Tolkien's THE CHILDREN OF HURIN to be published

By: Karl Schneider
Date: Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Source: AP

According to the Associated Press, J.R.R. Tolkien's unfinished tale THE CHILDREN OF HURIN is set to be published next spring.

The book, which has been published previously only in excerpts, has been edited by Tolkien's son into a completed story. Christopher Tolkien has spent the past 30 years working on the book, an epic tale his father began in 1918 and later abandoned. The tale includes the elves and dwarves made famous in other Tolkien works.

"It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father's long version of the legend of the 'Children of Hurin' as an independent work, between its own covers," Christopher Tolkien said.

The new book will be published by Houghton Mifflin in the United States and HarperCollins in England. The real question now becomes, will MGM and/or New Line go after the big screen rights to the film?