Diana Gabaldon explains the date mixup for Outlander Book 9

Outlander fans were excited and then disappointed by the potential Outlander Book 9 date. Diana Gabaldon has shared how and why the mixup happened.

When Amazon UK (and a few other sites in Europe) shared a release date for Outlander Book 9, fans were excited. But the disappointment quickly set in as it was clear this wasn’t a confirmed release date. In fact, the dates (and cover image) were quickly removed. Now Diana Gabaldon has shared how and why the mixup happened.

No, the date is not right. Outlander Book 9, titled “Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone,” is not heading to shelves in October 2020. At least, that’s not official just yet. There is no official date, as Gabaldon reconfirmed. Random House isn’t going to set a date until the full manuscript is ready, and that’s not quite the case just yet.

So, how did it all happen? We can blame some preempting of when a date would be released. According to Gabaldon, it was a little like scheduling a tweet or a Facebook post to go live at a later time. Some of the Amazon sites had a listing set to go live with a few place markers and that was never turned off.

It was only once the listing was shared that people realized there was a problem. And Gabaldon quickly received apologies from the sources, especially as there were a lot of confused and disappointed fans.

And if you didn’t like the cover image that came up, don’t worry! That’s not the cover for Outlander Book 9. It’s one that was sent to Diana Gabaldon at one point and she didn’t like it, so that’s not going to be used. I can’t wait to see the real artwork!

So, we’re back to the waiting game. Let’s not rush to share excitement of a date until it’s officially released by either Random House or Diana Gabaldon.

What do you hope to learn in Outlander Book 9? Which has been your favorite book in the series so far? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Outlander Book 9 will likely be released sometime in 2020.