COUNTY LIFE
Printing money: How celebrity book deals stack up
by Felix Richter, Nov 17, 2020, statista
Three and a half years after signing a joint book deal with his wife shortly after leaving office, Barack Obama’s account of his time in the White House is hitting bookshelves across the globe on Tuesday. “A Promised Land” is almost certainly the most anticipated book of the year and perhaps of the past decade. The book will be available in 19 languages at launch and its publisher Penguin Random House is expecting to sell as many copies as it can possibly print amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to publisher information shared by the New York Times, Michelle Obama’s “Becoming”, published two years ago, has sold more than 14 million copies worldwide, setting the benchmark for what is already all but certain to become a global megaseller. Mr. Obama’s previous two books “Dreams From My Father”, originally from 1995, and his 2006 political manifest “The Audacity of Hope” sold 3.3 million and 4.3 million copies, respectively, indicating what may have convinced Penguin Random House to offer the Obamas one of the largest book deals in history.
As the following chart shows, the $65 million deal the former first couple signed in 2017 stands as the largest publicly known non-fiction book deal by quite a distance. Bill Clinton’s $15 million advance for “My Life” is the second largest known deal while Hillary Clinton rounds off the top 3 with the $14 million she netted for “Hard Choices.”
The 22nd annual July Jam returns on July 27 to the Bowie Community Center West Hall, 413 Pelham Street in Bowie.
There will be a “chickin’ pickin’ fiddling fun time” as guests will be entertained by amazing fiddling tunes and enjoying a chicken meal with delicious homemade jams because it wouldn’t be July Jam without it.
Tickets are just $15 with the event starting at 6 p.m. The funds raised help provide awards for the Championship Fiddler Competition during Chicken and Bread Days Heritage Festival on Oct. 5.
This attracts talented musicians from all over to visit downtown Bowie to test their fiddling skills on stage in the Bowie Fire Hall on Oct. 5.
Along with the live fiddling entertainment, come hungry and be ready to outbid your neighbors at the silent auction or just stop by for a great meal, fellowship and soak in the air conditioning.
Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News.
The Nocona City Council met this past week making plans for budget and tax rate hearings.
Councilors received a brief update on the 2024-25 budget preparations. City Secretary Revell Hardison said the final proposal is almost complete and they now await the arrival of the no-new revenue tax rate that will be reviewed by the council after it is calculated by the tax collector.
The proposal includes a tax rate increase of about 3% similar to last year and there will be a small increase in water and sewer rates, but Hardison said the final crunch on those will come after the tax rate projections arrive.
Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News.
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