The cult classic television series Twin Peaks has spawned several successful books and audio books due to its popularity. In 1990 and 1991, Pocket Books released three official tie-in books, each authored by the show's creators (or their family) which offer a wealth of backstory. More official tie-in books would be released in 2016 and 2017, written by Mark Frost.
There are six novels based on Twin Peaks which have been released in book and/or audio book format and are written by authors involved with the series. These books are intended to be canon to the franchise and expand upon the storylines portrayed in the series and film; they do contain some continuity errors and contradictions, however - some of which may be intentional.
| Title | Author(s) | Released | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer | Jennifer Lynch | September 15, 1990 | ISBN 978-0-671-73590-6 |
| The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer is the first spin-off novel based on the television series Twin Peaks. The book was written by Jennifer Lynch (daughter of series co-creator David Lynch)[1] and was published between the airing of the first and second season. The fictional diary is "As seen by Jennifer Lynch," and written in a matter-of-fact tone[2] from the point of view of Laura Palmer: a small-town teenager —a "good girl gone bad"[3]— who is abused and terrorized by the demonic entity BOB.[4] The book begins on Laura's 12th birthday in 1984,[3] and steadily matures in writing style and vocabulary.[5] It recounts standard teenage concerns of her first period, her first kiss, and her relationship with her parents, alongside experiences of sexual abuse, promiscuity, cocaine addiction, and her obsession with death.[2][4] Laura's poetry foreshadows her murder.[6] Her slow realisation of BOB's identity is described, although pages are 'missing' from the end of the diary, which ends with an undated entry in late 1989,[3] leaving the reader unable to reach a firm conclusion.[4] Lynch said that "the careful reader will know the clues and who the killer is." The book reached number four on The New York Times paperback fiction best seller list in October 1990.[7] | |||
| "Diane..." The Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper | Scott Frost | October 1, 1990 | ISBN 978-0-671-73573-9 |
| "Diane..." The Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper is an audio-only release written by Scott Frost (and interspersed with clips from the series).[8] Originally released on cassette by Simon & Schuster Audio, the tape consists of newly recorded Cooper messages to his never-seen assistant, Diane, mixed in with monologues from the original broadcasts. The tape begins with a prologue monologue in which Cooper discusses his impending trip to Twin Peaks, continues with the initial monologue heard in the pilot, and continues to a point after his recovery from being shot. Kyle MacLachlan was nominated for a Grammy Award for best spoken-word performance for his work on the tape. | |||
| The Autobiography of F.B.I. Special Agent Dale Cooper: My Life, My Tapes | Scott Frost | May 1, 1991 | ISBN 978-0-330-27280-3 |
| The Autobiography of F.B.I. Special Agent Dale Cooper: My Life, My Tapes is the second spin-off novel based on Twin Peaks. It was written by Scott Frost (brother of series co-creator Mark Frost) and consists of a collection of transcripts from Agent Dale Cooper's audio tapes. The book begins with Cooper's childhood, including his upbringing in Philadelphia, family, and eventually education at Quaker institutions Germantown Friends School and Haverford College. It also explains his first stumbles with love, obsession with the FBI, and the relationship between him, Windom Earle, and Earle's wife, Caroline. The book ultimately concludes with the day he is assigned to Laura Palmer's murder. Many of these tape transcripts are dictated to "Diane," though a later tape states that Cooper enjoys the thought of Diane listening to his tapes so much that he will address all tapes to her whether she'll hear them all or not. | |||
| Welcome to Twin Peaks: An Access Guide to the Town | David Lynch, Mark Frost, Richard Saul Wurman | June 1, 1991 | ISBN 978-0-671-74399-4 |
| Twin Peaks: An Access Guide to the Town is the third spin-off novel based on Twin Peaks. The book is a parody of a traveler's guide book, as published by the "Twin Peaks Chamber of Commerce," and is illustrated with photographs, line drawings, and color maps. Inside, fans can find anything from a history of the Native Americans around the area, to the history of the Packard Sawmill, to a list of specials at the Double-R Diner. A character synopses is also included in the guide. | |||
| The Secret History of Twin Peaks | Mark Frost | October 18, 2016 | ISBN 978-1-250-07558-1 |
| A dossier-style novel written by series co-creator Mark Frost, "places the unexplained phenomena that unfolded in Twin Peaks in a layered, wide-ranging history, beginning with the journals of Lewis and Clark and ending with the shocking events that closed the finale."[9] Structured as a secret dossier. Assembled by a mysterious “archivist” and annotated by FBI agent Tammy Preston, known throughout the book as TP, this enigmatic collection includes undiscovered Lewis and Clark diary entries, UFO sightings, and personal journals of Twin Peaks residents, some of which answer unresolved plotlines from the show's second season. Released October 18, 2016 on Audio & Book format.[10] | |||
| Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier | Mark Frost | October 31, 2017 | ISBN 978-1-250-16330-1 |
| A follow-up to The Secret History of Twin Peaks, titled The Final Dossier and written by Mark Frost. The novel fills in details of the 25 years between the second and third seasons, and expands on some of the mysteries raised in the new episodes.[11] | |||
Below is a partial list of books relating to Twin Peaks by authors not involved with the franchise. These are not considered canon or part of the franchise.