It’s hard to believe, but we’ve already come quite a way into 2026, with January nearly behind us! And the Story Team hit the ground running when we came back from our holiday break. On the docket for January: Brainstorming Super Edition 20 (sorry, no spoilers, although the very talented Conrad Mason will return to write this one!) and editing the as-yet-untitled Changing Skies Book 5! We’re also doing a final polish on Super Edition 19, Darktail’s Judgment, and beginning to think about how to bring the Changing Skies series to a close in Book 6. There are also some really fun things happening for the Warrior Cats beyond books, some of which you all know about, and some of which we hope to share more of in the year ahead. 2026 is looking to be a great year for the Clans!

But before I give away too many spoilers… let’s talk about the books that will be published this year. Coming up in March is Chasing Shadows, Book 3 in the Changing Skies series, written by the wonderful Cherith Baldry. In Hidden Moon, Starlingpaw accompanied a group of questers from every Clan on a journey to the Tribe of Rushing Water, in the hopes that Stoneteller might be able to offer advice on their inability to connect to StarClan now that Twolegs have taken over the Moonpool. At the end of Hidden Moon, Starlingpaw has decided that Crowfeather may have been told more by Stoneteller than he’s sharing… but before he can talk to him about it, Crowfeather is taken for an accidental ride by an eagle and dropped from a terrifying height. Will Crowfeather survive? Will Starlingpaw ever find out what Crowfeather was told? I can’t answer those questions, but I can tell you that Starlingpaw finds out some information in Chasing Shadows that makes him question everything. Can an apprentice alter the future of the Clans by telling the truth? Starlingpaw hopes to find out.

Meanwhile, Moonpaw reaches a turning point in dealing with the voice of her sister, Morningkit, which she can hear inside her mind. Empathy and assistance come from an unexpected source… but not everycat is sure Moonpaw can be trusted. And Tawnypelt becomes so frustrated with Tigerstar that she decides to take a break from ShadowClan and work on figuring out the prophecy on her own.

It feels like we’re getting into the meat of the Changing Skies series, with each character growing into the cat they need to be to help the Clans navigate this moment. We had a great time brainstorming and plotting this installment, and we really hope these characters are becoming as important to the fans as they’ve become to us. Book 4, Guiding Light, which was written by Rosie Best, will bring our three POV characters even closer to their destinies, and release this fall.

Some characters grow on you the more you learn about them. But others are more… challenging. Such is the case with Darktail, the villain of the Vision of Shadows series. He is truly one of the most terrifying characters the series has ever featured. (Rereading Shattered Sky was not easy!) Darktail’s Judgment, written by the brilliant Clarissa Hutton, comes out this August and takes readers on a deep dive into Darktail’s history: it covers the time periods fans know about but also fills in the gaps and, we hope, gives readers an understanding of how Darktail turned into the disturbed cat he was. Does understanding Darktail’s troubled backstory make it easier to feel sympathy for him? Well… we’ll let you answer that. But prepare yourself for a wild ride and more than a few “Yikes!” moments.

We can’t talk about books we’re excited for you to read this year without mentioning the gorgeous graphic novel adaptations. You’ve already read the adaptations of series one, written and drawn by Natalie Riess and Sara Goetter. (What’s that? You haven’t? Go find them right now! They’re fantastic!) In June, you’ll finally get the chance to read the first book in the New Prophecy series, brought to you by the new team of Gibson Twist (writer) and Sammy Savos (illustrator). It has been such a pleasure for the Story Team to revisit these stories and see them interpreted in a new way, by different writers and artists. Two more books by Gibson and Sammy will tell the rest of the New Prophecy series… and then it’s on to a new team for the Power of Three! All things considered, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most thrilling years yet for the Warriors series, and the Story Team can’t wait to see how the fans will react.