Laura Bush's memoir on the way
Everybody knows George Bush's popularity has tanked, but does the publishing industry have to rub it in? First lady Laura Bush has secured a multimillion-dollar contract for a memoir, even as her husband -- who still is the president -- can't get a deal.
Laura's deal with Scribner was announced today, and the book is expected to be released in 2010, according to the Associated Press. There were no details on financial arrangements, but past deals involving first ladies have carried multimillion-dollar payouts; Hillary Clinton received $8 million for her memoir.
Laura Bush's life is already a best seller in fictional form, in Curtis Sittenfeld's American Wife. And books by recent first ladies, including Barbara Bush, have had more dependable commercial appeal than those by former presidents, the AP noted.
But the Laura Bush name is not a surefire winner. She wrote a children's book, Read All About It!, with daughter Jenna and it had an announced first printing of 500,000. Though launched by a mother-daughter appearance on the “Today Show,” only 80,000 copies have sold, according to Nielsen BookScan.
Laura Bush said she looked forward to working with the publisher “as I tell the stories of the extraordinary events and people I've met in my life, particularly during my years in the White House.” She will work with a collaborator, the AP said, but one has not yet been named.
“As a rare witness to the private moments of one of our country's most consequential presidencies, and as a first lady who has maintained a notable level of discretion, her memoir will provide a candid and personal perspective, and an enduring record, of the years that have already determined the course of the 21st century,” said Susan Moldow, executive vice president and publisher of Scribner.
While she always preferred The Hardy Boys to Nancy Drew, 
Comments
We've worked up the perfect book concept for President Bush, and hope to meet with his literary agent next week.
See
http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/bush-book-deal/
Posted by: Mike Licht | January 14, 2009 1:28 AM
We've released the first post-Bush memoir.
Check it out at:
http://bushmemoir.blogspot.com
Posted by: Ted Cohen | March 6, 2009 7:31 PM