Lawrence Block Papers

Lawrence Block (born June 24, 1938) is an author of fiction primarily known for his Crime novels, in particular the Matthew Scudder series and the Bernie Rhodenbarr series. Block initially published pulp and erotic fiction novels under a series of pseudonyms before publishing crime fiction under his own name. A list of his pseudonyms, as complete as possible, is found in the Biographical Series. This collection covers the span of Lawrence Block’s publishing career and includes both handwritten and typescript drafts of his manuscripts. The collection has been organized according to the type of material contained within the series. Wherever possible, Block’s original folder titles from his files have been maintained. Oversize materials have been stored following the same order as the rest of the collection. Of particular interest in the collection, beyond Block’s own work, are items that include an edited and notated typescript of The Big Kill by Mickey Spillane, a photocopy of Charles Willeford’s unpublished final novel Grimhaven, responses to a survey of writing techniques sent to the members of the Mystery Writers of America (notable respondents include Isaac Asimov, Mary Higgins Clark, Clive Cussler, and Tony Hillerman), and Block’s correspondence with fellow authors.