Speaking in an Empty Room: The Selected Letters of John Sanford
Introduction and edited by Dan Giancola
Afterword by Jack Mearns
January 4, 2021
ISBN 9780578774725 / Paperback / 390 pages / $18.99

This selection, drawn from more than seventy years of correspondence, illuminates John Sanford's writing life and the fierce ambition that sustained it. The letters trace his experiences in Europe during the Great Depression, his work as a screenwriter in Hollywood's Golden Age, including collaborations with Frank Capra on World War II propaganda films, and his struggles after being blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee. They also document the long, difficult process of finding publishers for his twenty-four books.

Taken together, the letters stand as a testament to perseverance and integrity. They reveal a writer unwilling to compromise his sui generis vision, even when pressured to do so, and offer an intimate portrait of a literary life lived in principled resistance.