D&D BREAKING: Dragonlance Creators Sue WotC Over Breach Of Contract
Dragonlance creators Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman are suing WotC over an alleged breach of contract surrounding a canceled three book-deal.
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have filed suit against Wizards of the Coast, over a sudden cancellation of a trilogy of new Dragonlance publications.
According to the lawsuit, filed in Seattle’s District Court, Weis and Hickman approached WotC back in 2017 with a proposal for a new trilogy of Dragonlance books to add a capstone to the whole series. Eventually a licensing deal was struck and Weis and Hickman had finished the first novel in the series, when, as the lawsuit alleges, Wizards of the Coast canceled the deal without warning and in “stunning and brazen bad faith.”
WotC pulled the plug in August, this year, and Weis and Hickman’s suit points to the many controversies that have been plaguing Wizards of the Coast over the last few months:
…at nearly the exact point in time of the termination, Defendant was embroiled in a series of embarrassing public disputes whereby its non-Dragonlance publications were excoriated for racism and sexism. Moreover, the company itself was vilified by well-publicized allegations of misogyny and racist hiring and employment practices by and with respect to artists and employees unrelated to Dragonlance. Plaintiff-Creators are informed and believe, and based thereon allege, that a decision was made jointly by Defendant and its parent company, Hasbro, Inc., to deflect any possible criticism or further public outcry regarding Defendant’s other properties by effectively killing the Dragonlance deal
In particular the lawsuite cites the controversy around Nic Kelman, whose book Girls: A Paean, has drawn repeated fire and debates around sexism, misogyny, and possible pedophilia–who in June of 2020. replaced the female editorial team assigned to the planned novels, becoming a major part of the Editorial/Oversight team on the books.
Weis and Hickman are claiming $10 million in damages, and have requested a jury trial. You can read the full filing here, as initially reported by Cecilia D’Anastasio.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on the story and updating as it develops.
