Some of you may already know this, but I must pass the good news along.  It was just announced yesterday on Juliet Marillier’s official Facebook fanpage that she’s currently writing the first book in a new series for young adults called the Shadowfell series to be published in 2012(!) Even more exciting, she also confirmed that if all goes well they’ll be a 6th Sevenwaters book published that same year. *dies from overexcitement* Here’s the text from her note on Facebook:

At last: news about my new project! The work in progress is the first novel in the Shadowfell series. The Shadowfell books are for young adult readers (approx age 13-17) but will also be a great read for adults.

The series is set in Alban, an imagined version of ancient Scotland. Until recent times, a wary tolerance has existed between the human residents of Alban and the uncanny Good Folk. Then Keldec ascends the throne, and the kingdom becomes a place of fear where magic is shunned, neighbour turns on neighbour and no secret is safe. When fifteen-year-old Nevyn suffers an unthinkable betrayal of trust, she finds herself all alone in a world turned hostile. The secret she guards so closely could be her doom. It could also be the key to Alban’s future.

Shadowfell is a story of tyranny and rebellion; of magic and of human courage. Unlike most of my previous stories, Shadowfell is more fantasy than history, but it owes a lot to my love of Scottish history and folklore. The series will initially be three books, of around the same length as the Wildwood books. The first will be published in 2012.