Vagabond Lover to Dallas: The "For Profit" Writing Career of Con Sellers

Mississippi native Con Sellers is the subject of the latest exhibit housed in Special Collections in McCain Library and Archives. Sellers, who was born in Shubuta, Mississippi, lived an eventful life that included 17 years in the military, an amateur boxing welterweight championship, and a writing career that churned out more than 230 books and hundreds of short stories and screenplays using more than 60 aliases.

His big break came in 1978 when he wrote the novelization for the television show Dallas which sold more than 400,000 copies. From the beginning, Sellers wrote only for money considering himself a "working author." He altered characters, plots and titles to suit publishers in the hopes of making a sale. Sellers stated that he wrote specifically for the readers not for the art of writing.

The exhibit, From Vagabond Lover to Dallas: The "For Profit" Writing Career of Con Sellers, features materials from the Con Sellers Collection located in Special Collections in McCain Library and Archives. The exhibit features original outlines, edited manuscripts, correspondence with fans and publishers, original cover art and examples of his books.

The exhibit is on display Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. until May 31 in McCain Library and Archives 305. If you have questions about the exhibit, contact Jennifer Brannock at or 601.266.4347.