Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, co-authors and creators of the world of Dragonlance, have filed suit against Wizards of the Coast for unlawfully terminating their contract for a trilogy of novels to be published by Penguin Random House.The complaint, filed in Seattle, WA on Oct. 16, recounts the process the authors went through beginning in 2017, during which time they met with WotC representatives and ultimately signed a publishing deal for a new trilogy of novels that were to be the duo's "capstone to their life's work." By November 2019, the filing claims, Weis and Hickman had a deal in place with Penguin Random House and a complete manuscript of "Book 1," which bears the provisional title Dragons of Deceit.
However, by August 2020, during a meeting with WotC's "highest-level executives," the authors were told that no further drafts "or any subsequent works in the trilogy" would be approved. Further, the authors claim, "The termination was wholly arbitrary and without contractual basis," and Wizards acted "in stunning and brazen bad faith."
The authors tie the termination of their contract to events around the same time when the company was suffering from poor public relations. Over the summer, stories emerged that alleged issues in the WotC's hiring practices and other "forms of cultural insensitivity." In order to defend themselves from further criticism, the authors allege, Wizards and its parent company Hasbro killed the Dragonlance deal.
Dragonlance emerged as the most well-known of TSR's Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings in large part, the complaint alleges, because of Weis' and Hickman's Chronicles Trilogy, starting in 1984 with Dragons of Autumn Twilight.
The complaint notes that Wizards changed the editorial team for the Dragonlance trilogy in June 2020, adding Nic Kelman, whom the complaint alleges "was a controversial choice" due to questions of "misogyny and pedophilia" raised about his 2019 Girls: A Paean. After Kelman was assigned, the authors had a series of conversations surrounding "sensitivity issues" in the works in progress by Weis and Hickman, who rewrote dozens of pages to comply with Wizard's requests.
The complaint goes on to note that Wizards went behind the backs of Weis and Hickman to interfere with their relationship with Penguin Random House. The Aug. 13 meeting followed thereafter, during which Wizard's attorney Nick Mitchell argued that "We are not moving toward breach, but we will not approve any further drafts," a decision that Weis and Hickman argue effectively terminates their contract. The authors are seeking compensation for damages in "excess of $10 million."
Wizards of the Coast has not released a statement about the lawsuit.
Source: U.S District Court for the Western District of Washington, via Twitter