On the Books: In-depth Joan Rivers bio announced

Today Little, Brown and Co. publisher Reagan Arthur announced in a press release that it has inked a deal with Vanity Fair veteran Leslie Bennetts for a tell-all biography of the late entertainment icon Joan Rivers. JOAN RIVERS: A Life, set for publication in 2016,“will be the definitive book about Rivers’s tumultuous, victorious, tragic, glamorous, and fascinating life.”

Bennetts is best known for her in-depth profiles of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities from Brad Pitt to Meryl Streep—as well as being “the only reporter ever to evoke tears from Hilary Clinton in an interview.”

The publishing deal, a collaboration between Little, Brown Editor in Chief Judy Clain and Kuhn Projects’ David Kuhn, will also make the book available in ebook format and as an audio book from Hachette Audio.

“Rivers’ career was also enormously significant in American cultural history, breaking down barriers for women in television and comedy and continually redefining the acceptable boundaries of truth-telling for women in public life,” Bennett said. “It’s hard to imagine a more compelling subject for a book—or one that would be more fun.”

The University of Exeter is commemorating the 60th anniversary of the day William Golding’s Lord of the Flies was first published by sharing a handwritten draft of the influential classic with the public. Judy Carver, Golding’s daughter, is loaning the draft of this syllabus staple, and others from the author’s archive, to Exeter on a long-term basis so that scholars, students, and Golding fans everywhere can see into the early stages of a masterpiece in the making. While Carver is adamant that her dad’s work remains well preserved, “we also believe that it’s time for readers to see something of the process that produced these works.” [The Guardian]

Over 50 of Ireland’s finest cake makers will celebrate Roald Dahl day this Saturday, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with artistic confections inspired by the beloved author’s classic children’s books. The cakes include a giant blueberry Violet (the girl who was too greedy for her own good), one of the bald baddies from The Witches,and a life-size Willy Wonka himself. You can see the rest of the creations in a gallery from The Telegraph.

Skinner Inc. will auction off a valuable collection of previously undiscovered letters by iconic Beat writer Jack Kerouac. The pieces—17 letters, two postcards, and seven damaged fragments of letters—will be sold separately, at an estimated $2,000 to $5,000 apiece. [The Los Angeles Times]

Author Stephen King will hit the road Nov. 11 for a book tour to promote his new novel Revival, with stops in New York, Washington D.C., Kansas City, Wichita, Austin, and South Portland. [Mediabistro]