The collection of A. E. Hotchner (1917-2020) and Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) papers spans the years 1944-1968, with the bulk of the material dating from 1950 to 1966. It includes letters from Hemingway to Hotchner, literary writings by Hemingway, a draft of Hotchner's memoir Papa Hemingway , and related material.

Hotchner first met Hemingway in 1948 when he was sent to Cuba by Cosmopolitan to persuade Hemingway to contribute to the magazine. They soon developed a friendship, and Hotchner became a regular visitor to the Hemingway home and a frequent traveling companion to Hemingway and his wife Mary. Hemingway had Hotchner write several television adaptations of his work, including For Whom the Bell Tolls in 1958 and The Killers in 1959. Hotchner remained close to Hemingway and his wife during Hemingway's final years when depression and mental illness led to hospitalizations and eventual suicide.

Papa Hemingway , written after Hemingway's death, was based on notes and tape recordings of conversations Hotchner had with Hemingway over the years. Mary Hemingway sued in an attempt to prevent the sale of the book, claiming that her privacy rights had been violated. Hotchner made cuts to the manuscript before publication in an attempt to appease Mary Hemingway. She sued anyway, but lost her case. The draft of Papa Hemingway in these papers contains the material that was deleted; these passages have been marked by Hotchner. Legal papers from the law suit are also in the Papa Hemingway file.

Hemingway's writings in the collection include correspondence to Hotchner and various drafts of his creative writing. Two drafts of The Dangerous Summer are in the papers. A shortened version of the novel was published in installments by Life magazine in 1960, and the whole novel was published in 1985. The draft of "The Sea" was published posthumously as Islands in the Stream in 1970. There are also typescripts and copies of unpublished work including seven short stories, an essay, and several poems.