A New Harper Lee Collection Is On the Way From the Legendary Author ofTo Kill a Mockingbird

Mar. 15, 2025

Harper Lee author of Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird photographed in her New York apartment, July 1960.Photo:Ben Martin/Getty

Ben Martin/Getty

Fans of legendaryTo Kill a MockingbirdauthorHarper Leehave something to look forward to in the fall.HarperCollins Publishers announced that it will release a new collection of stories and essays from Lee, who died in 2016, calledThe Land of Sweet Forever: Stories and Essays.The book will contain eight short stories Lee wrote prior to penning her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel back when she was “submitting her short fiction to journals and periodicals,” along with nonfiction pieces, which she had submitted to publications between 1961 and 2006.The typescripts for the stories were found in the award-winning author’s New York City apartment after her death, and her estate made the decision in 2024 to publish the short stories and nonfiction pieces in a collection for the public to see “for the first time.”Writer Harper Lee attends the reception prior to the Library Foundation of Los Angeles 2005 Awards Dinner honoring Harper Lee at the Richard J. Riordan Central Library on May 19, 2005 in Los Angeles, California.Stephen Shugerman/Getty“The resulting collection offers a fascinating new perspective on an iconic and unique literary mind, one of America’s most beloved authors,” a synopsis reads. “From the Alabama schoolyards of Lee’s youth and the luncheonettes and movie houses of midcentury Manhattan, to Lee’s reflections on the responsible teaching of children and a delightful account of Gregory Peck and theTo Kill A Mockingbirdfilm set,The Land of Sweet Foreverbroadens our understanding of Lee’s remarkable talent.”According to the description, the new book will “prove an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Lee’s development as a writer” in the years before she penned her iconic stories and gives some insight into her psyche on topics like “politics, equality, travel, love, fiction, art, the American South and what it means to lead an engaged and creative life.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“To Kill A Mockingbirdremains one of the most beloved novels in American literature. The discovery of these short stories, long believed to have been lost or destroyed, shows Harper Lee exploring the fictional avenues that she would eventually make her own, as well as less familiar Lee territory in Manhattan,” said Jonathan Burnham, President and Publisher of Harper, in a statement.“This is a collection that will build on Lee’s considerable legacy and deepen our appreciation of her remarkable talent,” he added.“The stories and essays collected inThe Land of Sweet Foreverring with Harper Lee’s inimitable voice, and bring us closer than ever before to the life and work of one of the twentieth century’s greatest authors,” added Michael Dean, the representative of the Lee Estate at Andrew Nurnberg Associates.Lee was born in 1926 in Monroeville, Ala. and rose to fame after publishingTo Kill a Mockingbirdin 1960. She earned a Pulitzer Prize for the novel the following year. She also publishedGo Set a Watchmanin 2015, one year before her death on Feb. 19, 2016. She has earned numerous literary awards and honors over the years, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.The Land of Sweet Forever: Stories and Essayswill hit bookshelves on Oct. 21, 2025.

Fans of legendaryTo Kill a MockingbirdauthorHarper Leehave something to look forward to in the fall.

HarperCollins Publishers announced that it will release a new collection of stories and essays from Lee, who died in 2016, calledThe Land of Sweet Forever: Stories and Essays.

The book will contain eight short stories Lee wrote prior to penning her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel back when she was “submitting her short fiction to journals and periodicals,” along with nonfiction pieces, which she had submitted to publications between 1961 and 2006.

The typescripts for the stories were found in the award-winning author’s New York City apartment after her death, and her estate made the decision in 2024 to publish the short stories and nonfiction pieces in a collection for the public to see “for the first time.”

Writer Harper Lee attends the reception prior to the Library Foundation of Los Angeles 2005 Awards Dinner honoring Harper Lee at the Richard J. Riordan Central Library on May 19, 2005 in Los Angeles, California.Stephen Shugerman/Getty

Stephen Shugerman/Getty

“The resulting collection offers a fascinating new perspective on an iconic and unique literary mind, one of America’s most beloved authors,” a synopsis reads. “From the Alabama schoolyards of Lee’s youth and the luncheonettes and movie houses of midcentury Manhattan, to Lee’s reflections on the responsible teaching of children and a delightful account of Gregory Peck and theTo Kill A Mockingbirdfilm set,The Land of Sweet Foreverbroadens our understanding of Lee’s remarkable talent.”

According to the description, the new book will “prove an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Lee’s development as a writer” in the years before she penned her iconic stories and gives some insight into her psyche on topics like “politics, equality, travel, love, fiction, art, the American South and what it means to lead an engaged and creative life.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“To Kill A Mockingbirdremains one of the most beloved novels in American literature. The discovery of these short stories, long believed to have been lost or destroyed, shows Harper Lee exploring the fictional avenues that she would eventually make her own, as well as less familiar Lee territory in Manhattan,” said Jonathan Burnham, President and Publisher of Harper, in a statement.

“This is a collection that will build on Lee’s considerable legacy and deepen our appreciation of her remarkable talent,” he added.

“The stories and essays collected inThe Land of Sweet Foreverring with Harper Lee’s inimitable voice, and bring us closer than ever before to the life and work of one of the twentieth century’s greatest authors,” added Michael Dean, the representative of the Lee Estate at Andrew Nurnberg Associates.

Lee was born in 1926 in Monroeville, Ala. and rose to fame after publishingTo Kill a Mockingbirdin 1960. She earned a Pulitzer Prize for the novel the following year. She also publishedGo Set a Watchmanin 2015, one year before her death on Feb. 19, 2016. She has earned numerous literary awards and honors over the years, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The Land of Sweet Forever: Stories and Essayswill hit bookshelves on Oct. 21, 2025.

source: people.com