After years spent published by New York houses, the distinctly Southern flavor of humorist Lewis Grizzard’s books has come home to the South. In the article “NewSouth Reissues Southern Humorist’s Oeuvre,” Publishers Weekly‘s Marc Schultz spotlights the unique connection between Grizzard and NewSouth, which has joined with the Grizzard estate to bring all the writer’s books back to print.
Despite Lewis Grizzard’s status as a perennial bestseller, many of his books had been out of print for decades. As the Publishers Weekly article relates, Grizzard’s widow Dedra had promised Grizzard she’d “keep his work alive,” but had yet to find the right publisher. A friend directed her to NewSouth Books.
“I spent a lot of time looking for publishers,” Dedra told Publishers Weekly. “They either did not get Lewis, his works, or Southern heritage and traditions, or they were too small to market it, or they wanted to hold the rights.” After she spoke with NewSouth, Dedra said, “I literally felt at home. I had found what I was looking for: they published good books with a dedicated staff committed to excellence.” NewSouth publisher Suzanne La Rosa explained that “we were immediately interested because [Grizzard’s voice] is a unique expression of a particular aspect of southern culture, and his popularity is clearly ongoing.”
NewSouth’s bringing something new to the deal, too. In addition to returning to print Grizzard’s They Tore Out My Heart and Stomped That Sucker Flat and Elvis is Dead and I Don’t Feel So Good Myself (with If I Ever Get Back to Georgia and Daddy Was a Pistol and I’m a Son of a Gun coming next), NewSouth is also releasing these titles for the first time as ebooks. The books are available in all the major ebook formats, often before the print books are available, as part of NewSouth’s commitment to make all of our titles available to the widest audience possible and across all reading platforms. Already the Grizzard ebooks are some of our bestselling digital titles.
Dedra recalled that when Grizzard “worked with his New York publishers and he faced countless nightmares. But [La Rosa] gets it! I really could not be happier.”
Read the full article at the Publishers Weekly website, and learn more about Lewis Grizzard’s works at the official website, lewisgrizzard.com, or at the official Lewis Grizzard Facebook Page.
They Tore Out My Heart and Stomped That Sucker Flat and Elvis is Dead and I Don’t Feel So Good Myself are available in print and ebook formats from NewSouth Books or your favorite book or ebook retailer.