DK and the Lego Group are launching Lego Fiction, a multi-series children’s fiction list consisting of original titles created with well-known authors and illustrators, next fall. The deal, announced on October 15 at the Frankfurt Book Fair, marks DK’s first foray into original fiction for the Lego brand. Hannah Sandford, DK’s new senior fiction editor, will lead the program.

DK has been a key publishing licensee for Lego for 25 years, with more than 65 million books sold during that period. When the publisher launched its new children’s fiction imprint, DK! Flip, in March of this year, “it was a natural time for a conversation about how to bring DK! Flip together with Lego,” said DK publisher Paula Regan. At the same time, “the reading-for-pleasure crisis is a growing issue, and it was front of mind to create exciting child-focused and story-led titles to pull in new readers who think reading is not for them but are fans of Lego.”

The Lego and DK teams met with retailers early in the development process to make sure the stories, illustrations, and cover art fit well in the fiction section and are differentiated from the how-to-build and other nonfiction titles in the flagship DK Lego nonfiction line. “We wanted to reassure them that it would really be right for the fiction space,” Regan said.

The Lego Fiction list will be a priority for DK for 2026, and will be introduced in full to the trade at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in April, with formats for all ages hitting retail in the fall of that year.

The program will begin with two middle-grade series launching in October, both developed with Working Partners, the fiction packagers behind DK’s Dinosaur Club, among many other series. The first two titles include Lego Friends Pet Rescuers: Bunny Breakout, illustrated by Marta Kissi, and Lego Ninjago Full of Destiny: Attack of the Scroll Guardian, illustrated by Leo Trinidad. Each book in these two series will come with an exclusive Lego minifigure and a small collection of other Lego pieces that gain meaning and purpose as readers make their way through the story.

In November comes a middle grade novel by Jeffrey Brown, known for his bestselling Star Wars: Jedi Academy series with Scholastic and Darth Vader and Son with Chronicle, among others. Tentatively titled The Lost Brick, the book is about the son of a famous family of adventurers who search for lost Lego pieces and instructions.

“Lego is the number one toy brand in the world, so it deserves to have world-class authors and illustrators,” Regan said. She noted that the goal is for prospective authors to have a connection with the brand already. “We want the right fit to make it uniquely Lego,” she said. “When we spoke to Jeffrey, it was clear that he was a fan. He really got it and already had ideas bubbling.”

The first Lego chapter books are also scheduled for November, starting with two titles each in two series: Lego Ninjago Riyu the Dragon and Lego Ninjago Riyu the Dragon: Ninja in Training, both illustrated by Sam Filstrup, and Lego City Game On: Donut Dash! and Lego City Game On: Duck Race!, illustrated by James Lancett. “Kids’ Lego journey and their reading journey both begin around age five to seven, so we’re excited about bringing Lego Friends and Lego City into chapter books,” Regan said.

Leveled readers will also be part of the program, starting with Lego Friends and Lego Ninjago titles in 2026, and an announcement about a new Lego picture book will be forthcoming soon. Select YA titles may be added to the program in the future, but nothing is planned to date. While the list will focus at first on the Lego brand and Lego’s proprietary IPs (Lego Friends, Lego City, and Lego Ninjago), there is also potential for books tied to some of Lego’s many co-branded properties, which include Lego Batman, Lego Star Wars, and Lego Disney Princess, going forward. These have played a significant role in DK’s Lego nonfiction list over the years.

All of the titles in the Lego Fiction program will capture the toy brand’s positioning. “It will be a playful reading experience throughout, full of creativity, imagination, playfulness, and inspiration to build,” Regan said.

Lego Fiction titles will be available globally through DK and its international publishing partners.