Cassandra Clare Teaming Up with Holly Black for New Middle Grade Fantasy Series

Have you wondered if Cassandra Clare was ever going to venture outside of the Shadowhunter world with her writing?

Well, here’s the answer: yes.

Clare is teaming up with friend and fellow New York Times bestselling author Holly Black for a new middle grade fantasy series, which will span five books.

The first book, The Iron Trial, is due out in 2014.

And Constantin Film, who has developed The Mortal Instruments, has already nabbed the film rights.

Check out the release:

New York, NY — April 19, 2012 — Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, has acquired North American rights to a five-book middle grade fantasy series by bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare; the first full-length collaboration between the authors. The first book in the series, The Iron Tria, is planned for release in 2014. The deal was negotiated by Barry Goldblatt from Barry Goldblatt Literary (for Holly Black), Russell Galen from Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency, Inc. (for Cassandra Clare), and David Levithan, VP/Publisher and Editorial Director at Scholastic.

“Millions of readers have already been enthralled by the worlds that Ho”ly Black and Cassandra Clare have created in their own books,” said David Levithan. “Now that they’re combining forces, it’s even more magical. This series is going to be one for the ages, and I am honored and thrilled to be publishing it.”

“This project is the culmination of years of work and brainstorming with Holly,” said Cassandra Clare. “She’s someone I’ve always wanted to write with, and I can’t express how proud we are of the story we’ve created, or how excited we are to work with Scholastic and David. And we can’t wait for people to read it, of course!”

“We’re so excited to be working on this series with David Levithan and everyone at Scholastic,” added Holly Black. “From the moment it crossed his desk, he totally got it. He’s been the perfect reader for the books and we know he’s going to be the perfect editor too.”

In this exciting new series, twelve-year-old Callum Hunt has grown up knowing three rules by heart. Never trust a magician. Never pass a test a magician gives you. And never let a magician take you to the Magisterium. Callum is about to break all the rules. And when he does, his life will change in ways he can’t possibly imagine.

Are you going to check out Clare’s next series when it debuts in 2014? What do you think about the plot? Excited to see this hit the big screen? Sound off in the comments below!