HarperCollins US has bought a short-story collection by Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird. Entitled The Land of Sweet Forever.
The manuscript was found nearly ten years ago
after being discovered in her New York apartment upon her death.
It contains several unseen short stories from the early creative years of the legendary author of To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman. Casey Cep, Harper Lee’s authorised biographer, will write an introduction to the collection which will be published in October.
In the UK the book will be published by Hutchinson Heineman, part of Penguin Random House (PRH). The deal was negotiated by Ailah Ahmed, publishing director, via Michael Dean of Andrew Nurnberg Associates, the UK-based representatives of the Harper Lee Estate.
International interest is strong. It has been sold in Denmark to Lindhardt og Ringhof; in Germany to Penguin Verlag, an imprint of Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe; and in Italy to Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore with further territories to be confirmed.
The Land of Sweet Forever contains eight short stories written before Lee began work in earnest on the novel that would become To Kill a Mockingbird , during a period when Lee was submitting her short fiction to journals and periodicals.
The typescripts of these stories were among the papers Lee left in her New York City apartment upon her death in 2016. In 2024, her estate made the decision to publish the stories alongside eight non-fiction pieces by Lee which appeared in a range of publications between 1961 and 2006, collected together for the first time and now brought back into the public eye.
Hutchinson Heinemann said: “The resulting collection offers a fascinating new perspective on an iconic and unique literary mind, one of America’s most beloved authors. From the Alabama schoolyards of Lee’s youth to the luncheonettes and movie houses of mid-century Manhattan, from Lee’s reflections on the responsible teaching of children to a delightful account of Gregory Peck and the To Kill A Mockingbird film set, The Land of Sweet Forever broadens our understanding of Lee’s remarkable talent.”
Ahmed commented: “The stories in this collection will be loved by fans of Harper Lee. Here is her signature wit, that splash of darkness and those heartwarming characters for which she is beloved. The Land of Sweet Forever will build on Lee’s remarkable legacy and also deepens our understanding of her as an author – the pieces take us from Alabama to less familiar territory, for Lee, in Manhattan.”
