EL James to Release New Version of ‘Fifty Shades’ From Christian Grey’s Point of View

Mr. Grey will tell you his story now.

Fifty Shades author EL James announced Monday that she will release a new version of Fifty Shades of Grey, written from Christian’s point of view. The book, titled Grey, will be published on June 18, Christian’s birthday.

The best-selling author says on the opening page of the new book that the work is a response to readers’ requests for a tale told from his perspective.

“This book is dedicated to those readers who asked…and asked… and asked… and asked for this,” she writes. James broke the news on social media Monday morning, releasing the below cover image of the new book.

 

Hello all. For those of you who have asked, Christian’s POV of #FSOG is published on 18th June for his birthday. It’s called GREY… I hope you enjoy it. #FiftyShades #Grey

A photo posted by E L James (@erikaljames) on Jun 1, 2015 at 5:00am PDT

James added of her decision to tell the story from Christian’s perspective, “Christian is a complex character, and readers have always been fascinated by his desires and motivations and his troubled past. Also, as anyone who has ever been in a relationship knows, there are two sides to every story. It’s been a great pleasure to return to my happy place — writing, being with Christian and Ana in their universe, and working with the fantastic team at Vintage.”

Grey will be published in paperback and as an eBook by Vintage Books, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House.

Vintage Books publisher and James’ editor Anne Messitte said, “Fifty Shades of Grey is a love story that has enthralled readers in a way that few books have, and when Erika mentioned to me that she wanted to explore Christian’s viewpoint and re-open the story, I was incredibly excited for her and for her readers. This book has all the compelling attributes of its predecessors, and I can’t wait for Fifty Shades fans to experience the work again from a perspective they have long desired.”

Knopf Doubleday president Tony Chirico added, “Given the secrecy and immediacy of the publication, we’ve worked hard to ensure that the book will be well represented in the retail marketplace on June 18.”

The Fifty Shades trilogy has sold more than 125 million copies worldwide and spawned a hit movie from Universal Pictures starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson. The sequel, Fifty Shades Darker, is set to be released in 2017.