Tom Hanks fans were delighted by the news that the actor will publish a collection of short stories later this year. His debut collection, Uncommon Type, will include 17 stories, each one having something to do with a typewriter. “In the two years of working on the stories,” Hanks wrote in a statement, “I made movies in New York, Berlin, Budapest, and Atlanta and wrote in all of them. I wrote in hotels during press tours. I wrote on vacation. I wrote on planes, at home, and in the office. When I could actually make a schedule, and keep to it, I wrote in the mornings from nine to one.”
But the Bridge of Spies star isn’t the only actor with a book of fiction due out this year. Here are five other actors hoping for literary success in 2017, publishing everything from picture books and YA novels to urban fantasies and psychological thrillers.
Tom Hanks, Uncommon Type
The actor’s collection will include stories about actors, immigrants, bowlers and billionaires, each one involving a typewriter. Hanks is a vintage typewriter collector himself, with more than 100 to his name.
Krysten Ritter, Bonfire
Ritter is well versed in suspenseful plots, thanks to her roles in TV hits like Jessica Jones and Breaking Bad. Now she’s written her own psychological thriller about an environmental lawyer who returns to her hometown to investigate a suspicious plastics company—as well as a cold case involving her high school bully.
Wesley Snipes, Talon of God
The Blade actor teamed up with author Ray Norman to write this fantasy about a society possessed by demonic forces, where two heroes step forward to take up the battle of good against evil.
Chris Colfer, Stranger Than Fanfiction and The Land of Stories: Worlds Collide
You may know Colfer from his role on Glee, but he’s also one of the most successful authors for young readers publishing today. His fairy tale-inspired, best-selling middle-grade series Land of Stories will conclude in July with Worlds Collide. This month he’s also publishing a YA novel about a young actor who goes on a road trip with his fans, Stranger Than Fanfiction.
Get Stranger Than Fanfiction Feb. 28 and Worlds Collide July 11
Andrew McCarthy, Just Fly Away
The Pretty in Pink and St. Elmo’s Fire actor has had previous literary success with his 2012 travel memoir, The Longest Way Home. Now he’s publishing his debut novel, about a 15-year-old whose world is rocked when she finds out she has a secret 8-year-old half-brother.
B.J. Novak, The Alphabet Book With No Pictures
Since rising to fame on The Office, Novak has published a successful short story collection, One More Thing, and a wildly popular non-picture book, The Book With No Pictures. Now he’s following that up with The Alphabet Book With No Pictures, once again teaching kids how words can be fun.
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