Two publishers share the bittersweet satisfaction of debuting the works of two writers who, had they not died in their prime, seemed headed toward successful writing careers. Next month Random House is publishing a collection of short stories, I Cannot Tell a Lie, Exactly by Mary Ladd Gavell, a 47-year-old Texas native who died of cancer in 1967; and, in October, the Berkley Publishing Group, will publish a quirky novel titled Hook Man Speaks, by Matt Clark, who died of cancer at the age of 31 in 1998.
When IMG agent David McCormick discovered one of Gavell's stories in John Updike's Best Short Stories of the Century, he tracked down the author's husband and was sent a drawerful of unpublished short stories.
"He just knew I would respond to the material," said Random senior editor Lee Boudreaux. "Mary Ladd Gavell was born in this tiny town in Texas in 1919 and grew up when people walked five miles to school and still rode horses as a matter of course. Some of the stories take place in this very rural Texas girlhood; some take place when the narrator is a young wife or a young mother. It's sort of amazing, given the fact that they were written in the 1950s and '60s, that the themes are absolutely timeless. They are the kinds of stories where you read one and then you just sit in your chair and look out the window for 10 minutes, letting it all sink in before you can even go on to read the next one."
Boudreaux noted that the poignant circumstances of the author's untimely death—she had two young children—as well as the incredible talent she had already displayed, gives people at Random House a proprietary feeling about Gavell's work. "I think everybody feels that we have a tremendous opportunity to get this writing out there, almost sort of like righting a wrong," she told PW. "This should have happened 30 years ago. It's a shame Gavell didn't have the chance to publish the stories on her own and receive the literary recognition and accolades herself."
Similarly, Susan Allison, associate editorial director of the Berkley, feels a connection to Clark, the author of Hook Man Speaks. "The main character," Allison explained, "is the Hook Man, from the urban legend where a boy and girl, parked in a deserted lane hear a noise in the dark. They drive away quickly and when they return to safety, there's a hook on the outside door handle. In this book, the narrator is the Hook Man and there are other urban legends in it, too."
Clark's life was tragically cut short after a four-month bout with colon cancer. As the coordinator of Louisiana State University's Creative Writing Program, he was a beloved teacher and colleague, and also an accomplished short-story writer. The book took a circuitous route to Berkley's Signature imprint. Clark's friend, Yellow Jack author Josh Russell personally pushed the manuscript. Then the agent, John Hodgman of Writers House, left the business. Editor Bret Witter bought the book for Avon. Then Avon was bought by Harper. Witter joined Berkley and when Harper released the rights to Hook Man, Witter picked it up again. And when Witter left the business the project went to Susan Allison who had encouraged Witter to buy the manuscript.
Asked what it's like to posthumously publish the work of such a gifted young author, Allison replied, "It's a very particular feeling to be bringing this book out when you know it's going to be the only one. It's also a great privilege and responsibility because you feel you hold Matt's best legacy in your hands. Here's someone who obviously had a great talent and, if the world were a fairer place, he would have gone on to write many, many books."
