Dan Brown Novel Now Due in September

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/20/long-delayed-dan-brown-novel-now-due-in-september/

April 20, 2009
Long-Delayed Dan Brown Novel Now Due in September
By Motoko Rich

Dan Brown, the author of the mega-bestselling novel “The Da Vinci Code,” has finally delivered his long-awaited new novel, “The Lost Symbol,” and it will be published Sept. 15. The Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group said on Monday that it was planning a first print run of 5 million copies, a number that dwarfs most other books. “The Da Vinci Code,” which was made into a movie starring Tom Hanks, was a worldwide publishing phenomenon, with 81 million hardcover copies in print. Fans and the publisher have been waiting a long time for Mr. Brown to finish the new book. It was originally scheduled for a 2005 delivery. “The Lost Symbol” will again feature Robert Langdon, the protagonist of “The Da Vinci Code.” According to Jason Kaufman, executive editor at Doubleday, the novel takes place over the course of 12 hours and will “follow Robert Langdon through a masterful and unexpected new landscape.” In a statement, Mr. Brown said he had spent five years on research for the book. “Robert Langdon’s life clearly moves a lot faster than mine,” he said.

The publisher remained cryptic about the plot or subject of the new novel, but in an author’s FAQ on Mr. Brown’s Web site, he answers the question “What are you working on now?” by saying that the work in progress finds Langdon “embroiled in a mystery on U.S. soil. The new novel explores the hidden history of our nation’s capital.” And on another page on the Web site, he notes that “the next Robert Langdon novel” is “set deep within the oldest fraternity in history … the enigmatic brotherhood of the Masons.”