The key to this question lies in the term publish. We know J.D. Salinger writes. And we know that he has at least two novels secreted away in his New Hampshire home. In 2000, Orchises Press grew close to publishing J.D. Salinger's "Hapworth 16, 1924," which is written in the form of a letter from camp by Seymour Glass, the precocious main character from the short, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish." But J.D. Salinger abruptly terminated that deal due to the ensuing publicity storm.
And that brings us to the crux of why J.D. Salinger does not publish. In him, we have the very definition of the cliche, the driven, publicity-shy, private artist. He is notorious for his rock-solid desire to elude any and all publicity. Unfortunately, this has not stopped his public from violating the sanctity of his New Hampshire home on multiple occasions. Moreover, old lovers have published memoirs that detailed their history with him. He has found himself entangled in a costly, legal battle with Ian Hamilton (the biographer who sought to include snippets of J.D. Salinger's private letters in his book).
But we know from his efforts in the 1997 to 2000 period that J.D. Salinger still would have his distinctive voice heard. For this reason, I strongly suspect, we will see the posthumous publication of no less than two J.D. Salinger novels.
Yes, we will read new works by J.D. Salinger. Sadly, we must wait until he is no longer with us, until his public and the press can no longer brutalize his privacy.
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