SIGNET (series)

SIGNET was a Doctor Who spin-off series published by Arcbeatle Press, featuring the organisation of the same name.

Premise
The series focused on SIGNET, defined in the initial press release as a "privately funded organisation fighting alien incursions and investigating the supernatural".

The series creator and range editor, James Hornby, reflected that SIGNET would differ from prior organisations of its type seen in the DWU by having a more compassionate outlook, being willing to "look out for the little guy" even if it should happen to be a stranded alien rather than a human being under attack.

Hervoken Halloween debuted the SIGNET team itself, showing it to be run by a man called Charles; the team included the Gendar "transfer student" Olivia as well as Aoife Fitzgerald, Xana and Jae-Sun. and SIGNET HQ was revealed to be located in York.

History
Prior to launching SIGNET, Arcbeatle Press had published a range of P.R.O.B.E. books, focusing on a different supernatural investigation group, P.R.O.B.E.. The range was also edited by James Hornby, and, like SIGNET, Arcbeatle's version of P.R.O.B.E. featured a Gendar team-member, Maxie. On 8 January 2022, Arcbeatle prematurely released their final P.R.O.B.E. anthology, True Origins, having terminated their working relationship with BBV Productions. The book included a cryptic solicitation for a new series, SIGNET, described as "a new series of adventures from the imagination of James Hornby".

The first two installments of the series, The Thing in the Woods and Hervoken Halloween, were released in the short story anthology Horrors of Arcbeatle on 29 October 2023; the anthology also included the debuts of three other Doctor Who spin-offs, Auteur, Coloth and Small Miracles.

On the same day, it was announced that Night of the Yssgaroth, a full-length novel and the first book in the series proper, would be released on 2 November 2023. The press release included a free PDF of Hervoken Halloween. This release proceeded on schedule.