Get Ready for the Avalanche of Obama Books
Posted on June 10, 2008
Now that he's won the Democratic nomination, Barack Obama is about to get the media blitz of his career. Yes, he'll be campaigning and running ads. But he'll also be well represented by a planned slate of books about the candidate.
Several works about Senator Barack Obama, the Democrats' presumptive presidential candidate, are planned for the summer and fall, from children's stories and photographs to attacks from both the left and the right. "Based on past election years, we anticipate strong customer interest in titles regarding the issues, candidates and election process," Bob Wietrak, a vice-president of merchandising at Barnes & Noble, Inc., said Thursday.... He has written two books, "Dreams From My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope," both million sellers.It's hard to say how many Obama books will sell this summer. But right now, the interest is very high, so it's likely they will do quite well."He tells his own story so eloquently, I can't imagine a book about him selling so well. Never," said Carla Cohen, co-owner of the Politics & Prose bookstore, based in Washington, D.C. She did say she there has been interest in some previous books, including David Mendell's "Obama," a biography published by HarperCollins last year and recently out in paperback.
"I think there is still a market for them (Obama books), although I have to say, it's hard to match his own storytelling," says Priscilla Painton, editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster, which has at least two Obama books planned.