The Series is subdivided into three parts: letters received, letters sent, and correspondence with agents and publishers.
Ballard did not retain his correspondence, and that which has occasionally survived (excepting a postcard from Martin Bax, 1971) is from 1986 onwards, much of which was conducted by fax.
The files include examples of contracts with publishers (1962-1966), some correspondence with literary agencies, and a number of original documents deriving from Lunghua Camp, Shanghai (which Ballard did not receive until 1996-1997) as well as several letters from fellow internees prompted by the publication of Empire of the Sun.