Just had a look - he's been doing novels a while now. Not surprising. He had a good run, got to make some (very) good films his own way but no one gets to keep on making them with millions of other people's money if they don't make it back. Even Scorsese needs Leo to get his films financed, that's just how it goes. But JS's work is still getting out there and he's pragmatic about it. Smart guy.
www.screenslate.com/articles/conversation-john-sayles
"JS: Not retired. I had been retired, and left to stand in line. Half of the filmmakers I know are still trying to get their next movie made after years and years and years. It’s a really hard thing to get to do, especially if you’re going to work with professionals. I couldn’t even get a two-and-a-half million dollar movie off the ground. Two of those novels were based on screenplays. We finally felt, we’re never going to make this. We’ll never raise that amount of money. So I made them into novels and expanded them."