In a deal cut by Robert B. Parker's estate, Penguin's Putnam imprint will continue to publish two of the author's most popular series -- Spenser and Jesse Stone -- under the authorship of writers Michael Brandman and Ace Atkins. The Spenser series debuted in 1974 and is made up of 39 novels; the Jesse Stone series began in 1997 and is comprised of nine novels.
Brandman produced (and wrote the screenplays) for the TV movies based on Parker's small-town Massachusetts detective, Jesse Stone, that appeared on CBS and starred Tom Selleck in the title role. The first Jesse Stone novel Brandman will release is Robert B. Parker’s Killing the Blues, which is scheduled for September 13, 2011. Atkins, a tested crime author at Putnam with books like White Sahdow and Infamous to his credit, will release the first new Parker-branded Spenser novel in Spring 2012. Parker's longtime editor, Chris Pepe, will be overseeing both projects.
Parker, who wrote over 60 novels, died in January, 2010.
