Jean M. Auel's sixth and final "Earth’s Children" title set for 2011 release

Jean M. Auel is set to release the sixth and final book in her internationally best-selling Earth's Children series, according to a May 27 announcement at BookExpo America in New York.
The Land of Painted Caves will be published worldwide on March 29, 2011.

Auel's Earth's Children books, which tell a Paleolithic-era family saga, began with 1980's The Clan of the Cave Bear and continue with The Valley of Horses (1982); The Mammoth Hunters (1985), which was the first hardcover novel to get a print run of one million copies; The Plains of Passage (1990); and The Shelters of Stone (2002), which debuted at #1 on 16 international bestseller lists. The books have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide.

The Land of Painted Caves will reportedly continue the story of main character Ayla, her mate Jondalar, and their young daughter, Jonayla, as Ayla trains to become a Zelandoni - a spiritual leader and healer in the family's Ninth Cave community. The book will be published simultaneously in print and electronic editions in the US, the UK, Germany, France, Holland, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Croatia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Japan.

E-book versions of Auel's previous five titles will be released in advance of the Painted Caves release date.