TLS signed “Margaret Mitchell Marsh,” two pages, 7 x 11, personal letterhead, March 11, 1937. Letter to Mr. Traver, in part: "It is more than kind of you to invite me to the Annual Banquet…I only wish it were possible for me to attend. Unfortunately, I seem to have myself in a tangle of engagements beside which the tangle of Laocoon group pales. One of the reasons why I cannot come North at that time is that I am expecting the moving picture people to come here to Georgia around that date. I hasten to disclaim any connection with the forthcoming movie production of 'Gone With the Wind,' as I sold the book outright and am not working on the film in any capacity. But in a weak moment I told the movie people that when they came South I would do all in my power to assist them in the matter of background and references. I promised to put them in touch with the right people in the towns along the line of the Sherman-Johnston campaign and I promised to produce local historians and authorities for them. While I have nothing to do with the casting, costuming et cetera, of course I have a warm desire, as have most of us Georgians, for the picture to be authentic, so I have put myself at their disposal.
But, Mr. Traver, I do not think you will be missing much if I am not with you for your banquet, because I do not make speeches. The best I can do if cornered is rise to my feet with trembling knees and mumble how glad I am to be present and then collapse in my chair. I know that many writers are excellent speakers, but, alas, I am not one of these!…
I appreciate so much what booksellers have done for me. As this is my first book and I know less than nothing about publishing and bookselling, I have no way of knowing whether or not the booksellers are so wonderfully good and cordial to all authors as they have been to me. I can only say that in my case they went far beyond merely selling my book. The first encouraging letters I received after publication came from the booksellers. They came from all parts of the country, from the enormous book stores to the little shops tucked away in the back of drug stores in small towns. They did more than stand behind the counters and sell 'Gone With the Wind.' They climbed over counters and, grasping customers by the lapels, told them they simply had to buy this book. And the customers did. I can never be grateful enough for their enthusiasm." In fine condition. Fantastic content from the celebrated Southern author, covering both the Gone With the Wind movie and its source material—Mitchell's novel was the top American fiction bestseller in 1936 and 1937, thanks, in part, to the enthusiasm of booksellers around the nation.
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