Sunday, November 25, 2018
Sen. Kamala Harris plans picture book edition of memoir
NEW YORK
Sen. Kamala Harris, whose memoir comes out Jan. 8, isn’t only writing for those of voting age.
The picture book memoir “Superheroes Are Everywhere” will be released around the same time, Penguin Young Readers announced last week. Penguin Press is publishing the adult edition, “The Truths We Hold: An American Journey.”
Harris, a California Democrat, has been widely discussed as a possible 2020 presidential contender and memoirs have become a standard part of a White House campaign. She said in a statement that she hoped her story would “empower young people” and make them “caring, thoughtful, passionate citizens.”
A middle-grade edition of “The Truths We Hold” is scheduled for later in 2019.
Michelle Obama’s book sells 1.4 million copies in one week
NEW YORK
Michelle Obama’s “Becoming” has become a massive hit.
Crown Publishing told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the former first lady’s memoir has sold more than 1.4 million copies in print and digital formats in the U.S. and Canada in the seven days since it was released Nov. 13.
Based on demand from retailers across all channels, the publisher has printed 3 million hardcover copies in North America. On its first day, the book sold more than 725,000 copies, making it one of the year’s biggest debuts.
Crown also said that “Becoming” is currently the No. 1 adult nonfiction title in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Holland, Spain, Denmark and Finland. In Germany, some 200,000 copies have been sold, prompting a second printing of 100,000 copies.
In the United Kingdom, “Becoming” is published by Viking, and it has had five press runs with a total of 575,000 copies in print. In Holland, the Dutch-language edition is the best-selling book in the Netherlands, with the English-language edition ranked second.
Novelist William Kennedy to receive prestigious Irish award
ALBANY, N.Y.
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist William Kennedy will receive an award from Ireland’s president for his Albany-based literary works focusing on the Irish-American experience.
The Times Union reports the 90-year-old Albany native will receive the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad from Irish President Michael D. Higgins during a ceremony in Dublin on Thursday.
Kennedy, founder of the New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany, will be honored along Irish author Edna O’Brien.
Associated Press