US presidents appear on coins and currency, from pennies to fifties. And when they leave office, presidents often become coin collectors too.
This week, Penguin Random House announced that Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama have signed deals for memoirs, with the former President’s volume due in fall 2018. While the Obamas represent the blue side of the partisan divide, the story here is all about the green, explains Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer.
“PRH is not disclosing terms of the agreement, but a report in the Financial Times had the package going for US$60 to 65 million. One high-ranking publishing executive who had been in on the negotiations told PW last week that he thought the combined package for both books was around $30 million. But whether it’s $30 or $60 million, those advances are well above what such memoirs usually draw,” Albanese tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally.
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Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.