars books and stories have been the topic of discussion recently on the ikonboards, and we are featuring the X-Wing series this month, I thought it appropriate to share what the gang at LucasFilm has in store for us while we wait for the next movie to show up in May, 2005:

"This February, The New Jedi Order series continues with the first book of the Force Heretic trilogy. Remnant is a paperback novel by Sean Williams and Shane Dix.

Troy Denning tells a tale of the early years of Han and Leia's marriage, just prior to the outbreak of the Thrawn crisis, in Tatooine Ghost, a hardcover release scheduled for March 4.

April sees the mass-market paperback release of R.A. Salvatore's Attack of the Clones novelization, which expands the screenplay by George Lucas and Jonathan Hales with scenes not found in the film. This edition includes never-before-published storyboard art, and an excerpt of the forthcoming Clone Wars novel, Shatterpoint.

On May 5, the second paperback novel of the Force Heretic trilogy, Refugee, sees print. It is also by Williams and Dix. May also features a tie-in eBook for Shatterpoint.

As reported earlier, many of the upcoming books will take place against the backdrop of the epic Clone Wars. The first hardcover of the Clone Wars publishing program is Shatterpoint, by Matthew Stover. It is scheduled for a June release.

The Force Heretic trilogy ends in July with the release of Reunion, a paperback novel by Dix and Williams.

August sees the paperback release of Walter Jon Williams' Destiny's Way, a New Jedi Order novel previously released as a hardcover in late 2002.

In October, Greg Keyes writes the penultimate novel of The New Jedi Order series, The Final Prophecy, a paperback release. Also that month is an eBook tie-in to The Unifying Force.

In November 2003, The New Jedi Order comes to its shocking finale with James Luceno's The Unifying Force, the final hardcover of the series.

2004 and Beyond:

2004 sees not only the paperback releases of Tatooine Ghost (January), Shatterpoint (May), and The Unifying Force (August), but also the return of several previous Star Wars authors to the galaxy far, far away.

Fan favorite Timothy Zahn (The Thrawn Trilogy) tells a story spotlighting Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade in Survivor's Quest, a hardcover novel scheduled for February 2004.

William Deitz (the Dark Forces novellas) adds to the growing Clone War saga with Escape from Dagu, a paperback novel due in March 2004.

Steve Perry (Shadows of the Empire) and Michael Reaves (Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter) join forces for a pair of as-yet-untitled Clone War novels, scheduled for paperback release in July and October of 2004.

New novelists join the Star Wars family with 2004's hardcover Clone War releases. In June, Steven Barnes brings us The Cestus Deception, and in November comes Star Wars: Jedi Trial, a Clone War hardcover novel by David Sherman and Dan Cragg.

Even further on the horizon is Timothy Zahn's prequel-era hardcover novel that finally sheds light on the momentous Outbound Flight project first mentioned over a decade ago in his Thrawn Trilogy. It is currently scheduled for a November 2005 release.

Publishing dates and other information are subject to change. Keep checking starwars.com for the latest details. Also, for the inside track on the future of Star Wars publishing, direct from the editors who make it happen, visit this thread on the Official Star Wars Message Boards."

The above information is courtesey of The Homing Beacon and is the property of www.starwars.com and LucasFilm. We feature it here as public information for Star wars book readers and take no credit for original writing of this article or its' content.