Tom Hanks is writing his first book, a collection of short stories

Tom Hanks and his trusty typewriter are coming to book form. The Academy Award-winning actor’s first book, a collection of short stories, will be published by Knopf in October, the publisher announced on Tuesday.

Uncommon Type: Some Stories will include 17 tales, each involving the clickety-clack of a different typewriter.

Hanks collects vintage typewriters and owns more than 100 of them, according to Knopf.

In a statement, Hanks, 60, who began writing the book in 2015, said: “In the two years of working on the stories, I made movies in New York, Berlin, Budapest, and Atlanta, and wrote in all of them. I wrote in hotels during press tours. I wrote on vacation. I wrote on planes, at home, and in the office.

“When I could actually make a schedule, and keep to it, I wrote in the mornings from 9 to 1.”

Sonny Mehta, editor in chief of Knopf, said he first read a story by Hanks in The New Yorker several years ago and “was struck by both his remarkable voice and command as a writer. I had hoped there might be more stories in the works. Happily for readers, it turns out there were”.

According to Knopf, Hanks’ stories will focus on subjects such as: “An immigrant arriving in New York City after his family and life have been torn apart by his country’s civil war; a man who bowls a perfect game [and then another, and another], becoming ESPN’s newest celebrity; an eccentric billionaire and his faithful executive assistant on the hunt for something larger in America; and the junket life of an actor.” Hanks’ recent movies include Sully and Inferno.