Brown's 'Da Vinci Code' Sequel Due September 15, 2009

Dan Brown's new novel, the sequel to The Da Vinci Code, now called The Lost Symbol, is due in stores September 15th. The publishing world heaves a sigh of relief. All those bookstores don't have to close now, and everybody can come back to work.

The Guardian.co.uk is reporting today that:

The long-awaited novel – one of the most anticipated in recent publishing history - will be called "The Lost Symbol," and will take place over a 12-hour period. No more details were given about its content, but persistent rumours have suggested it will be set in Washington DC and will focus on freemasonry. It will be published on 15 September with an initial print run of 6.5 million copies – the largest first printing in publisher Random House's history.

"This novel has been a strange and wonderful journey," said Brown. "Weaving five years of research into the story's 12-hour timeframe was an exhilarating challenge. Robert Langdon's life clearly moves a lot faster than mine."

Undoubtedly, previous reports over the last six years that it was to be called "The Solomon Key", and the subsequent flooding of the market of similarly named books influenced a title change. And there are no details yet as to whether Brown will follow through on his long-announced plans for the book to involve Freemasonry.

But we'll know in September.