News from Brian Freeman at Lividian Publications!
We’re pleased to announce we’re publishing the new trade paperback edition of Speaks the Nightbird by Robert McCammon and the official on-sale date is next week: November 18, 2025!Weighing in at 864 pages, this edition features a new introduction by Robert McCammon, welcoming readers to the series, along with original cover artwork by Vincent Chong. It also unveils the larger size, redesigned cover and spine, and the improved interior design we’re using for the reprints of the series to make these editions much more readable. (If you’re wondering how big of a book this is, I’ve stolen a photo from Hunter Goatley and posted it above.)
We won’t be selling this edition directly through our store because postage is cost prohibitive, but it’s available for preorder immediately from everywhere you buy trade paperbacks including:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Books-A-Million
Bookshop.orgThe updated sales copy follows:
BACK IN PRINT! THE FIRST MATTHEW CORBETT ADVENTURE!
The Carolinas, 1699: The citizens of Fount Royal believe a witch has cursed their town with inexplicable tragedies—and they demand that beautiful widow Rachel Howarth be tried and executed for witchcraft. Presiding over the trial is traveling magistrate Isaac Woodward, aided by his astute young clerk, Matthew Corbett. Believing in Rachel’s innocence, Matthew will soon confront the true evil at work in Fount Royal….
After hearing damning testimony, magistrate Woodward sentences the accused witch to death by burning. Desperate to exonerate the woman he has come to love, Matthew begins his own investigation among the townspeople. Piecing together the truth, he has no choice but to vanquish a force more malevolent than witchcraft in order to save his beloved Rachel—and free Fount Royal from the menace claiming innocent lives.
Speaks the Nightbird is the first installment in bestselling author Robert McCammon’s acclaimed series of historical thrillers featuring Matthew Corbett, a brave and resourceful “problem-solver.” The series recently concluded after ten thrilling volumes, and this new edition of Speaks the Nightbird invites both new readers and long-time fans to discover the journey.
We’re also very thrilled to share two other exciting developments:
There will also be a new signed Limited Edition and Lettered Edition of Speaks the Nightbird published in 2026, designed to better match the look and feel of the special editions published over the years by Subterranean Press, Cemetery Dance, and Lividian Publications. Please sign up for our free newsletter or follow Brian’s Patreon for free to be notified when these are available.
In related news, we’re revisiting the other trade paperbacks we’ve published in Matthew Corbett series, and in 2026 we will be republishing those editions with some slight cover tweaks to better indicate they are part of this epic series. Same artwork, just minor design changes. We will also be making the interior text more readable for those of us who love print editions but aren’t getting any younger. These are the same great stories inside, but the redesign means the page counts will be increasing, and we wanted to make it clear now that you’re not missing anything if you read/own a previous edition. There is no new content.
More news on these editions will be shared closer to republication. In the meantime, the previous editions are out there, along with the eBooks and audiobooks. Now is the perfect time to start reading the Matthew Corbett series if you were waiting to make sure it was concluded in proper fashion. We’re pleased to report it most definitely was.
