A rejection letter needs to do two things: 1) softly inform the recipient that their work will not be accepted and 2) kindly encourage them to do better next time. Hunter S. Thompson has the appropriate verbosity and temperament to pen such letters. And he fulfills both criteria in a rejection letter for Rolling Stone to some author named Anthony Burgess.

"What kind of lame, half-mad bullshit are you trying to sneak over on us? When Rolling Stone asks for 'a thinkpiece,' goddamnit, we want a fucking Thinkpiece ... and don't try to weasel out with any of your limey bullshit about a "50,000 word novella about the condition humaine, etc.... Do you take us for a gang of brainless lizards? Rich hoodlums? Dilettante thugs? You lazy cocksucker. I want that Thinkpiece on my desk by Labor Day."

Burgess, the recipient of this letter, is, of course, the famed author of Clockwork Orange. Read the full letter, which appears in Shaun Usher's Letters of Note and posted on Imgur, below.

Imgur

Matt Miller Culture Editor Matt is the Culture Editor at Esquire where he covers music, movies, books, and TV—with an emphasis on all things Star Wars, Marvel, and Game of Thrones.

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