Dr. Seuss is Back?

Two things happened last week that have me thinking about posthumous publication. First, I received a press release about a new Dr. Seuss book being released in 2026. Dr. Seuss a.k.a. Theodor Geisel died at the age of 87 in 1991. It seems the manuscript was uncovered in the archives of the University of California. Initially, I thought "Great!" because I enjoy Dr. Seuss books which often straddle the line between fun children's book and deeper meaning even adults can appreciate.

But then I was  sorting through my own archives (also known as my laptop) searching for a particular essay. During the hunt I uncovered some of my writings that were much darker than my usual style. They were more therapy than writing for publication. I considered deleting them, but couldn't quite bring myself to do it. But that doesn't mean I'll be seeking out a market for them.

Which brings us back to Dr. Seuss and his upcoming Sing the 50 United States. I think we can all agree that Dr. Seuss was a powerhouse in children's literature. So why wasn't Sing the 50 United States published during his lifetime? It isn't as if his manuscripts were languishing in some editorial assistant's slush pile. So what happened? We can spin tales of him "forgetting" about it or becoming preoccupied with other writing. But what if he just didn't like it? What if he never meant for it to be published but couldn't quite bring himself to destroy it?

Sing the 50 United States isn't the first book to be published posthumously, in fact it isn't even the first Dr. Seuss book to be published posthumously (What Pet Should I Get? was published in 2015 after being written somewhere between 1958 and 1962).

Some books were well on their way to publication when the author suddenly died and the publishing house just carried on without them (Steig Larsson and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy). But others make you wonder what the author's intentions were, most recently Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman. I don't know about you but to me it felt like a first draft that was abandoned for the major overhaul that became To Kill a  Mockingbird. But many other authors had their writing posthumously published: Agatha Christie, Ernest Hemingway, Louisa May Alcott, Ian Fleming, Jane Austen. Was that their intention or was that particular book hidden in a drawer for a reason? In some cases their work wasn't even finished and they never had the opportunity to share the meaning behind their writing. Instead experts spin their theories and best-guesses, perhaps totally misunderstanding the author's purpose.

Does the reading community's hunger for more of their writing overtake the writer's wishes? Would you want your writing published without your permission? 

And for all of our readers from the United States (and belated to those from Canada), have a Happy Thanksgiving full of friends, family, football and your favorite pie.

Jodi M. Webb writes from her home in the Pennsylvania mountains about everything from DIY projects to tea to butterflies. She'll be enjoying homemade apple pie for breakfast today.  She's also a blog tour manager for WOW-Women on Writing. In November, she's blogging about her nonfiction reads at Words by Webb.