Texas State’s Wittliff Collections touts ‘doubling’ of Cormac McCarthy archive

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State’s Wittliff Collections has doubled its archive of the late author Cormac McCarthy, whose searing, brutal works garnered acclaim and several film adaptations.

The center announced the acquisition of the collection on Monday. It is expected to be available to researchers and students in late 2025, a news release said.

Considered one of literature’s famed authors, McCarthy penned searing, sometimes bleak depictions of life in the Southwest and even ventured into post-apocalyptic literature.

Works such as “No Country for Old Men,” “All the Pretty Horses” and “The Road” saw film adaptations; the latter won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

McCarthy died in 2023. He was 89.

The new addition features 36 banker’s boxes containing personal material, some of which have not been seen by the public. Personal journals, photographs and memorabilia that inspired some of McCarthy’s work make up the material.

Manuscripts and unpublished novels trace decades of work that went into his final two books, “The Passenger” and “Stella Maris,” a news release from the center said.

“We are excited about this important new acquisition that further elevates The Wittliff’s standing while advancing significant humanities scholarship at Texas State,” Wittliff Collections Director David Coleman said.

Coleman believes the new material will sustain researchers in the future, especially as Texas State pursues Carnegie R1 status, a tiered classification system for universities based on their investment in research activities.

“I am particularly excited for what this means for Texas State students and faculty who will have access to this rich archive right here on campus — something that others will travel across the world to view,” said Katie Salzmann, a lead archivist at The Wittliff.

The Wittliff began its McCarthy archiving in 2007 with an original collection of papers.

McCarthy’s brother, Dennis, who serves as McCarthy’s literary executor and helped facilitate the acquisition, has called the overall collection a “treasure trove for McCarthy scholars.”

The Wittliff was founded in 1986 by screenwriter and photographer Bill Wittliff and his wife, Sally.