HarperCollins to Publish 15 New Stories by the Late Elmore Leonard

Posted on July 19, 2014

Good news for Elmore Leonard fans: a collection of fifteen unpublished stories of the late award-winning novelist will be published in the U.S. by HarperCollins next fall.

Leonard died last year after a 60 year career of writing crime novels which were beloved by fans around the world. Many were made into top feature films including Jackie Brown, Out of Sight, Get Shorty and 3:10 to Yuma. Leonard left behind a number of unpublished stories from very early in his career. As a young man, Leonard worked as a copywriter at a Detroit ad agency and wrote stories at night. The stories are set in locations all over the world with a varying cast of characters, some of whom appeared in his novels.

Sophie Buchan, the editor at Leonard's British publisher Weidenfeld & Nicolson, acquired the rights which will also be published in the UK. Ms. Buchan had this to say about her exciting acquisition: "I didn't think I'd ever have the chance to read original Leonard fiction again. And it's wonderful to be wrong about that." Ms. Buchan discussed how Leonard wrote dialogue like a screenwriter. You could read just a few lines and get a real sense of what the character was like. She says the stories are really good, which just shows what a brilliant writer he was even early in his career.