Fun news!
Penguin Random House has announced that they have won the bidding war, and will be publishing books by both former President Barak Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. They also shared that they will donate one million books in the Obama family’s name to First Book, a nonprofit organization that provides books to disadvantaged children, and Open eBooks, the Washington-based digital education initiative. Additionally, the Obamas have stated that part of their advances will go to charity, including the Obama Foundation.
In a statement on Tuesday, Penguin Random House CEO Markus Dohle said, “We are absolutely thrilled to continue our publishing partnership with President and Mrs. Obama. With their words and their leadership, they changed the world, and every day, with the books we publish at Penguin Random House, we strive to do the same. Now, we are very much looking forward to working together with President and Mrs. Obama to make each of their books global publishing events of unprecedented scope and significance.”
This is the first time that both a former President and First Lady have been included on a united publishing contract. There is no word yet on the subject of either book (although The New York Times did deliciously note that “Mr. Obama kept a journal during his time in office, which suggests his memoir could include behind-the-scenes moments that were captured as major events unfolded.”), but whatever they entail, they will no doubt be bestsellers!
We certainly can’t wait to read them!