SAN FRANCISCO (AP) β John Steinbeck’s heirs say a literary agency is wrongly cutting them out of negotiations over possible movie deals for the late Nobel Prize-winning author’s books.
Steinbeck’s surviving son, Thomas Steinbeck, and the wife of another son, Nancy Steinbeck, filed a petition Oct. 10 with the California Labor Commission claiming the RSWG Literary Agency and agent Geoffrey Sanford were negotiating Hollywood deals without consulting them. They also allege that the agency isn’t licensed in California.
It’s the latest chapter in a decades-long legal tussle over control of Steinbeck’s works.
The agency’s lawyer told the Monterey Herald (http://tinyurl.com/njrgqkn ) that Thomas Steinbeck and Nancy Steinbeck gave up control over Steinbeck’s works as part of a 1983 legal settlement. The lawyer also said the agency is licensed to practice in California.
