Walker Meade '52 Publishes Unspeakable Acts, Remembers DePauw

September 26, 2001

September 26, 2001, Greencastle, Ind. - Walker Meade, retired president and editor in chief of New York-based Avon Books and a 1952 graduate of DePauw University, has published his first novel, Unspeakable Acts (Upstart Press, $12.95). Like its author, the book is rooted in Indiana. Meade's story takes place in a fictional town in west central Indiana. He was raised in Bicknell, Indiana, not far from Greencastle.

In an article in the Tuesday, September 25, 2001 edition of the Indianapolis Star, Meade says, "I will tell you one thing, absolutely. My desire to be a writer was ignited in Indiana."

While at Avon's helm, Meade published such books as All The President's Men, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Watership Down, and The Thorn Birds. Now living in Florida, and described in the Star article as "a B student who produced campus plays and wrote for literary magazines" while at DePauw, Meade discusses why he returned to writing. "I became interested in what would happen if normal people with ordinary desires were pushed to their maximum," he said. "When and how would they turn dark? That's when I started writing Unspeakable Acts."

The article also provides some insights into Walter Meade's relationships through the years with such notables as actor Michael Douglas (he starred in the film Romancing the Stone, which Avon published) and his DePauw fraternity brother, best-selling author John Jakes. You can read the entire article by clicking here.

David Brown, who produced such films Jaws, Chocolat, and The Sting says Meade's book "is a riveting novel which explores the outer limits and dangers of misdirected compassion. The characters are vivid, the story compelling and credibly incredible. Read it and sacrifice your sleep.”

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