President Obama is reportedly expected to land one of the largest post-presidency book contracts in American history.
Esther Newberg, co-head of ICM Partners’ publishing unit, told the Hollywood Reporter that one Obama memoir could “go for more than any president’s memoir has ever gone.”
“There is a broader fascination with Obama, from conservatives who really hate him as well as liberals who deeply admire what he did,” presidential historian Julian Zelizer told the outlet.
Last September, Raphael Sagalyn of the ICM/Sagalyn Literary Agency told the New York Times that Obama’s “is going to be easily the most valuable presidential memoir ever.”
Indeed, the multi-million dollar post-presidency literary contract precedent has been set and surpassed every four to eight years.
Bill Clinton’s post-presidency memoir, My Life, netted him a $15 million advance. (Then-Senator Hillary Clinton landed an $8 million book deal with Simon & Schuster for her own memoir months before her husband’s deal became public).
President George W. Bush collected $7 million from the first 1.5 million copies of his post-White House tome Decision Points.
President Obama was already an accomplished author, at age 35, with his bestselling memoir Dreams From My Father, which was published in 1995.
A lot has changed over the past two decades for the former state senator. With Bill Clinton currently holding the record for post-presidential memoirs at $15 million, it is not unreasonable to expect Obama could get $20 million, or more, for his own.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson