Prince Harry’s book deal with Penguin Random House will provide a steady stream of rumors and stories. Over the weekend, the Daily Mail reported — based on what seems to be a single source — that, plausibly, the overall deal was for four books and, less plausibly, that it includes a second memoir to be published “when his granny dies.” Lawyers for the prince told the paper that their claims were “false and defamatory” and a statement indicated, “Prince Harry has no plans to publish a second memoir after Queen Elizabeth’s death.” There was no direct denial of an agreement […]
Authors
Initiatives: Bloom Books Adds New Author
Bloom Books, the Sourcebooks line that offers a “joint publishing model” and started with EL James as “keystone author,” has announced their next partnership: fantasy romance author Scarlett St. Clair. They will have full rights to her entire backlist starting this fall, featuring the Hades x Persephone series, and will publish her new original novel, KING OF BATTLE AND BLOOD on November 30. A TOUCH OF DARKNESS, the first in her self-published series, is a TikTok driven success, recording print sales of approximately 58,000 copies this year, through Lightning Source (with ebook sales figures not available). Sourcebooks says, “National chains, […]
Forthcoming: Obama and Springsteen
Penguin Random House announced the global publication on October 26 of RENEGADES: Born in the USA by Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen, a collection of conversations that began on their Spotify podcast of the same name in 2020. PRH stated, “They share exclusive stories and ruminations about life, music, and their enduring love of America, with all its challenges and contradictions.” The full-color book will also include personal photographs, Springsteen’s handwritten lyrics, and Obama’s annotated speeches. English-language editions will be published by Crown in the US and Canada, and by Viking UK in the UK/Commonwealth. The US hardcover is $50. […]
Forthcoming: PRH to Publish Prince Harry Memoir Globally
Random House will publish a memoir by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex in “late 2022,” with a simultaneous audiobook edition released by Penguin Random House Audio. Penguin Random House Canada will publish in Canada, and Transworld will publish in the UK, with additional territories to be announced. Page Six says that Harry has been writing for nearly a year with author and ghostwriter J.R. Moehringer (who wrote books with Andre Agassi and Phil Knight), who they say “is getting at least $1 million as an advance.” The column says the manuscript, initially due in August, is now expected in […]
Honoring Mehta and Frank, Writers’ Voices, and Readers
Knopf executive editor Jonathan Segal remembers his colleagues Sonny Mehta and Dan Frank for their “enthusiastic, expansive vision for American literary life” in the Atlantic. And he honors their legacy of focusing on readers to examine the larger moment in publishing: “Readers want the widest possible choice, and the choice is greatest, and the culture richest, when writers have the leeway to initiate a dialogue—an exchange of ideas—in which readers can freely participate.” As he notes, “Condemnation and dismissal lead nowhere, but criticism can be valuable.” More broadly: “Many legitimate and important concerns have surfaced on social media, but Twitter […]
ABA Apologizes for Sending Paperback of Anti-Trans Book In July White Box
The American Booksellers Association received backlash online after including the paperback edition of Regnery’s Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters in the July White Box mailing, along with a promotional sales sheet. The book has been criticized as transphobic, and is the source of other controversies, including complaints from Amazon employees, two of whom resigned in protest over the company selling it. In a statement posted to Twitter Wednesday afternoon, the ABA wrote “An anti-trans book was included in our July mailing to members. This is a serious, violent incident that goes against ABA’s ends policies, values, and […]