A Dark Day in the World of Literature: Bestselling author E. Lynn Harris passes away

Donna Deloney (I should call her, "the AP") informed me of this breaking story:

"A Random House executive has confirmed to The BV Newswire that best-selling author E. Lynn Harris has died.Harris was 53. He was currently on a book tour of the West Coast promoting his 11th novel 'Basketball Jones,' which involved an NBA player and his gay lover.A cheerleading sponsor/coach for Arkansas and a passionate Razorbacks fan, Harris' books dealt with black, gay culture. Most recently, he served as served as a visiting professor for the English department at the University of Arkansas."

This story is still unfolding, but there is word of an unspecified "health event" that led to Mr. Harris' death.

What a shocker. My sincere condolences to his friends and family.

3 comments:

PatriciaW said...

I knew you'd pick this one up. I just finished reading the news report, and an interview he'd done last year for the Arkansas Sports 360. I've never read his work, but I hate to see anyone die so young.

shelia said...

I was shocked too to learn of his death. It's just another reminder of how short life really is.

bettye griffin said...

Patricia, I read his earlier work and remember saying, This man can write. His work and style was a few cuts above much of the other material I was reading at the time.

Shelia, life truly is short.

Thanks for commenting!