Somewhere in Austin, Texas, there’s an unpublished John Steinbeck novel about werewolves. But just like the shapeshifting creatures themselves, it’s unlikely to see the light of day.

The novel, Murder at Full Moon, was written when Steinbeck was a young man and rejected by publishers. Now academics are urging the author’s estate to release the manuscript, the Guardian reports.

Gavin Jones, a Stanford University literature professor, said there would be “a huge public interest” in publication of the novel.

“This is a novel that really nobody knows about,” Jones said. “It’s a complete novel by Steinbeck. It’s incredible.”

Like many of Steinbeck’s books, Murder at Full Moon takes place in California, where residents of a town are being terrorized by a series of slayings that take place on the night of a full moon—you know, werewolf time. The manuscript resides at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas in Austin, which houses Steinbeck’s archives.

The literary agency McIntosh and Otis said it has no plans to publish the novel, noting that Steinbeck didn’t choose to publish it once he gained fame for his other, non-werewolf-themed novels.

News of the novel caught literary Twitter’s attention, with author Amber Sparks writing, “I hope in Steinbeck’s werewolf novel the werewolves form a union and eat the faces off the scabs.”

Meanwhile, writer Kelsey D. Atherton suggested the book be retitled, tweeting, “if Steinbeck’s werewolf novel isn’t called Beast of Eden someone fucked up.”

Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.