The Walking Dead comic book series will become a trilogy of novels, reports Deadline.

Writer Robert Kirkman and artists Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard created the bestselling comic series about a group of people who try to survive a zombie apocalypse. It has recently been adapted for television by writer/producer/director Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Mist).

The book trilogy will be published by Thomas Dunne books, an imprint of St. Martins Press, from 2011. Kirkman will conceptualise and outline the books before horror novelist Jay Bonansinga (Perfect Victim) develops them. The plots will take place in The Walking Dead universe that Kirkman has established in his comic book series.

The Walking Dead TV series will debut in the US on AMC on October 31 at 10pm. It will premiere in the UK on FX on November 5.