Hospital seeks new ‘Peter Pan’

Peter Pan was the boy who would never grow old, but even the magical powers of Neverland can’t stop time from running out on his copyright.

So a British children’s hospital that owns the rights to the story of Peter, Tinkerbell and the evil Captain Hook is searching for an author to write a sequel, to keep the money flowing when the copyright to the evergreen classic runs out.

In 1929, author J.M. Barrie donated the copyright to London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital. The rights run out in Europe in 2007.

The hospital, which says the royalties are a “significant, but confidential” source of income, has invited publishers to submit the names of established authors who will then have to write a synopsis and sample chapter.