Collection includes Grimsley's personal journals, personal and professional correspondence, handwritten notebooks containing the creative beginnings of his novels and plays, drafts of of his writings, publicity, reviews, and publications by or about him in small magazines. Also includes published copies and translations of his writings.

Collection contains personal journals (1973-1993); personal and professional correspondence (1970s-2018); handwritten notebooks containing the creative beginnings of his novels and plays; datebooks and appointment journals; writing drafts (1970s-2016); published copies and galleys of his works, including translations; publicity, reviews, and publications by or about him in periodicals. Topics in his writings include family violence, homosexuality, the lives of young boys, racism and desegregation, and growing up in the Southern United States. The collection includes materials from all stages of Grimsley's creative process for his many plays, short stories, articles, and books. Grimsley's papers also include a significant amount of material from his work as an author of speculative and science fiction, including drafts of essays and books, editorial correspondence, and documentation of his participation in science fiction conventions.