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Viola Davis and James Patterson will co-write a novel together.

Little, Brown and Company announced Tuesday that the Egot winner and author are teaming on a novel that will be set in the present-day rural South.

The novel will center on a “dynamic and brilliant female judge on the brink of a decision with seismic repercussions for her small county and potentially the whole nation.” “With her career, principles and ultimately her life at stake, Judge Stone is a character readers will never forget,” the publisher teased.

Davis said in a statement: “I am beyond excited to partner with the legendary James Patterson on our novel. James’ ability to weave compelling narratives with depth and suspense is unparalleled, and I am honored to work alongside him. Writing about a character as compelling as Judge Mary Stone has been an extraordinary experience, and I believe readers will be deeply moved by her journey.

Viola Davis and bestselling author James Patterson have signed with Little, Brown and Company to co-write a novel. Davis has won the Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy, and she has already made the bestseller lists with her memoir Finding Me. Patterson is a fixture on the bestseller lists, most recently for Eruption, the number one bestselling collaboration with the late Michael Crichton.

Set in the present-day rural south, the novel follows a dynamic and brilliant female judge on the brink of a decision with seismic repercussions for her small county, and potentially the whole nation. It puts her career, principles, and ultimately her life at stake. The novel will be published in association with Jvl Media, the media packaging firm and independent publisher founded by Davis, Julius Tennon and Lavaille Lavette. The novel will be published as a lead title by Little, Brown and Company in 2025 or 2026, specific date to...

Martha Stewart, best known for co-starring alongside Joan Crawford and Humphrey Bogart in “Daisy Kenyon” and “In a Lonely Place,” respectively, died on Feb. 17, her daughter Colleen Shelly confirmed on Twitter. She was 98.

“The original Martha Stewart left us yesterday,” Shelly wrote. “She had a new part to play in a movie with all her heavenly friends. She went off peacefully surrounded by her family and cat.”

Known for her roles in classic 1940s and ’50s Hollywood movies, Stewart made her film debut in the 1945 musical comedy “Doll Face.” The following year she starred opposite Richard Crane in “Johnny Comes Flying Home” and June Haver in 1947’s “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now.” Her additional credits include comedy “Are You With It?” opposite Donald O’Connor, 1952’s musical “Aaron Slick From Punkin Crick” and noir crime-drama “Convicted” with Glenn Ford and Broderick Crawford. Her final credit was 1964’s beach-themed musical comedy “Surf Party.

Martha Ruth Stewart Shelley aka Martha Stewart, the singer and actress who starred alongside Humphrey Bogart in the noir film “In a Lonely Place,” has died. She was 98.

Stewart’s daughter Colleen Shelley announced the news in a tweet on Feb. 18, saying that her mother died peacefully and surrounded by her family on Feb. 17.

“She had a new part to play in a movie with all her heavenly friends,” Shelley tweeted. “She had a good run. Fare thee well Mommy.”

Martha Ruth Haworth, who took the stage name Martha Stewart, was known for playing the character Mildred Atkinson in 1950’s “In a Lonely Place” opposite Bogart. She got her start singing alongside Glenn Miller and others for NBC radio during World War II and made her screen debut in the film “Doll Face.” In the film, she sang a duet with Perry Como.

Some of her other film credits include “Johnny Comes Flying Home,...

Martha Stewart, an actress whose run of 1940s and ’50s era Hollywood hits included costarring roles in Daisy Kenyon opposite Joan Crawford and In a Lonely Place with Humphrey Bogart, died Feb. 17. She was 98.

Her death was announced by daughter Colleen Shelley.

“The original Martha Stewart left us yesterday,” Shelley tweeted:

She had a new part to play in a movie with all her heavenly friends. She went off peacefully surrounded by her family and cat.

Martha Ruth Haworth aka Martha Stewart

10-07-1922 – 02-17-2021 she had a good run.

Fare thee well Mommy

Born in Kentucky and raised in Brooklyn, Stewart began her show business career as a big band singer with Glenn Miller and Harry James, among others, and launched her Hollywood career with a singing and dancing role in the 1945 film Doll Face, about a burlesque star played by actress Vivian Blaine (the film was cowritten...

The Cursed Child doesn’t seem that cursed at all. Just one week after going on sale in book form, the play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has sold nearly 850,000 copies, this according to the Daily Mail. The publication notes that the play, based on J.K. Rowling’s famous boy wizard, is the biggest seller of the year. It adds that its opening week sales are the fourth highest ever, trailing only the last three Harry Potter books. “This is way beyond our most optimistic expectations,” said David Shelley, CEO of Little, Brown Book Group. The play itself, which is about a grown up Harry and his three children, opened in London earlier this month to strong reviews. The Telegraph said, “British theatre hasn’t known anything like it for decades.” In its five-star review, it calls the play a “triumph.”...

Muggles across the globe rejoiced yesterday when author J.K. Rowling announced that she would publish an eighth installment in the "Harry Potter" franchise, in the form of the script for "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," the new play (and "Potter" sequel) hitting the London stage this summer. It should come as no surprise, then, that fans were so thrilled that they immediately ordered the book, sending the title to the top of several bestseller charts less than 24 hours later.

Retailers including Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, and UK chain Waterstones all list "Cursed Child" as their number one title more than five months before the book's release. The tome, featuring the rehearsal script for "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts I & II," is set to be released on July 31 (which also happens to be Harry's birthday), the day after the play debuts on London's West End.

The...

Martha Stewart: Actress / Singer in Fox movies apparently not dead despite two-year-old reports to the contrary (Photo: Martha Stewart and Perry Como in 'Doll Face') According to various online reports, including Variety's, actress and singer Martha Stewart, a pretty blonde featured in supporting roles in a handful of 20th Century Fox movies of the '40s, died at age 89 of "natural causes" in Northeast Harbor, Maine, on February 25, 2012. Needless to say, that was not the same Martha Stewart hawking "delicious foods" and whatever else on American television. But quite possibly, the Martha Stewart who died in February 2012 -- if any -- was not the Martha Stewart of old Fox movies either. And that's why I'm republishing this (former) obit, originally posted more than two and a half years ago: March 11, 2012. Earlier today, a commenter wrote to Alt Film Guide, claiming that the Martha Stewart featured in Doll Face, I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now,...