When American writer Laurie Colwin (1944-1992) died suddenly of a heart attack at age 48, she left behind five novels, three story collections and two books of recipes and essays. Her writing first appeared in the New Yorker and her first story collection was published in 1974. Colwin contributed regularly to Gourmet magazine and wrote for Mademoiselle, Allure and Playboy. Her first novel, Happy All the Time, came out in 1978. Colwin's nonfiction books, Home Cooking (1988) and More Home Cooking (1993), combined memoir and essay with recipes. Her other books include Passion and Affect (1974), Shine on, Bright and Dangerous Object (1975), The Lone Pilgrim (1981), Family Happiness (1982), Another Marvelous Thing (1988), Goodbye Without Leaving (1990) and A Big Storm Knocked It Over (1993). More Home Cooking and A Big Storm Knocked It Over were published posthumously.
Happy All the Time is a romantic comedy about Guido and Vincent, cousins and best friends, who each fall in love and engage in the perilous world of courtship. On February 9, Vintage released a new edition of Happy All the Time ($16) with a foreword by Katherine Heiny and fresh cover art. This is the first of five planned Colwin re-releases from Vintage: Another Marvelous Thing, The Lone Pilgrim and Family Happiness on June 8 and Home Cooking on October 12. By year's end, the cream of Colwin's truncated career will be available to a new generation of readers and old fans alike. --Tobias Mutter
