Still in session after two decades, Shannon Hale’s Princess Academy will have an updated look next year when Bloomsbury releases a 20th-anniversary edition of this 2006 Newbery Honor book on July 1. The new limited-edition printing, whose cover is revealed here, will feature designed edges and includes a commemorative letter from Hale. The novel’s new cover art was created by Dung Ho, an illustrator and picture book author based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Princess Academy will debut in another format in April 2026 with Bloomsbury’s release of a graphic novel edition of the novel, adapted by Hale and illustrated by Victoria Ying. A sample interior spread is shown here for the first time.

Hale followed up Princess Academy with Palace of Stone in 2012 and The Forgotten Sisters in 2015 to create a trilogy that has sold more than one million copies. The story arc follows Miri, whose life on a quiet mountaintop is disrupted when she is thrust into a contest to become the next princess of the realm—which entails attending the new academy founded to teach aspiring princesses the art of the royal role. Repackaged editions of the second and third Princess Academy novels, also featuring new cover art by Ho, are due in August 2025.

Sharing a Personal Note

In her letter to readers in the anniversary edition of Princess Academy, Hale mentions the seminal role that this novel played in her career. She recalls that her difficulty finding “the core of the story” almost led her to abandon the novel, but she persevered. “I think this struggle with Princess Academy is what really made me a novelist,” she writes. “I’m not a writer because I had that initial sparking idea, but because I didn’t give up.”

Publishing director Mary Kate Castellani, who joined Bloomsbury as an editorial assistant in 2006, underscored Princess Academy’s significance to the company. “The novel was published in only the second year of Bloomsbury’s children’s list, so for it to receive a Newbery Honor and become a modern classic was an enormous moment of success for a newly minted imprint,” she told PW. “Princess Academy is woven into the fabric—past, present, and future—of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.”

Castellani also emphasized the value of Hale’s letter to middle-grade readers who may be wrestling with their own self-doubt. “I think it will mean so much to readers to hear from an experienced, successful author that the most important thing is always to put in the work. I’m so grateful that Shannon gave us such a specific glimpse into that moment in her life that will be so relatable to anyone who dreams of being a master of any craft.”

A New Visual Dimension

The selection of Dung Ho as cover illustrator for the anniversary editions was made by creative director Donna Mark. Like Castellani, Mark is a longtime member of the Bloomsbury team, which she joined in 2005, a few months after Princess Academy was published. “It was one of the books waiting for me on my shelf at work,” she recalled. “I still have that first impression copy and I treasure it!” Mark has since worked with Hale on multiple projects, including graphic novels of Rapunzel’s Revenge and Calamity Jack, as well as the 10th-anniversary edition of Princess Academy.

Mark explained that Dung Ho “had been on my wish list of artists to work with” since seeing a picture book she illustrated, Eyes That Kiss in the Corners, written by Joanna Ho (HarperCollins, 2021). “Dung’s art style is friendly and warm while incredibly nuanced, and I had a feeling she could visually capture the essence of Miri,” Mark said. “With her cover, we have more immediacy with Miri and invite the reader to meet her even before opening the book and reading a word. There’s an openness to her gaze but also anxiousness in her expression. Miri is brave yet uncertain. Our hope is to offer the reader a chance to meet a friend.”

Meanwhile, Hale is busy creating more characters for her fans to befriend. A writer known to have multiple books underway at once, she may have reached new heights of creative multitasking.

“I now have 19 active book projects—not abandoned drafts or ideas for new books, but workable outlines, first drafts, or final draft completions,” she reported. Her oeuvre in-the-works cuts a wide swath, encompassing picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, middle grade and YA fiction, and adult titles “in many different genres.”

And the author is well attuned to her artistic muse. “In some ways, I must be getting less patient with age—I don’t want to make eager stories wait,” Hale said. “I’ve learned to write while the sentences are flowing, even if that means writing a few paragraphs in three different books in one day. I do cherish the times when I can devote a few weeks at a time to a single book. Novels especially require more extended deep thought.” Of which, evidently, Hale is very capable.

Princess Academy (Deluxe 20th Anniversary Edition) by Shannon Hale. Bloomsbury, $9.99 July 1, 2025, ISBN 978-1-547-61835-4

Princess Academy Graphic Novel by Shannon Hale, illus. by Victoria Ying. Bloomsbury, $14.99 paper Apr. 2026, ISBN 978-1-547-61202-4