A press release from Noreen Herits of Random House Children’s Books:
Eagerly awaited by millions around the world, the triumphant conclusion to Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance cycle will arrive this fall, it was announced today by Nancy Hinkel, Vice President, Publishing Director of Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books. Following the #1 bestselling novels Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr, the fourth and final book in the series will be titled Inheritance, a fitting designation for the concluding novel in Paolini’s epic fantasy.
“The burning questions asked by fans around the world will finally be answered in this last installment,” said Christopher Paolini. “All will be revealed!”
Inheritance will have a first printing of 2.5 million copies and will be published on November 8, 2011, in the United States and Canada, and simultaneously by Random House in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. It will carry a suggested U.S. retail price of $27.99. Inheritance will also be published by Random House in Germany; the publication date will be announced shortly.
“The publication of Inheritance brings a dramatic and satisfying close to one of the best-loved fantasy series in recent publishing history,” commented Hinkel. “Now, both new readers and established fans can enjoy the full story without interruption for the very first time.” Michelle Frey, Executive Editor with Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, who worked with Paolini on Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr is also the editor of Inheritance.
Inheritance will be published simultaneously in the United States as an ebook. It will also be available as an audiobook from Random House’s Listening Library division. Publication will be supported by a major marketing and publicity campaign that includes movie theater advertising, national television advertising, national print advertising, and a 10-city author tour that will launch in New York, New York, on November 8, 2011. The stunning green dragon on the cover of Inheritance was illustrated by the renowned John Jude Palencar, illustrator of the Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr covers.
All #1 New York Times bestsellers in the United States, Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr have been international sensations. To date, there are 49 foreign-language licenses for Eragon alone, and together the first three books in the series have sold 25 million copies worldwide. In its first day on sale in North America in September 2008, Brisingr sold more than 550,000 hardcover copies in one day, making Brisingr the greatest single-day sale ever recorded for a Random House Children’s Books title—hardcover or paperback—and the fastest-selling title in the publisher’s history.