What is the Value of Kurt Vonnegut?

I could answer there are many values and many ways of valuing him but valuing Valuing Vonnegut from The Indianapolis Business Journal has a more prosaic view. Actually, a very interesting story about a unique Indiana business.

"Many readers would call the Indiana literary legend Kurt Vonnegut’s legacy priceless. Not Mike Pellegrino. He expects it’ll take about a month to assign it a value."

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Last month, Vonnegut’s heirs hired Carmel-based Pellegrino & Associates LLC to appraise the late author’s entire portfolio. It includes 14 novels, among them classics like “Slaughterhouse Five” and “Cat’s Cradle.” It also includes four short-story collections, five essay compilations and an assortment of speeches, drawings and lesser writings.

Pellegrino’s job is to estimate future sales of Vonnegut’s work so his estate can be fairly divided today. That means Pellegrino will have to determine whether the author’s popularity is more likely to wax or to wane in the years to come. The accountant will also consider existing contracts that generate income for Vonnegut’s beneficiaries and publishers.