The University of Massachusetts Amherst
Robert S. Cox Special Collections & University Archives Research Center
CredoResearch digital collections in Credo

Coburn, Andrew

Andrew Coburn Papers

ca.1950-2015
15 boxes 22.5 linear feet
Call no.: MS 936
Depiction of Andrew Coburn
Andrew Coburn

In taut and haunting prose, Andrew Coburn left a memorable impression as both novelist and journalist. Born in Exeter, N.H., on May 1, 1932, Coburn became serious about writing while fulfilling his military duty in Germany and earning a degree in English at Suffolk University. After landing a position with the local newspaper, the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, he put his talents to good use. Building his career as a journalist covering organized crime by day, he managed to spend nearly every night writing fiction until dawn. His successes on the beat earned him steady promotions all the way to city editor, and he eventually founded two newspapers of his own, though fiction would be his future. Winning a Eugene Saxton Fellowship in 1965, Coburn drew upon his experiences on the streets of Lawrence to publish his first novel, The Trespassers, in 1974, followed by The Babysitter in 1979, and eventually eleven other novels, a novella, and a host of short stories and essays. A master of language and dialogue grounded in a strong sense of place, Coburn won both wide readership and praise from other writers. His work has garnered nominations for the Edgar Allan Poe Award and Pushcart Prize and has been translated into 14 languages. Three of his novels have been made into films in France. He was married to Bernadine Casey Coburn, a former journalist and public relations expert, with whom he had one son and four daughters.

The Coburn Papers contain working drafts and page proofs of Andrew Coburn’s novels and short stories, along with selected correspondence, and dozens of journals, scrapbooks, and notebooks used in his fiction. In many cases, the completeness of the collection makes it possible to follow a work from its earliest inception, often recorded as a sketch (literal or in prose), through to its final iteration.

Background on Andrew Coburn

Andrew Coburn was born on May 1, 1932, in Exeter, N.H., to Andrew Coburn, Sr., and Georgianna Nedeau. As a child, Coburn moved from Exeter to Haverhill, Mass., where he graduated from Haverhill High School in 1950. He joined the U.S. Army in 1951 and was stationed in Frankfurt, West Germany, for three years, attaining the rank of staff sergeant. Upon his return to the U.S., he attended Suffolk University in Boston from 1954 to 1958. At Suffolk, Coburn majored in English with a minor in philosophy and worked as a nightclub waiter, a bank clerk, a tree pruner, and a federal civil servant. After college, Coburn worked at a local bank, a job he quit in 1963 to go back to Germany in hopes of finding a more fulfilling career. He was unsuccessful and eventually returned home, penniless, to his wife and two children, and took a job as a crime reporter for the local Lawrence Eagle-Tribune in North Andover, Mass.

This proved to be a turning point, as Coburn would go on to work as a journalist and
reporter for many years, primarily investigating organized crime in Massachusetts.
During his ten years at the Tribune, he was promoted
up the ranks to city editor, garnering a United Press Award in 1967 and an
Associated Press Award in 1968 for his work there. After this, Coburn spent five
years as a copy-editor and literary critic for the Boston
Globe
, from 1973 to 1978, and eventually founded two newspapers of his
own: The Journal of Greater Lawrence and Greater Lawrence Today. From 1978 to 1981 he was a
political columnist for several Massachusetts newspapers, until he committed to
working on his fiction full-time. Coburn’s investigative work on organized crime in the greater Boston area was so
thorough that at one point there was reportedly a contract out on his life. Coburn
was concerned enough by this that he purchased a gun for self-defense, although he
admitted in an interview that he didn’t know anything about guns and was so afraid
one of his daughters would find it that he hid the gun in the house and kept the
ammunition in the trunk of his car.

Coburn began to publish his short fiction in newspapers and journals in the early
1960s. His stories were published in the Transatlantic
Review
, Short Stories Today, and the
Lawrence Eagle-Tribune. In 1965 he was awarded the
Eugene Saxton Memorial Fellowship for young writers in order to finish his first novella, The Cottage. In 1974, Coburn published his first novel, The
Trespassers
, inspired by his experiences working for the Eagle-Tribune. It was the beginning of a long and
successful literary career. By 2006, Coburn had published thirteen novels, which
have been translated into fourteen languages around the world. Three of his novels
have been adapted into well-received films in France. Off
Duty
(1980) was adapted into Un dimanche de
flic
in 1983, Widow’s Walk (1984) into
Noyade interdite in 1987, and Sweetheart (1985) into Toute
peines confondues
in 1992.

Drawing on years of investigative journalism and on his personal experiences with the
criminal underbelly of Massachusetts, a haunting realism pervades Coburn’s novels.
His tight, elegant prose paints startling portraits of the dark side of suburban
America. Organized crime, serial killers, kidnappings, corporate corruption, and
unhappy marriages are just some of the subjects of his works. Throughout his
writings, it is evident that Coburn was very interested in exploring the domestic
side of crime and the banality of evil. Although not always sympathetic, his
characters are fascinatingly flawed and highly nuanced, exerting a life of their
own.

Of his writing and his subject matter, Coburn has said that during his years as a
newsman, his closest friends were criminals, police officers, and trial lawyers, and
that he saw in each of these ostensibly different kinds of people something of the
others. It was this blurring of the distinction between good and evil, and these
common elements of comedy and tragedy, that Coburn wanted to bring to his fiction.
He did not consider a character real until they could cast a shadow of their own and
do something that he did not expect them to do. He cited some of his favorite
authors as Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner, and Joseph Conrad. Coburn’s writing has
been compared to works of Alfred Hitchcock, Graham Greene, Dashiell Hammett, and John Updike. In recognition of his literary
and journalistic achievements, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters from
Merrimack College in 1987.

Among his novels are two series, the Sweetheart Trilogy–Sweetheart(1985), Love Nest (1987), and
Goldilocks (1989), which was nominated for an
Edgar Award in 1990–and the Bensington Novels–No Way Home
(1992), Voices in the Dark (1994), and
On the Loose (2006). Coburn’s novels are
primarily set in the suburbs, where appearances of civility and normalcy often
conceal dark secrets, moral deviance, and corruption, while decent people struggle,
with mixed success, to hang on to their convictions. Another notable novel of
Coburn’s is Birthright (1998), a fictionalized
retelling of the infamous 1932 kidnapping and murder of aviator Charles Lindbergh’s
infant son. The novel’s premise is that the kidnapped child survived, grows up
unaware of his true identity, and eventually decides to run for president. Birthright was Coburn’s favorite of his own novels, and
he kept more notes and drafts chronicling its creation than for any of
his other works. The working title for Birthright
was “Eagle,” although at one point “Child of Silence” was also considered.

In the creation of his novels, Coburn took extensive notes. He filled dozens of
journals with his own writing, as well as newspapers clippings and photographs. News
and current events dominate these journals, which also contain research on a variety
of other topics. In addition, he kept numerous story and character notes for his
novels and short stories, many featuring sketches and drawings of his
characters.

Coburn married Bernadine “Bunny” Casey, a former journalist and public relations
expert, in 1955 and had one son, Kevin, and four daughters: Cathleen (b. 1955),
Krista (b. 1958), Lisa (b. 1960), and Heather (b. 1964). He kept a good deal of
correspondence from his wife and children, as well as some of their writings. His
eldest daughter, Cathleen, took after her father with her interest in writing, and
they corresponded frequently over the years. As Coburn began to age, Cathleen and
Bernadine took over most of his correspondence with his literary agent and
various publishers concerning his later works, in particular the short story
anthology Spouses & Other Crimes , which was
published in 2014. Coburn passed away in August of 2018, at the age of 86.

List of published works:

  • The Trespassers (1974)
  • The Babysitter (1979)
  • Off Duty (1980)
  • Company Secrets (1982)
  • Widow’s Walk (1984)
  • Sweetheart (1985)
  • Love Nest (1987)
  • Goldilocks (1989)
  • No Way Home (1992)
  • Voices in the Dark (1994)
  • Birthright (1998)
  • My Father’s Daughter (2003, novella published
    in the anthology Men from Boys)
  • On the Loose (2006)
  • Spouses & Other Crimes (2014, short story
    collection: Charlie Judd – Bang Bang – Wide World of War – Katie Couric – Mrs.
    Comeau – The Christmas Clara Cried – Ginger – George W. Bush – Jocelyn – A Woolf
    in Vita’s Clothing – Plum Island)

Contents of Collection

The Andrew Coburn Papers document the life’s work of a Massachusetts journalist and
crime fiction author through five decades of journals, scrapbooks, notes,
correspondence, story drafts, articles, and publication proofs. The collection
offers a rare and invaluable look into the process of one writer’s life and career,
and in some cases document the creation of a novel from initial idea to finished
product. Included are decades of correspondence, both personal and professional;
publishing contracts and royalty statements; numerous novel drafts, notes, and page
proofs; short story drafts and publication copies; dozens of journals containing
handwritten notes, newspaper articles, and magazine clippings; and a collection of
audio and videocassettes consisting of interviews and several copies of the French
film adaptations of Coburn’s novels.

Series descriptions

This series is arranged chronologically and contains both professional
correspondence related to Coburn’s writing and personal correspondence with
friends and family. His correspondence with his literary agent, Nikki Smith
of Smith/Skolnik Literary Management, documents editing, arrangement,
contracts, royalties, and all other aspects of the writing and publishing
process. He received many letters from readers over the years, and also
corresponded with a variety of publishers, as well as the literary journals,
magazines, and newspapers in which he published his short fiction and
essays.

1959-2010

This series contains materials related to Coburn’s novels, including
typewritten manuscript drafts, edits, page proofs, handwritten notes and
drawings, related correspondence, outlines and proposals, and book reviews.
Arrangement is chronological by publishing date, with unpublished works
filed at the end. Working titles for notes and early drafts are included
alongside the final title where applicable. Drafts of every one of his
published works, except Voices in the Dark
(1994), are included, as well as notes for every published novel. Drafts and
notes for four unpublished works are included in this series. These include:
The Cottage or A
Breach of Life
(1967), Another
Irishman
(1993), Of Three Minds
(2003), and Turtle Soup (2009).
Another Irishman, which came the closest
to publication of the four, was rejected by Coburn’s publisher in favor of
Birthright.

This series has been arranged alphabetically by title. Earlier drafts with
working titles include the working title following the final title on the
folder. Coburn wrote an extensive number of fiction and nonfiction short
stories, essays, and articles, at times blending fiction with reality and
story with report. Essays and articles written during his time as journalist
are interfiled with his short stories due to the difficulty in consistently
distinguishing between them.

Although most of Coburn’s short stories stand alone, one of them, “Preacher’s
Passion” (or “The Chief’s Seed”), is a follow-up to Coburn’s 1994 novel,
Voices in the Dark. Also included are
four drafts of Coburn’s 2014 short story collection, Spouses & Other Crimes, and several drafts of a much larger
planned short story and essay anthology, entitled Midnight On: A Writer’s
Notebook
, which features a substantial selection of his short fiction.
Several of his earlier short stories were published in the literary journal
The Transatlantic Review, of which 3
issues containing Coburn’s writings are included.

Included in this series are Coburn’s book contracts, contracts for film
adaptations of his novels, publishing agreements, book reviews, guidelines
and submissions for literary journals and magazines, financial documents
such as royalty statements, and other materials related to the publication
of Coburn’s novels and short stories.

The largest series in the collection, Coburn’s journals and notes span from
1951 to 2014 and contain an assortment of newspaper clippings, photographs,
notes, story ideas, diary entries, and sketches. His earliest journals, from
1951 to 1954 document his time serving in the United States Army.

1950-2014

This series contains documents, photographs, and publications related to
Coburn’s personal life and family, including a 1950 yearbook from Haverhill
High School and several written interviews.

This series contains a selection of VHS tapes, audiocassettes, and CDs. The
VHS tapes include several copies of Toutes peines
confondue
(1992), the French film adaptation of Coburn’s novel
Sweetheart, as well as some home-videos
related to Coburn’s family and writing career. The audiocassettes contain
mainly interviews with Coburn and his wife Bernadine Casey Coburn, and the
CDs contain digital copies of Coburn’s short stories.

Collection inventory

Series 1. Correspondence
1953-2015
Cards: Birthday
1986-2015
Box 1: 1
Cards: Father’s Day
1982-2015
Box 1: 2
Cards: Father’s Day
Undated
Box 1: 3
Cards: Valentine’s Day
1990-1991
Box 1: 4
Correspondence
1953
Box 1: 5
Correspondence
1964-1979
Box 1: 6
Correspondence
1980
Box 1: 7
Correspondence
1981-1982
Box 1: 8
Correspondence
1983-1984
Box 1: 9
Correspondence
1985
Box 1: 10
Correspondence
1986
Box 1: 11
Correspondence
1987
Box 1: 12
Correspondence
1988
Box 1: 13
Correspondence
1989-1990
Box 1: 14
Correspondence
1991
Box 1: 15
Correspondence
1992
Box 1: 16
Correspondence
1993
Box 1: 17
Correspondence
1994
Box 1: 18
Correspondence
1995
Box 1: 19
Correspondence
1996-1997
Box 1: 20
Correspondence
1998-2001
Box 1: 21
Correspondence
2002-2005
Box 1: 22
Correspondence
2007-2010
Box 1: 23
Correspondence
2011-2013
Box 1: 24
Correspondence
2014-2015
Box 1: 25
Correspondence
Undated
Box 1: 26
Series 2: Novels
1959-2010
The Trespassers: Copyedited Draft
ca.1974
Box 2: 1-4
The Trespassers: Correspondence
1972-1979
Box 2: 5
The Trespassers: Excerpt
ca.2010
Box 2: 6
The Babysitter: Copyedited Draft
1978
Box 2: 7-10
The Babysitter: Notes, Reviews, and Correspondence
1977-1998
Box 2: 11
The Babysitter: Page Proofs
ca.1978
Box 2: 12
Off Duty: Copyedited Draft
ca.1979
Box 2: 13-17
Off Duty: Notes and Correspondence
1979
Box 2: 18
Off Duty / Un dimanche de flic Film Analysis Book
1982
Box 2: 19
Company Secrets / Secrets: Draft
ca.1981
Box 2: 20-25
Company Secrets: Notes
1979-2001
Box 2: 26
Widow’s Walk: Draft
1982-1983
Box 2: 27-31
Widow’s Walk: Draft
ca.1983
Box 2: 32-35
Widow’s Walk: Notes and Correspondence
1980-2006
Box 2: 36
Sweetheart: Copyedited Draft
1984
Box 2: 37-41
Sweetheart: Notes, Reviews, and Correspondence
1983-2000
Box 2: 42
Love Nest: Draft
1986 Oct
Box 2: 43-45
Love Nest: Draft
1986 Oct
Box 3: 1-2
Love Nest: Draft
ca.1986
Box 3: 3-7
Love Nest: Copyedited Draft
ca.1986
Box 3: 8-12
Love Nest: Page Proofs
1986 Nov
Box 3: 13-16
Love Nest: Notes and Correspondence
1985-1993
Box 3: 17
Goldilocks: Draft
1988 May
Box 3: 18-23
Goldilocks: Draft
ca.1988
Box 3: 24-29
Goldilocks: Draft with Notes
ca.1988
Box 3: 30-36
Goldilocks: Notes, Reviews, and Correspondence
1988-2005
Box 3: 37
Goldilocks: Partial Draft
ca.1988
Box 3: 38
No Way Home / Rayball: Draft
1990-1991
Box 3: 39-42
No Way Home / Rayball: Draft
1990-1991
Box 4: 1-2
No Way Home / Rayball: Notes and Edits
1990-1991
Box 4: 3-7
No Way Home / Rayball: Notes, Reviews, and
Correspondence
1990-1998
Box 4: 8
No Way Home / Rayball: Outline and Synopsis
1990-1991
Box 4: 9
No Way Home / Rayball: Revised Draft
1991
Box 4: 10-14
No Way Home: Copyedited Draft
1991-1992
Box 4: 15-19
No Way Home: Page Proofs
1992
Box 4: 20-23
Voices in the Dark / Soldier: Notes
1991-1992
Box 4: 24-27
Voices in the Dark: Notes, Reviews, and
Correspondence
1994-2006
Box 4: 28
Birthright / Child of Silence: Copyedited Draft
1997
Box 4: 29-34
Birthright / Eagle: Notes
1989-1996
Box 4: 35
Birthright / Eagle: Notes
1995
Box 4: 36
Birthright / Eagle: Notes
1996 Jan-Jun
Box 4: 37
Birthright / Eagle: Notes
1996 Jul-Nov
Box 4: 38
Birthright / Eagle: Outline and Notes
1995
Box 4: 39
Birthright: Reviews and Correspondence
1997-2005
Box 4: 40
On the Loose / Bobby Blue
1995 Apr
Box 4: 41-43
On the Loose / Bobby Blue
1995 Apr
Box 5: 1
On the Loose / Bobby Blue: Notes
1994-1995
Box 5: 2
On the Loose: Notes, Reviews, and Correspondence
1995-2010
Box 5: 3
My Father’s Daughter: Draft
ca.2001
Box 5: 4-5
My Father’s Daughter: Draft with Notes
ca.2001
Box 5: 6
My Father’s Daughter: 3 1/2 Inch Floppy Disks
2001
Box 5: 7
My Father’s Daughter: Notes, Reviews, and
Correspondence
2001-2007
Box 5: 8
My Father’s Daughter: Page Proofs (published in Men From
Boys)
2003
Box 5: 9
The Cottage / Breach of Life: Draft
1959-1967
Box 5: 10
Another Irishman / Sherry Novel: Draft
1993
Box 5: 11-14
Another Irishman: Draft
ca.1993
Box 5: 15-18
Another Irishman: Edited Draft
ca.1993
Box 5: 19-22
Another Irishman / Sherry Novel: Outline and Notes
1993
Box 5: 23
Another Irishman / Sherry Novel: Notes
1993
Box 5: 24-27
Another Irishman / Sherry Novel: Notes and Edits
1993
Box 5: 28-30
Gowthrope Novel: Notes
1993-1994
Box 5: 31
Crabapple: Notes
1996-1997
Box 5: 32
Of Three Minds: Draft
ca.2003
Box 5: 33-35
Of Three Minds: Notes
2003
Box 5: 36
Of Three Minds: Notes
2003-2004
Box 5: 37
Turtle Soup: Draft
ca.2009
Box 5: 38-39
Turtle Soup: Draft
2009
Box 5: 40-42
Turtle Soup: 3 1/2 Inch Floppy Disk
ca.2009
Box 5: 43
Turtle Soup and My Father’s Daughter
ca.2009
Box 5: 44-47
Series 3: Short stories and essays
1960-2011
Anthology
Undated
Box 6: 1-2
Anthology: “Midnight On” Draft
ca.1994
Box 6: 3-5
Anthology: “Midnight On” Partial Draft
1994
Box 6: 6-9
Anthology: Spouses and Other Crimes: Draft 1
2011 May
Box 6: 10-11
Anthology: Spouses and Other Crimes: Draft 2
2011 Oct
Box 6: 12
Anthology: Spouses and Other Crimes: Draft 3
2011 Oct
Box 6: 13
Anthology: Spouses and Other Crimes: Draft 4
ca.2011
Box 6: 14
“Aperitif” Column Articles
1986
Box 6: 15
At the Rail: Published Version
ca.2009
Box 6: 16
Bang Bang / Spouses: Published Versions
2006-2008
Box 6: 17
Bobbie, Bobbie: Draft
1962-1963
Box 6: 18
Boston: Published Version
1975
Box 6: 19
A Bride’s Kiss: Notes
1994
Box 6: 20
Chaffie: Draft
Undated
Box 6: 21
Charlie Judd: Drafts
1963
Box 6: 22
Charlie Judd: Published Version
1964-2008
Box 6: 23
The Christmas Clara Cried / Cousin Catherine: Draft
ca.1971
Box 6: 24
The Christmas Clara Cried / Clara’s Collapse: Published
Versions
1971-2010
Box 6: 25
Cop Talk: Draft
ca.2006
Box 6: 26
Cop Talk: Published Versions
1980-2008
Box 6: 27
Creative Writing 101
ca.2008
Box 6: 28
Creative Writing 101 / The Living and the Cut: Published
Versions
2008-2010
Box 6: 29
The Cruelest Month / November: Drafts
1980
Box 6: 30
The Cruelest month: Draft
ca.2006
Box 6: 31
The Deal / The Thumbsucker: Draft
1960
Box 6: 32
District Court: Published Version
1973
Box 6: 33
Egg Yolk: Draft
2006
Box 6: 34
Egg Yolk: Published Versions
2007
Box 6: 35
Elm Square Draft
1996
Box 6: 36
The Enquirer: Published Version
1974
Box 6: 37
Eulogy for a Bug: Published Version
1997
Box 6: 38
An Eye for an Eye: Draft
2008
Box 6: 39
Fallon’s World: Drafts
ca.2008
Box 6: 40
Fallon’s World: Published Versions
2008-2009
Box 6: 41
The Farmer and his Wife: Published Version
1975
Box 6: 42
Father-In-Law: Draft
Undated
Box 6: 43
A Favor for Blinksy: Draft
1955
Box 6: 44
Fig Leaf: Drafts
2006
Box 6: 45
Fig Leaf: Published Versions
2007
Box 6: 46
First Novel: Published Version
1975
Box 6: 47
Food Chemistry Mixes Profit and Death
1977
Box 6: 48
From Here to Security
1979
Box 6: 49
Gemma: Draft
ca.2006
Box 6: 50
Gemma: Published Versions
2006-2007
Box 6: 51
George W. Bush / Home Front: Published Versions
2007
Box 6: 52
Gilligan / Gilligan’s Ghost: Drafts
2006
Box 6: 53
Gilligan: Published Versions
2007-2008
Box 6: 54
Ginger: Drafts
ca.2009
Box 6: 55
Ginger: Published Version
2009
Box 6: 56
Gods and Buccaneers: Published Versions
2007-2008
Box 6: 57
Greeters: Published Version
2009
Box 6: 58
The Grit of the Game: Published Version
1979
Box 6: 59
Hearty Women: Page Proofs
2009
Box 6: 60
The Heir: Draft
1963
Box 6: 61
The Heir: Published Versions
1965-2007
Box 6: 62
Jocelyn: Draft
ca.2009
Box 6: 63
Jocelyn: Published Versions
2009-2010
Box 6: 64
Last Stand / Dignity Under Fire: Draft
Undated
Box 6: 65
Last Stand: Drafts
2007
Box 6: 66
Last Stand: Published Versions
2007
Box 6: 67
Lawrence Eagle Tribune Articles
1971-1980
Box 6: 68
Lilacs: Draft
1962
Box 6: 69
Lilacs: Published Versions
1965-2009
Box 6: 70
Little Guy: Published Version
1974
Box 6: 71
Mrs. Comeau: Draft
2008
Box 6: 72
On the Edge / Casino: Notes
1994
Box 6: 73
One or the Other: Draft
Undated
Box 6: 74
A Patio Blooms in Georgetown: Published Version
1966
Box 6: 75
Ginger: Published Version
Undated
Box 6: 76
The Player Who Didn’t Make It: Published Versions
1976
Box 6: 77
Plum Island: Drafts
ca.2006
Box 6: 78
Plum Island: Published Versions
1972-2010
Box 6: 79
Preacher’s Passion / The Chief’s Seed: Draft
2006
Box 6: 80
Preacher’s Passion / The Chief’s Seed: Published Versions
2010
Box 6: 81
Sensitive Soul: Page Proofs
2008
Box 6: 82
Short Stories Today Publications: Charlie Judd, Lilacs, The Heir
1974
Box 6: 83
Transatlantic Review 16 (Charlie Judd p. 95-100)
1964
Box 7: 46
Transatlantic Review 20 (The Heir p. 80-84)
1966
Box 7: 47
Transatlantic Review 26 (from a novel in progress p. 111-117)
1967
Box 7: 48
Untitled Librarian Story: Draft
Undated
Box 6: 84
Updike of Ipswich: Draft
2009
Box 6: 85
Updike of Ipswich: Published Version
2009
Box 6: 86
A Vacationing God: Draft
Undated
Box 6: 87
Vegas: Draft
2006
Box 6: 88
Vegas: Published Versions
2007
Box 6: 89
Vivian: Notes
1994
Box 6: 90
Wide World of War / Wonderful World of War: Draft
2008
Box 6: 91
Wide World of War: Published Versions: Published Versions
ca.2009
Box 6: 92
A Widow in the Woods: Draft
Undated
Box 6: 93
A Woolf in Vita’s Clothing: Draft
1994
Box 6: 94
A Woolf in Vita’s Clothing: Published Versions
2007-2008
Box 6: 95
A Woolf in Vita’s Clothing: Notes
1994
Box 6: 96
Writing a First Novel
1975
Box 6: 97
Series 4: Publishing
1973-2012
Book Contracts: The Babysitter (Dutch, French, Japanese, Norwegian, Spanish)
1979-1985
Box 7: 1
Book Contracts: Birthright / Eagle
1995
Box 7: 2
Book Contracts: Company Secrets (English, French, German)
1980-1984
Box 7: 3
Book Contracts: F + W Publishing
2012
Box 7: 4
Book Contracts: Goldilocks (English, German)
1989-2005
Box 7: 5
Book Contracts: Love Nest (English, German)
1985-1988
Box 7: 6
Book Contracts: No Way Home (French, Japanese)
1992-1998
Box 7: 7
Book Contracts: Off Duty
1979-1981
Box 7: 8
Book Contracts: On the Loose / Bobby Blue and Birthright / Eagle
1994-2005
Box 7: 9
Book Contracts: Sweetheart (English, French, German, Japanese, Norwegian, Slovak, Swedish)
1984-1992
Box 7: 10
Book Contracts: The Trespassers
1973-1979
Box 7: 11
Book Contracts: Two Untitled Works
1990
Box 7: 12
Book Contracts: Voices in the Dark (Japanese)
1995-2004
Box 7: 13
Book Contracts: Widow’s Walk
1981-1984
Box 7: 14
Book Contracts Inventory
Undated
Box 7: 15
Book Reviews
1974-2014
Box 7: 16-17
Book Reviews
1979-2014
Box 7: 18
Financial: The Babysitter
1977-1980
Box 7: 19
Financial: The Babysitter
1981-1982
Box 7: 20
Financial: The Babysitter
1983-1995
Box 7: 21
Financial: Birthright
2012
Box 7: 22
Financial: Company Secrets
1982-2001
Box 7: 23
Financial: Goldilocks
1989-1993
Box 7: 24
Financial: Love Nest
1986-1992
Box 7: 25
Financial: Multiple Titles
1984-1987
Box 7: 26
Financial: Multiple Titles
1988-2013
Box 7: 27
Financial: No Way Home
1991-1993
Box 7: 28
Financial: Off Duty
1979-1984
Box 7: 29
Financial: Sweetheart
1984-1994
Box 7: 30
Financial: The Trespassers
1974-1999
Box 7: 31
Financial: Widow’s Walk
1982-1989
Box 7: 32
List of Novels
1996
Box 7: 33
Movie Contracts: The Babysitter
1980-2000
Box 7: 34
Movie Contracts: Off Duty / Un dimanche de flic
1982
Box 7: 35
Movie Contracts: Sweetheart / Toutes peines confondues
1985-1991
Box 7: 36
“Off Duty” Book Jacket
1980
Box 7: 37
Proposals: Birthright / Eagle
1989
Box 7: 38
Proposals: Birthright / Eagle
1994-1997
Box 7: 39
Publishing Agreements
1984-2008
Box 7: 40
Rejection Letters
2005-2010
Box 7: 41
Rejection Letters
Undated
Box 7: 42
Short Story Submissions
2007-2010
Box 7: 43
Short Story Submission Guidelines
2006-2010
Box 7: 44
Story Contract: A Woolf in Vita’s Clothing
1995
Box 7: 45
Series 5: Journals and notes
1951-2010
Clippings
1960-1968
Box 14: 3
Clippings
1970-1987
Box 14: 4
Clippings
1973
Box 14: 5
Clippings
1989-2002
Box 14: 6
Clippings
1990-2002
Box 14: 7-8
Clippings
1998-2001
Box 14: 9
Clippings: Andover
1984-1997
Box 14: 10
Clippings: Florida
1979-1988
Box 14: 11
Clippings: Germany
1982-1984
Box 14: 12
Clippings: Irish
1981
Box 14: 13
Clippings: London
1981-1984
Box 14: 14
Clippings: Medical Examiner
1985
Box 14: 15
Clippings: Police
1979-1985
Box 14: 16
Journal, bound
1963
Box 8
Journal, bound
1964
Box 8
Journal, bound
1965
Box 8
Journal, bound
1966-1967
Box 8
Journal, bound
1967
Box 8
Journal, bound
1967/1970
Box 8
Journal, bound
1968
Box 8
Journal, bound
1968-1972
Box 8
Journal, bound
1969
Box 8
Journal, bound
1971-1973
Box 8
Journal, bound
1974
Box 8
Journal, bound
1974-1978
Box 8
Journal, bound
1975-1977
Box 8
Journal, bound
1975-1978
Box 8
Journal, bound
1977
Box 8
Journal, bound
1978
Box 8
Journal, bound
1978-1979
Box 8
Journal, bound
1978-1979
Box 9
Journal, bound
1979
Box 9
Journal, bound
1979-1980
Box 9
Journal, bound
1979-1981
Box 9
Journal, bound
1980
Box 9
Journal, bound
1981
Box 9
Journal, bound
1981-1982
Box 9
Journal, bound
1982
Box 9
Journal, bound
1982
Box 9
Journal, bound
1983
Box 9
Journal, bound
1984
Box 9
Journal, bound
1985
Box 9
Journal, bound
1985
Box 9
Journal, bound
1985-1986
Box 9
Journal, bound
1986
Box 10
Journal, bound
1987
Box 10
Journal, bound
1987-1988
Box 10
Journal, bound
1988-1989
Box 10
Journal, bound
1989-1990
Box 10
Journal, bound
1990
Box 10
Journal, bound
1991
Box 10
Journal, bound
1991-1992
Box 10
Journal, bound
1992
Box 10
Journal, bound
1993-1995
Box 10
Journal, bound
1993-1996
Box 10
Journal, bound
1993
Box 10
Journal, bound
1994
Box 10
Journal, bound
1994
Box 10
Journal, bound
1995
Box 10
Journal, bound
1995
Box 10
Journal, bound
1995-1996
Box 10
Journal, bound
1995-1996
Box 11
Journal, bound
1996
Box 11
Journal, bound
1996
Box 11
Journal, bound
1996-1997
Box 11
Journal, bound
1996-2004
Box 11
Journal, bound
1996-2006
Box 11
Journal, bound
1997
Box 11
Journal, bound
1997
Box 11
Journal, bound
1998
Box 11
Journal, bound
1998-2000
Box 11
Journal, bound
1998-2000
Box 11
Journal, bound
1998-2005
Box 11
Journal, bound
1999
Box 11
Journal, bound
2000
Box 12
Journal, bound
2000-2004
Box 12
Journal, bound
2001
Box 12
Journal, bound
2001
Box 12
Journal, bound
2001-2002
Box 12
Journal, bound
2001-2003
Box 12
Journal, bound
2002
Box 12
Journal, bound
2003
Box 12
Journal, bound
2003-2004
Box 12
Journal, bound
2004-2006
Box 12
Journal, bound
2005-2006
Box 12
Journal, bound
2005-2009
Box 12
Journal, bound
2007-2008
Box 12
Journal, bound
2007-2010
Box 13
Journal, bound
2008
Box 13
Journal, bound
2009
Box 13
Journal, bound
Undated
Box 13
Journal, unbound
1983 Sep-1987 Dec
Box 13: 1-3
Journal, unbound
1988-1989
Box 13: 4-6
Journal, unbound
1990
Box 13: 7-8
Journal, unbound
1991
Box 13: 9-10
Journal, unbound
1992
Box 13: 11-12
Journal, unbound
1993
Box 13: 13
Journal, unbound
1994
Box 13: 14
Journal, unbound
2004
Box 13: 15
Journal, unbound
Undated
Box 13: 16
Journal: Army Scrapbook
1951-1953
Box 14: 1
Journal: Irish Book
1970-1971
Box 14
Journal: Places
1979-1999
Box 14
Journal: Talk Notes
1989-1996
Box 14: 2
Notes
1989-1996
Box 14: 17
Notes
1994-1998
Box 14: 18
Notes
Undated
Box 14: 19-20
Notes: Art
Undated
Box 14: 21-22
Notes: Art, American
Undated
Box 14: 23
Notes: Boston
1983-2001
Box 14: 24
Notes: Exeter, NH
1996
Box 14: 25
Notes: Lawrence, MA
1974-1997
Box 14: 26
Notes: Locations
Undated
Box 14: 27
Notes: Political and Word Clouds
1987-2007
Box 1: 27-28
Notes: Seasons
Undated
Box 1: 29
Notes: Women, Men, Children, Elderly
Undated
Box 1: 30
Notes: 1940s
1983-1994
Box 1: 31
Notes: 1950s
1984-1989
Box 1: 32
Notes: 1960s
Undated
Box 1: 33
Pocket Journal
1954-1967
Box 15
Pocket Journal
1958
Box 15
Pocket Journal
1958-1965
Box 15
Pocket Journal
1982
Box 15
Pocket Journal
1983-1984
Box 15
Pocket Journal
1985-1987
Box 15
Pocket Journal
1988-1989
Box 15
Pocket Journal
1990-1991
Box 15
Pocket Journal
1991-1992
Box 15
Pocket Journal
1992-2000
Box 15
Pocket Journal
2000-2007
Box 15
Pocket Journal
Undated
Box 15
Pocket Journal: U.S. Army
1951-1954
Box 15
Pocket Journal: U.S. Army
1953
Box 15
Pocket Journal: Books Read
1955-1989
Box 15
Sketches
1990
Box 15: 34
Sketches
Undated
Box 15: 35
Series 6: Personal
1950-2014
Address Book
1951-1954
Box 1: 36
Biographical Blurbs
1991-2012
Box 1: 37
Calendar
1976
Box 1
Clippings, Personal
1990-1995
Box 1: 38
Coburn, Andrew: Passport
1987
Box 1: 39
Coburn, Mary: Town Records
1954-1957
Box 1: 40
Deeds of Gift
1992-2008
Box 1: 41
Family Drawings and Photographs
Undated
Box 1: 42
Family Writings
1987-1997
Box 1: 43
Haverhill High School Reunion
1975-2000
Box 1: 44
Haverhill High School Yearbook
1950
Box 1
Interviews
1992-2014
Box 1: 45
Merrimack College 37th Commencement
1987
Box 1: 46
Notes, Biographical
1959-1988
Box 1: 47
Photographs and Negatives
1985-1988
Box 1: 48
Property Receipts
1979-1986
Box 1
Series 7: Audio-visual material
ca.1985-2010
Audiocassette: Andrew Coburn Interview – Allen Grant Richards
1990 May
Box 15
Audiocassette: Andrew Coburn Interview – Allen Grant Richards
1997 May
Box 15
Audiocassette: Andrew Coburn – John Moren Show, WMVO 900 Nashua
1992 Aug 5
Box 15
Audiocassette: Andrew Coburn – WCCM 800 AM
1994 Mar 1
Box 15
Audiocassette: Bernadine Casey Coburn “People Are Talking”
1987 Dec
Box 15
Audiocassette: Bernadine Casey Coburn “People Are Talking”
1988 Jan 1
Box 15
Audiocassette: Bernadine Casey Coburn “People Are Talking” Chapter 4
1987 Jan 7
Box 15
Audiocassette: Casey Coburn – The Interviewer
Undated
Box 15
Audiocassette: Casey’s Tape
Undated
Box 15
CD Copies of Short Stories and Novels
2005-2010
Box 15
VHS Tape: Coburn Interview – Channel 2
Undated
Box 15
VHS Tape: One Minute of Heather
Undated
Box 15
VHS Tape: Sweetheart Book Party – Andover Inn
ca.1985
Box 15
VHS Tape: Sweetheart (English Subtitles)
1992
Box 15
VHS Tape: Sweetheart “Toutes peines confondues” – Part 1, Paris Premier
1992 April
Box 15
VHS Tape: Sweetheart “Toutes peines confondues” – Part 2, Cannes
1992 May
Box 15
VHS Tape: Toutes peines confondues (Sweetheart)
1992 May 26
Box 15
VHS Tape: Toutes peines confondues (Sweetheart)
1992
Box 15
VHS Tape: Toutes peines confondues (Sweetheart)
1992
Box 15

Administrative information

Access

The collection is open for research.

Language:

English

Provenance

Acquired from Andrew Coburn, 2016.

Processing Information

Processed by Emma Gronbeck, 2018.

Copyright and Use (More informationConnect to publication information)

Cite as: Andrew Coburn Papers (MS 936). Special
Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Libraries.

Gift of Andrew Coburn, 2016

Subjects

Journalists--MassachusettsNovelists--Massachusetts

Types of material

JournalsPhotographsScrapbooks