Frequently Asked Questions
This page was updated on 19 May 2022.
How do I get my story/novel published? Look for a market that publishes the sort of thing you like to write, get a copy of their guidelines (if they aren't online, send a SASE to the publisher and ask for them), and then send them your manuscript, making sure that it conforms to their guidelines. Some markets will not accept unagented manuscripts. We can't tell you how to find an agent; MZB had one before any of us started kindergarten. See her articles Advice to New Writers and What is a Short Story? She also recommended Writer's Digest magazine.
What is the correct order in which to read the Darkover novels? They were written to stand on their own, so it doesn't make too much difference. The order they were written in and their place in the Darkovan timeline are both given on the Bibliography page.
Is someone going to finish the Darkover and other novels in progress at the time of MZB's death? Before her death, Marion chose Deborah Ross to carry on the Darkover series. Everything listed on the Bibliography page is something we expect to be finished and published, and we shall continue to update the page as we get more information.
Is there a family tree of the Darkovan families? There was a Darkovan genealogy in the DARKOVER CONCORDANCE, a book which was first published around 1978. STORMQUEEN and all subsequent books were not included in it, and Mrs. Bradley, who was not consistent at the best of times, changed several things in it afterwards. If you tried to make up a genealogy of the families of Darkover, you would eventually run into things which are self-contradictory.
Is there a map of Darkover? The hardcover editions published by Gregg Press have maps in them, but MZB said they were not canonical. She never wanted to be pinned down to a map of Darkover; she said she never knew where she'd need to put a city. (Also, for some unknown reason, she couldn't read a map. If we needed her to be navigator while someone else drove, we had to write out turn-by-turn directions.)
Will any Darkover books be made into movies? There was a movie option for THE SPELL SWORD, back in the 1980s, but it was allowed to lapse and the movie was never made. Maybe someday a studio will be interested, but we know of no present plans.
Can I write a Darkover story? No. Darkover is the property of Marion Zimmer Bradley and her heirs, and the right to prepare a derivitiave work belongs to the copyright holder. This means that even if you don't publish it or make money from it; it's still illegal. Nobody is allowed to write a Darkover story or novel without a contract with the Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust. You may not write a Darkover story in English, French, German, or any other language. Any legitimate editor you sent it to would not publish it because that would be a violation of copyright laws and the Berne Convention. If you have an idea for a Darkover story, create a new background -- a new universe -- rename your characters, and write it so that the story is clearly NOT Darkovan.
Are MZB's books available in audio versions? Some of them are. See our Bibliography page for which formats are available for each title.
How do I find copies of MZB's books which are out of print? There are many excellent websites for finding books you can't find elsewhere. See the "Book Search Services" section of our Links page.
I want to make a movie of Mists of Avalon; how do I get permission? You can't. The film rights to MISTS were sold to James Coburn years ago and were sold again after his death. They now belong to Warner Media Discovery in perpetuity. MISTS was filmed in the Czech Republic in 2000 and first aired as a television mini-series on TNT in July 2001. The soundtrack is available on CD; the video is available in DVD and VHS formats.
Why doesn't the bibliograpy list the books MZB wrote under pen names? MZB always said that if she had wanted people to know she had written them, she would have put her name on them. The books under various pen names were written while she had small children and a sick husband to support, and at the time she wrote them they were considered pornography. Also, in at least one case, the editor added several scenes which she felt completely destroyed the character of the book.