A quick look at what’s coming in 1923 in terms of the public domain. Not a great year, but there are items that may interest. Some of the non-fiction could become the basis for graphic novels, and some of the fiction could be plot-lifted into new science-fiction etc.
Published 1927 in the U.S.:
William Delbert Gann, The Tunnel Thru the Air (air war in the future, amazing inventions).
Presumably Weird Tales for 1927, if it isn’t already.
Films of 1927:
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (early Hitchcock).
The Unknown (cult horror).
Various comedy shorts, and some say early Laurel & Hardy.
Author who died in 1952:
Arthur Leeds, Lovecraft’s friend and writer, with S.T. Joshi having “1952?”. Death date somewhat uncertain.
Eric Taylor, American crime writer for the 1930s pulps, later a screenwriter.
Fulton Oursler, popular British murder-mystery writer, father of writer Will Oursler.
John Morgan Walsh, prolific mystery novelist.
Bertram Atkey, British mystery-thrillers, recurring rascally gent character Smiler Bunn.
Laurence Dwight Smith, 1930s G-Men crime novels, also Cryptography: The Science Of Secret Writing, and Counterfeiting: Crime Against The People.
Jeffrey Farnol, prolific writer of mystery novels and more. The Loring Mystery was filmed in 1964.
Marjorie Bowen, very prolific British historical-romantic novelist. Some supernatural ‘twilight tales’ among her vast output. Some royal histories, and a 1936 non-fiction book on William Hogarth and Hogarthian London. Edited two horror anthologies?
Major General John Hay Beith, leading Edwardian playwright as ‘Ian Hay’, later worked with Hitchcock on films. Some mystery novels, some farcical comedy. The Great Wall of India is a travel book, across India in the late 1920s/early 30s. Also The King’s Service: History Of The British Infantry Soldier, and The British Infantryman: An Informal History.
John Vinycomb, Fictitious And Symbolic Creatures In Art.
Norman Douglas, Birds & Beasts Of The Greek Anthology, The Norman Douglas Limerick Book.
Jimmy Bancks, Australian cartoonist and nonsense poet.
Margaret Wise Brown, prolific writer of nursery books for young children. Mostly animal stories.
Charles Stuart Baybe, Exploring England: An Introduction To Nature-Craft.
Sven Hedin, explorer and writer, Riddles Of The Gobi Desert, The Silkroad, and many others.
Arthur Shearly Cripps, various South African novels and stories. Possible ‘big country’ adventure novels.
Edwin L. Sabin, a historian of the American West, wrote short stories and novels for boys about the American West (e.g. With George Washington Into The Wilderness). At least one story in Weird Tales. 1902 book of stories about golf, including one fantasy of a “golf ball which reacts to the emotions of players”.
Alexander Hamilton Thompson, wrote a biography of Bede.
Samuel Ogden Andrew, trans. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, 1929.
Harold John Massingham, Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum: The Giants In England.
Sir George MacMunn, Rudyard Kipling, Craftsman.
Henry Winram Dickinson, many biographies of men of the early Industrial Revolution.
Major Desmond Chapman-Huston, Bavarian Fantasy: The Story Of Ludwig II (mad king), among others.
George Parker Winship, Odd Lot Of New England Puritan Personalities.
E.H.W. Meyerstein. British writer. Poetry, a book titled Wade’s Boat (indicating an interest in ancient British tales), some short stories, a life of Chatterton (1930), and a queer London novel published after his death.
Joseph Francis Rinn, American magician most active in the early decades of the 20th century, author of Sixty Years of Psychical Research. Met Lovecraft once.
Sam Henry, “Ulster folklorist and writer”.
Roger Vitrac, “French surrealist playwright and poet”.
Paul Eluard, French poet and author.
Santayana, the philosopher admired by Lovecraft.
Knut Hamsun, Norwegian writer, Nobel Prize for Literature 1920.
Edward Conor Marshall O’Brien, Sea-Boats, Oars and Sails. Still an “excellent book for the knowledgeable boater to better understand the world of design, building and boat operating”.
And finally, the Sherlock Holmes canon is said to be set to fall completely into the public domain as of January 2023. Apparently copyright claims had been holding up a few of the stories.