reported by Brian Scott, FictionFanatic.com

On Friday, October 13th, 2006, beware of black cats, don't break any mirrors, don't walk under any ladders and most importantly don't visit your local bookstore. It has just been announced that Lemony Snicket has completed the thirteenth and final book in A Series of Unfortunate Events, the depressing and mysterious chronicles of three unlucky orphans who are plagued by villainy, conspiracy, and itchy clothing.

Like an off-key violin concert, the Roman Empire, or food poisoning, all things must come to an end. Thankfully, this includes A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. The thirteenth and final installment in the groundbreaking series will answer readers' most burning questions: Will Count Olaf prevail? Will the Baudelaires survive? Will the series end happily? Is there a point to reading all 13 books in one miserable series? If there's nothing out there, what was that noise?

In addition, HarperCollins will release The Beatrice Letters, a bound collection of correspondence that will try to answer the question "Who is Beatrice?," the woman to whom Snicket dedicates every book. The collection of letters between Snicket and Beatrice will provide clues to the thirteenth book in A Series of Unfortunate Events as well as answer many questions such as "What was Count Olaf like as a boy?" and "What are the ingredients in a really good root beer float?" The Beatrice Letters will be released on September 5, 2006.

Then again, why trouble yourself with unfortunate resolutions? Avoid The Beatrice Letters and the thirteenth and final book of Lemony Snicket's international bestselling series and you'll never have to know what happens. His books, which feature illustrations by Brett Helquist, have inexplicably already spent more than 700 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and sold nearly 50 million copies worldwide. In December 2004, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, and Nickelodeon Movies released a major motion picture based on the first three books in A Series of Unfortunate Events, starring Jim Carrey and Meryl Streep. It was a dismal success, grossing more than $100 million in a matter of weeks.

A Series of Unfortunate Events has shocked and engrossed millions of readers worldwide since the release of the first book in 1999. Each of the books in the series -- including The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, The Wide Window, The Miserable Mill, The Austere Academy, The Ersatz Elevator, The Vile Village, The Hostile Hospital, The Carnivorous Carnival, The Slippery Slope, The Grim Grotto, The Penultimate Peril and Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography -- has been a national bestseller.

Literary and irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted, A Series of Unfortunate Events offers an exquisitely dark comedy in the tradition of Edward Gorey and Roald Dahl. Lemony Snicket's uproariously unhappy books continue to win readers everywhere, despite the author's continued warnings.

Lemony Snicket has been chronicling the lives of the Baudelaire children with only occasional breaks for food, rest and court-appointed swordfights. His hobbies include nervous apprehension, increasing dread, and wondering if his enemies were right after all.

Brett Helquist was born in Ganado, AZ, grew up in Orem, UT, and now lives in Brooklyn, NY. He earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Brigham Young University and has been illustrating ever since. Sometimes he finds his work depicting the upsetting lives of the Baudelaire orphans so distressing that he sends himself flowers, but it never helps.