Enter the library. If you dare.
The world of The Magnus Archives expands this October. Random House Worlds announces From the Library of Jurgen Leitner, a prequel novel set in the universe of the hit horror podcast. Written by series creator Jonathan Sims and award-winning author Premee Mohamed, the book explores the most infamous location in the mythology: the private library of Jurgen Leitner.
From the Library of Jurgen Leitner publishes on October 27, 2026. It is available for pre-order now. This marks the first of multiple books planned for the Magnus Archives universe from Random House Worlds.
Random House Worlds to Publish Official Novels Based on the Hit Horror Podcast The Magnus Archives
Random House Worlds, an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House is thrilled to announce a new collaboration with the massively popular horror fiction anthology podcast The Magnus Archives.
With more than 300 million downloads worldwide since its debut in 2016, The Magnus Archives has garnered a devoted global fanbase, earning widespread acclaim and winning over 30 awards for its deeply unsettling storytelling, intricate supernatural mythology, and standout voice performances. The Magnus Archives is created by independent media production company Rusty Quill and distributed by Acast.
This October, Random House Worlds will publish FROM THE LIBRARY OF JURGEN LEITNER, a thrilling prequel novel written by the hit podcast’s creator Jonathan Sims and Nebula, World Fantasy, and Aurora award-winning author Premee Mohamed. FROM THE LIBRARY OF JURGEN LEITNER explores the most infamous institution in the podcast’s universe for the first time—the perilous private library of the enigmatic collector Jurgen Leitner, where esoteric books are guarded and researched at a fatal cost.
In this uncanny eldritch horror novel, two employees from different eras attempt to uncover the library’s secrets. Though their tenures at the library were years apart, their stories unfold in parallel, and their footsteps echo down the same eerie aisles, caught in a web spun long before either ever heard the name “Jurgen Leitner.” Will they find a way out… or will the library consume them before it’s too late?
Jonathan Sims is the mind and voice behind horror audio fiction sensation The Magnus Archives, which won a British Fantasy award, This is Horror award, Discover Pod award and multiple Audioverse awards, as well as the author of Thirteen Storeys and Family Business. He has also done voice work as the narrator of the multi-award winning Slay the Princess and writes UK Games Expo Award-winning TTRPGs as part of roleplay-design duo MacGuffin & Co. He lives in Stockport with his spouse and a pair of very distinguished (if not desperately bright) cats.
Premee Mohamed is a Nebula, World Fantasy, Ignyte, Locus, and Aurora award-winning Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction author based in Edmonton, Alberta. She has also been a finalist for the Hugo, British Fantasy, British Science Fiction, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Crawford awards. In 2024, she was the Edmonton Public Library writer-in-residence, and she has taught at establishments including the Banff Institute for the Arts, the Clarion Workshop, and the Carl Brandon Society. She has judged short fiction contests for CBC and Alberta Views Magazine and can be found on her website at www.premeemohamed.com. She is represented by Michael Curry of DMLA.
ABOUT THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES PODCAST
The Magnus Archives is a record-breaking and multi-award-winning cult hit horror epic podcast that examines what lurks in the archives of the Magnus Institute, an organisation dedicated to researching the esoteric and the weird.
Listeners are invited to join new head archivist Jonathan Sims as he attempts to bring a seemingly neglected collection of supernatural statements up to date, converting them to audio and supplementing them with follow-up work from his small but dedicated team.
Individually, the statements in The Magnus Archives are unsettling. Together they begin to form a picture that is truly horrifying because as they look into the depths of the archives, something starts to look back…
ABOUT RUSTY QUILL
Rusty Quill Ltd. is UK-based industry-leading independent media production company and podcast network now celebrating its tenth anniversary. They produce and distribute over 60 award-winning audio drama, audio fiction and actual play shows.
ABOUT RANDOM HOUSE WORLDS
Random House Worlds is an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, and is dedicated entirely to licensed book publishing, acting as a home for the largest pop culture brands across genres and media types. Our role is to enrich and expand worlds beyond their original source material, helping to grow a popular brand into a multimedia universe. Our team has the knowledge and talent to publish any style of book imaginable—from classics to contemporary fiction and nonfiction, to novelty formats like coloring, cookbooks, and tarot.
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