With a view to ensuring the international renown and continuity of the work he created with his friend René Goscinny, Albert Uderzo has entrusted the future of Asterix to the Hachette Livre group. He is currently working on a new album of short stories, to be published in October 2009!

Albert Uderzo finally decided on 12 December 2008 to entrust Asterix's future to Hachette Livre, "a great publisher, financially stable, and capable of guaranteeing Asterix international renown and continuity." This move was also approved by Anne Goscinny, René Goscinny's daughter, who considers that this was "the best way to guarantee the work's continuity".
Isabelle Magnac, Executive Director of Livres Illustrés at Hachette Livre as well as manager of Les Editions Albert René, confirms that Hachette is extremely proud to have been chosen by Albert Uderzo and Anne Goscinny. Her hopes for the upcoming years should thrill Asterix fans: to have at least one, if not more, new albums signed by Albert Uderzo!
Albert Uderzo tells how, at the death of his friend René Goscinny, a reader had written him to say that he didn't have the right to abandon Asterix or the millions of faithful readers. A message that he has not forgotten more than thirty years later, since it has also ensured that the characters he had created with René Goscinny would survive their creators.
Fortunately, even though Albert Uderzo is prudent about the future, he has not decided to put away his crayons! On the contrary. He now intends to devote all his time to producing Asterix albums and is teeming with ideas and projects for his heroes.
He is therefore working on a brand new album of short stories, to be published on 22 October as part of the celebrations commemorating the fifty years since Asterix was first created in the pages of the Pilote magazine on 29 October 1959. And that's not all. Albert Uderzo continues to surprise us - he also confided that he has an idea for a 44 pages new Asterix story! Looks like Obelix was not the only one to have fallen into the magic potion.... But this time, it's millions of readers who will reap the benefits!