Papa letter, story to be auctioned

A newly discovered handwritten letter and short story by Ernest Hemingway will be auctioned in December, but custodians of his estate have not granted permission for the works to be published.

The two-page letter and five-page story, based on an incident at a bullfighting ring and written in 1924, were discovered last year by the son of Donald Ogden Stewart, a well-known writer and a close friend of Hemingway’s.

The works, based on Stewart’s experience in Pamplona, Spain, cannot be published without permission of the Hemingway estate, which has withheld approval, although it is not clear why.

They can be sold as artifacts, however, and Christie’s in New York said Monday it plans to auction them Dec. 16. They are expected to sell for $12,000 to $18,000, said Patrick McGrath, a Christie’s books and manuscripts specialist.