Phil and Sundance: An unpublished novella

[mae]

http://charnelhousesk.com/
http://www.liljas-library.com/article.php?id=3566

MAJOR UNPUBLISHED WORK NEWS! Recently, news of a previously unheard-of Stephen King work leaked to the internet. King experts didn't know about it. I didn't know about it. The only people who knew about it were Stephen King and the person for whom he wrote it (more details as I get them).

The work is called "Phil & Sundance", an unfinished 80-page novella Stephen King wrote in 1987. Numerous sources have checked and it is, indeed, a legitimate Stephen King piece of fiction. French website Club Stephen King posted a scan of the very first page, with a note from King on it, indicating that it might be a piece intended for young people. You'll see that page to the right (click on it to read it more clearly).

Right now, no one knows what the plans are for "Phil & Sundance." Will King finish it and publish it? Will he post the unfinished work to his site, a la The Cannibals? Will it remain unfinished and unpublished, like "Comb Dump"? No one knows. In any event, this is one of the most exciting Stephen King finds in the last decade, and you can expect the Stephen King community to be abuzz about it for awhile. As of right now, books by Justin Brooks (Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography) and Rocky Wood (Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished) are delightfully out-of-date.

[ELazansky]

I think was recently purchased by Cemetery Dance if I remember correctly - they traded the owner a signed book for it.

[biomieg]

There was a lengthy discussion of this topic in The Corner some time ago.

[mae]

There was a lengthy discussion of this topic in The Corner some time ago.

Really? This sort of thing really should be in The Oracle. I only just now found out via Lilja.

[ELazansky]

It was in the Corner because the original owner was trying to sell it. But then CD stepped in and they now own it.

[biomieg]

Yes, it started out as a discussion on the legitimacy of the manuscript.

[mae]

Sounds like this has a fascinating history. I'm researching the thread now :)

Here's one of the more pertinent posts:

Hey guys!

I can confirm a couple of things:

1) We spoke with the seller on the phone and he seems like a very genuine guy and very sincere.

2) I was able to confirm, through other sources, certain details that he had posted publicly and emailed privately.

3) We did trade a book for the manuscript.

4) This is the first 80 or so pages of an unfinished dark novel meant for kids.

5) No one could publish the manuscript without securing a deal with King, no matter who was holding the actual manuscript. The copyright still remains his.

6) We will not be making copies or trading the manuscript out of respect for King's copyright.

7) We have no idea what happens next. Who knows, maybe when King reads it again he'll be sparked to finish the story. Or maybe not. Like Bob said, I suspect there are many of these unfinished stories in King's personal collection that we've never even heard of. We'll have to see what he says when he sees it again. For all I know, this might be the last we hear of the book. Hard to say.

8) I will post whatever details I can after the manuscript arrives.

Brian

[mae]

And the story originates from here: http://www.stephenkingcollector.com/...php?f=7&t=1055

[ChristineB]

I agree that the news story about it belongs here, but while we were discussing it in the corner there was no real news type stuff to post in the oracle.
Thanks for putting it here Pablo.

[Mr. Rabbit Trick]

There was a lengthy discussion of this topic in The Corner some time ago.

Really? This sort of thing really should be in The Oracle. I only just now found out via Lilja.

YOU are the Oracle pablo. Without you, we know nothing.

[mae]

There was a lengthy discussion of this topic in The Corner some time ago.

Really? This sort of thing really should be in The Oracle. I only just now found out via Lilja.

YOU are the Oracle pablo. Without you, we know nothing.

Unfortunately I only discovered this a month after the fact. I would think a hitherto unknown King story would be making huge waves.

[CyberGhostface]

I like the idea of King writing another book for kids. Hope he finishes it again someday.

[Ari_Racing]

Did anyone got more than one page? Because the seller provided other pages if requested.

[mae]

Hopefully King gives Cemetery Dance the okay to publish this.

[ChristineB]

It's an unfinished manuscript, now that he doesn't have it in his possetion I don't see how he would finish it. I don't see the point in CD publishing an unfinished piece unless it was with other unfinished pieces. Not that collector's wouldn't buy it at rediculous prices as evidence lately.

[mae]

Seems like there's another copy of the novella at King's office, according to Ms. Mod over at the official forums. But I wouldn't mind reading an unfinished piece; I really enjoyed The Cannibals.

[jhanic]

And don't forget The Plant--Zenith Rising!

John

[mae]

Now that "After the Play" has been discovered and will be published soon, I wonder what the status of this novella is. Hopefully the plan is to publish it somehow, especially now that there is no upcoming King book announced or hinted at as of yet (other than the collaboration with Own King).

[herbertwest]

I would tend to think that this is a different 'story' here.
CD was already publishing SHINING, and it brings additional content to their limited edition.

Phil and Sundance, if i remember correctly, is an incomplete short story. In itself, there is unfortunately no real reason in itself why it would get published. I say that, but I would obviously love to read it!

[skyofcrack]

This could be published as part of extra material in the upcoming Night Shift CD set.

[NoAttitudeThisTime]

Phil and Sundance was a dark novel for kids and incomplete, so unless King finishes it, which is very unlikely, we will not see any of it. But again, that depends on CD since they bought the material when it was rediscovered. I wonder what they will do with it, if anything

[herbertwest]

This could be published as part of extra material in the upcoming Night Shift CD set.

Why Night Shift?

[Ari_Racing]

It also depends on if King wants it published or not. I don't think he'd allow an incomplete piece to be published.

It happened with The Plant, I know...