Prior to the end of US President Barack Obama’s term in office, major American publishing houses are competing to buy the rights to his autobiography for $15 million – the same amount that former President Bill Clinton received for his book ‘My Life’, which was published in 2004.
Before assuming power, Obama, the USA’s 44th President, wrote two books; ‘Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance’, which was released in 1995, and translated into Arabic by Abu Dhabi-based Kalima Translation project; and ‘The Audacity of Hope’, which was published in 2006 and translated into Arabic by Saudi Obeikan Library. Both books were published by the Crown Publishing Group, which is a front runner to publish the President’s autobiography.
The Crown Publishing Group is a subsidiary of Random House, the world’s largest book publisher, and is the most likely to buy the translation rights to Obama’s memoirs. Meanwhile Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, which published Bill Clinton’s life story is also competing to buy Obama’s new book rights.