Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Harper Lee" in English language version.
Serialized in four consecutive issues of The New Yorker magazine beginning September 25, 1965, "In Cold Blood" was a huge sensation, selling out all copies published. By January 1966, the critical reviews were so strong that the initial print run of some 240,000 hardcover copies flew off the shelves.
In a parallel development to- day, the President appointed Harper Lee, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning "To Kill a Mockingbird." and Richard Diebenkorn, artist, to the National Council on the Arts.
Lee, in a statement released by Carter, said she was "happy as hell" that it was finally being published. The statement also quoted Lee as saying that she recently showed the manuscript to some unnamed friends, who verified its merit, thus convincing her to reverse her long-held decision about not publishing. In the statement, she said that she was young when she wrote it, so when an editor told her to reshape it, "I did as I was told."
