Rob Grant returns to Red Dwarf with prequel novel Titan

The smegheads are back, and they are doing it in prose. Following years of legal deadlock that kept the Red Dwarf franchise in stasis, co-creator Rob Grant has returned to the world of mining ships and sentient vending machines.

This July, fans will finally get a new chapter in the saga with Red Dwarf: Titan, the first original novel in the series for three decades.

Back to the Beginning (Before the End)

Set as a prequel to the beloved television series, Red Dwarf: Titan takes us back to when the human race was still, technically, alive. The massive mining ship is in orbit around Saturn’s moon, Titan, and the crew is preparing for shore leave. While the rest of the ship’s compliment is preoccupied with drinking binges and “terminally-boring cultural odysseys,” two menial chicken soup machine repairmen have their own agendas.

Arnold Rimmer is on a desperate hunt for illicit tech to cheat his way into a promotion, while Dave Lister is attempting to smuggle a cat on board – a feline felony that fans know will eventually lead to the survival of the species (and the ship).

However, their petty schemes are interrupted by a cryptic message arriving from the future. The result is a high-stakes race across the seedy underbelly of Titan, threatening not just their careers, but the fabric of reality itself.

A Thirty-Year Wait

The 400-page novel, published by Gollancz, marks a significant milestone for the franchise. It has been 30 years since the last Red Dwarf prose adventure, and this new entry is the first major fruit of the 2023 resolution between creators Rob Grant and Doug Naylor.

Rob Grant, series co-creator, said in a statement:

We are hugely excited to be sharing hitherto unseen parts of the Red Dwarf universe where no chicken soup machine repairman has gone before. We’re also thrilled to be doing it at Gollancz, the premier home of Science Fiction literature and surprisingly affordable kitchenware, such as the Arthur C. Clarke inter-dimensional fish slice.”

Marcus Gipps, Editor-at-Large at Gollancz, added:

I’ve been hoping they would come up with another project, but never dreamed it would be a fully-fledged Red Dwarf novel. It was a thrill to work with them on all of these iconic characters, and there are some real surprises in store.”

Where to Buy

Red Dwarf: Titan is scheduled for release on 16 July 2026. It will be available in hardback, ebook, and audiobook formats. For those looking to secure their copy early, pre-orders are already appearing on Amazon.

The book’s cover art features a striking new variant of the classic logo, with an ellipse forming a planetary ring – a nod to the story’s Saturnian setting. Whether you are a veteran “Dwarfer” or new to the series, this prequel promises to deliver the blend of hard sci-fi and absurd comedy that defined a generation of British geek culture.