MLK Estate Reaches Publishing Agreement With HarperCollins

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — The estate of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. has reached an agreement with HarperCollins Publishers for rights to his archive. HarperCollins released King’s first book more than 60 years ago. The King Estate had been publishing books since 2009 with the Beacon Press. Those included the late civil rights leader’s first work, “Stride Toward Freedom.” It was his account of the 1955-’56 Montgomery bus boycott that helped bring him national prominence. “Stride Toward Freedom” was first released in 1958 by what was then Harper & Brother. Beacon also released editions of King’s speeches and sermons among other books.