New David Foster Wallace Work

According to the Associated Press, a long, unfinished novel by David Foster Wallace is scheduled for a posthumous release next year. The Pale King will be excerpted in the edition of the New Yorker coming out on Monday. According to publisher Little, Brown, Wallace had been working on the book for years, leaving behind "a substantial portion" of it. About a tax man named David Wallace who starts a new job at an IRS tax-return processing center in Illinois in the mid 1980s, the book will clock in at "several thousand" words and will, according to LB, feature CliffNotes-like addendum--notes and outlines among other things--to "help readers understand" the work.

Michael Pietsch, LB publisher and Wallace's editor, said the book is "as ambitious as anything [Wallace] ever did" and marks his "effort to weave a novel out of life's dark matter: boredom, banality, the 'irrelevant complexity’ of everyday life."

The upcoming Sonora Review (for which DFW was once fiction editor) Double Issue (55/56) will also feature a David Foster Wallace tribute. The David Foster Wallace tribute includes one of DFW’s uncollected stories, "Solomon Silverfish," and essays and reflections from Sven Birkerts, Tom Bissell, Charles Bock, Marshall Boswell, Greg Carlisle, Jonathan Franzen, Dave Eggers, Ken Kalfus, Glenn Kenny, Lee Martin, Michael Martone, Rick Moody interviewing Michael Pietsch, and art and prose from Karen Green. They're currently accepting preorders via paypal and ordering now will guarantee you’re one of the first people to get yours.

To preorder your copy, head to their Facebook page, scroll over the “Send Money” bar along the top, click on “Send Money Online,” and then enter “sonorarevieworders@gmail.com” as the Recipent (or “To” field.) Send $18 dollars, which includes 15 for the issue and 3 for shipping and handling. If you’re ordering internationally, please add 10 for shipping; if you have questions about rates please don’t be afraid to ask. Tick the “Goods” box. You should receive a confirmation email from paypal once the payment is complete; for now, consider that your confirmation of purchase.