Publishers Weekly

"Rights Alert"

March 28, 2003

Hackman, Fellow Scribe, Doing New Novel for SMP

Hollywood actor Gene Hackman, who made his debut as a novelist (with longtime friend Daniel Lenihan) with a maritime thriller called "The Wake of the Perdido Star" for Newmarket three years ago, is returning to the bookstores, courtesy of St Martin's editor-in-chief George Witte.

Witte bought the pair's new project, a noir tale of race and murder in the 1920s Midwest called "Vermillion," from agent Noah Lukeman, and plans to publish in 2004. It's about two men, one white, one black, who are separately wrongly accused of a crime, and of their mutual effort to find justice.

Hackman has promised to be fully involved in promoting the book, as he was with "Perdido," Witte said.