Hotch 101: A Conversation with A. E. Hotchner

On June 28, 2018, writer, philanthropist, and Washington University alumnus A. E. Hotchner celebrated his 101st birthday and the release of his latest novel, The Amazing Adventures of Aaron Broom. To mark the occasion, the Julian Edison Department of Special Collections hosted a phone conversation with Hotchner, moderated by Professor of Drama and Comparative Literature Henry Schvey. The wide-ranging talk touches on everything from Hotch’s early days in St. Louis at Washington University, to encounters with figures like J. D. Salinger, to his friendships with Ernest Hemingway and Paul Newman, the history of Newman’s Own, and the writing of his new novel. The audio of the event is presented with a slideshow of images from the Archives of Washington University and recent acquisitions by Special Collections.

The Modern Literature Collection has been acquiring Hotchner’s manuscripts and other papers since 1967. The A. E. Hotchner Papers currently consist of manuscript and editorial material toward the books Papa Hemingway (1966), Treasure (1970), King of the Hill (1970), The Man Who Lived at the Ritz (1981), Looking for Miracles (1975), Choice People (1984), Louisiana Purchase (1996) and Hemingway in Love (2015), as well as scripts for Hotchner’s adaptations of Hemingway materials for television and original plays for television and the stage. View the Finding Aid here.

A major new acquisition from Hotchner this year includes further manuscripts and screenplays, correspondence with Hemingway, photographs and other memorabilia of Hotchner’s time at Washington University, dozens of photographs of Hemingway, and many materials related to Hotchner’s long-running charity production of the Hemingway story-cycle “The World of Nick Adams”. These acquisitions are still being processed.