Barack and Michelle Obama have just entered into a book deal with Penguin Random House, with the publishing house announcing it will be publishing books by both the former Commander in Chief and First Lady.
According to the New York Times, Penguin Random House emerged victorious after “a heated auction among multiple publishers.” While terms of the deal remain under wraps, the Times reports that “publishing industry executives with knowledge of the bidding process said that it probably stretched into the tens of millions.”
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Random House reportedly acquired world publishing rights for both books, and plans to donate one million books in the Obama family’s name to nonprofit charity First Book and digital education initiative Open eBooks. In addition, the Obamas are planning to donate a portion of their advances to charity, one of which is the Obama Foundation.
“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,” said Markus Dohle, chief executive of Penguin Random House, in a statement. “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.”
