Publication of major Hammett find celebrates 75th anniversary, made available in bookstores today San Francisco, Calif. - Sept. 1, 2005 - Dashiell Hammett, the bestselling creator of The Thin Man, Sam Spade, and The Maltese Falcon, was one of the America's best-known authors. However, many of Hammett's stories-including some of his best-have been out of the reach of anyone but a handful of scholars and collectors until today. Lost Stories, a new book published today, rescues 21 long-lost Hammett stories, all either never before collected or unavailable for decades. Fans of Hammett's famous mysteries will be surprised by the variety in Lost Stories. Stories include Hammett's first detective fiction, humorous satires, adventure yarns, a sensitive autobiographical piece, a Thin Man story told with photos, and a tale that Ellery Queen promised "is one of the most startling stories you have ever read." Stories range from the first fiction Hammett ever wrote to his very last. All stories have been restored to their original versions, replacing often-wholesale cuts with the original text for the first time. For each story, Hammett researcher Vince Emery tells how Hammett's life shaped the story and how the story affected his life. Emery's comments reveal facts about Hammett's life not covered in any other book. To round out this celebration of Hammett, three-time Edgar Award winner Joe Gores has contributed an introduction describing how Hammett influenced literature, movies, television, and Gores' own life. Early reviewers are impressed by Lost Stories. "A hugely important book," writes Otto Penzler in the New York Sun, "the volume belongs on the shelf of every detective fiction reader and collector." In a starred review in Booklist, Connie Fletcher writes: "These 21, long-out-of-print stories find Hammett at or near the top of his game, his signature hard-boiled style shining brightly. Editor and publisher Emery does a fantastic job of bringing Hammett the accomplished writer and Hammett the struggling writer alive." Lost Stories is published by Vince Emery Productions. It is the first title in The Ace Performer Collection, a new series of books by and about Dashiell Hammett, crowned "the ace performer" by his disciple Raymond Chandler. Beginning today, the new book is available at bookstores and online booksellers throughout the United States and Canada. "Advance response has been strong," says editor-publisher Emery. "Both the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Mystery Guild selected Lost Stories as a Featured Alternate Selection. The first printing sold out two months before the publication date, so we had to order a second printing before publication." Lost Stories is released in 2005 as part of events held worldwide to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the publication of Dashiell Hammett's masterpiece The Maltese Falcon, often named as one of the twentieth-century's best novels. About Dashiell Hammett Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) was one of the world's most popular and influential writers. Famous as the best-selling creator of Sam Spade, The Maltese Falcon, and The Thin Man, Hammett was also a Pinkerton's detective, an advertising man, a soldier in the U.S. Army during both World Wars, an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, a political activist, and a short story writer. About Joe Gores Joe Gores worked for twelve years as a detective in San Francisco. As a writer of novels, short stories, and screenplays, he has won three Edgar Awards. He has written scripts for Kojak, Columbo, Magnum P.I., Remington Steele, and other television series. He is a past president of the Mystery Writers of America. Gores' popular novels and stories about the detective firm Daniel Kearney Associates are based on his own experiences as a San Francisco private eye. Francis Ford Coppola produced a movie based on Gores' novel Hammett. About Vince Emery Hammett researcher Vince Emery has contributed research and articles to several books about Dashiell Hammett. He also wrote the bestseller How to Grow Your Business on the Internet. Lost Stories by Dashiell Hammett Publication date: September 1, 2005 Cloth hardback; $24.95 U.S./$33.95 Canada; 352 pages; ISBN 0-9725898-1-3