On Wednesday, a federal appeals court returned to Penguin Group the rights to publish ten of John Steinbeck's works, overturning a 2006 decision that granted rights to the late author's son and granddaughter. The U.S. Court of Appeals in New York made the decision to uphold a 1993 contract made between Penguin and Steinbeck's widow, Elaine, which would allow the publisher to release Cup of Gold (1929), The Pastures of Heaven (1932), To a God Unknown (1933), In Dubious Battle (1936), The Red Pony (1937), Tortilla Flat (1937), both the novel and the play Of Mice and Men (1937), The Long Valley (1938), and The Grapes of Wrath (1939).
Despite the 1993 agreement, three years after Elaine's death in 2003, a court granted Steinbeck's son, Thomas, and granddaughter, Blake Smyle, rights to terminate the author's 1938 contract with Penguin, citing a copyright law that would allow them, as Steinbeck's heirs, sway in contract renegotions. The appeals court dismissed that ruling, stating that the earlier contract was already terminated by the 1993 agreement, and reverted rights back to Penguin.
"As John Steinbeck’s publisher for over sixty years, we are tremendously gratified by the Second Circuit’s decision," Penguin said in a statement to Publishers Weekly. "We look forward to continuing to work with all the people involved who share Steinbeck’s distinguished legacy and to further expanding the audience for Steinbeck’s seminal works.”
