Rumor had it that Conroy’s next book was coming out in the fall of 2011, but that obviously didn’t happen. I’ll post updates here as I come across them.
The Death of Santini is a memoir of how Conroy’s father changed in the years following the storm of The Great Santini.
[11/3/2013] Pat Conroy event in Chicago: November 7, 2013, 7pm, Location changed to Winnetka Congregational Church, 725 Pine Street in Winnetka. Contact The Book Stall for details.
[8/27/13] Release date is October 29, 2013. Check out the cover art.
[5/14/13] It was announced yesterday that The Death of Santini will be coming out this October. Fingers crossed! Here’s a short article and the book is listed on Doubleday’s Pat Conroy page. No cover art floating around yet.
[9/17/2012] In an interview for the Tulsa World Scene section dated 9/16/12, James D. Watts Jr. writes that Conroy was finishing up The Death of Santini last week.
[7/2/2012] Here’s a video conversation/interview with Pat Conroy and his good friend John Warley from Savannah Magazine courtesy of the Savannah Book Festival. They talk about Don Conroy, The Great Santini, in his last years. Still haven’t come across a new release date.
[4/13/2012] In an interview with The Palm Beach Post dated March 29, 2012 Conroy had this to say about The Death of Santini:
Don Conroy, The Great Santini Right now I’m writing The Death of Santini. I want to write about my father’s extraordinary change. When I wrote the novel, he hated it, and then he changed himself. And when he died, he was a good guy. He turned himself into a good man, and that amazes me. When I was growing up, I hated his guts. I hated him when I was in diapers.
And what I found in writing the book is that I have to go back to the beginning and tell the true stories about how horrible he was. Beating up my poor mother, beating me to a pulp. Great damage ensued.
And the next part is quite amazing. He died a beloved man, and I have to tell that.
[4/18/2011] I was so happy to hear that Patricia Cornwell will have another novel out in 2011 (read about it here) and today I just read that another favorite writer of mine, Pat Conroy, may also have a book out in 2011!
Pat and his wife Cassandra King, also a writer, are interviewed in the May/June edition of Writer’s Digest. Conroy says in the interview, which took place in February, that if he finishes Death of Santini by May, it should be out sometime in the fall of 2011. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Those familiar with Conroy will already know who Santini is, but if you’re not, click here to visit Conroy’s page about the book. The Great Santini is one of my favorite novels and the movie adaptation was good, too.
After Death of Santini Conroy plans to write a novel based on his experience teaching high school in Beaufort, SC for a couple years during the Vietnam era. And after that? After that Conroy plans to write a novel about Atlanta.
A novel about Atlanta from Pat Conroy? The thought gives me goosebumps!