 "The QI Book of the Dead" was first published by Faber and Faber in hardback on 5 November 2009.The idea of the book originated before the television series "QI" was broadcast.Mitchinson wrote in an article for the "Daily Telegraph" newspaper that, "It first appeared on one of our "how to make life more interesting" lists at a time when Stephen Fry's erudite put-downs and the anteater impressions of Alan Davies weren't even gleams in Lloyd's eye."