John Kennedy Toole
John Kennedy Toole almost got “A Confederancy of Dunces” published during his lifetime. A major publisher expressed interest; however, they would not publish it without revisions that he disagreed with, so he stopped work on the novel. He tried to get another novel published, with no success, and eventually ended up committing suicide. After his death, his mother got “Confederacy” published and it won a Pulitzer Prize.