Will Harry lose to Mrs Obama in battle of books?
THE publishers of Prince Harry’s forthcoming tell-all memoir are facing a potentially embarrassing launch-date clash with their star author Michelle Obama.
The former US First Lady announced last week she is bringing out a follow-up to her autobiography Becoming, one of the best-selling books of all time.
It would be coming out at around the same time that Harry’s as-yet untitled work is set to hit the shelves.
Industry insiders have speculated whether the clash explains why the publisher of both books, Penguin Random House, has yet to announce when the royal’s ghost-written, yet supposedly ‘intimate and heartfelt’, account will go on sale.
Some are suggesting Harry’s book could be brought forward to October to avoid Mrs Obama’s hotly anticipated The Light We Carry, which will come out on November 15 in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
It would also ensure the prince’s memoir would have a ‘clear shot’ at topping the New York Times Bestseller List, says one in the know, before getting ‘ totally eclipsed’ by his stablemate.
‘I would certainly account for a lot of the uncertainty,’ they said. ‘Michelle Obama is a phenomenon and her new book is expected to top every bestseller list in the world. She would totally eclipse anything by Harry. It could potentially be quite difficult timing.’
Penguin Random House announced in July last year it would bring out Harry’s ‘literary memoir’ in late 2022. It said he would be sharing, for the first time, the ‘definitive account’ of his life from childhood to now.
It has long been feared by Buckingham Palace that Harry, 37, will use the memoir to settle more of his perceived scores against his family and senior courtiers.
Ghost writer JR Moehringer is said to have finished the manuscript, with the book having passed all of its ‘legal processes’.
But nothing has been heard officially since the initial announcement, leading to much speculation in the publishing industry.
By contrast last week there was huge global excitement at Mrs Obama’s announcement of a new book, which Penguin said would be published in 14 languages with an initial US print run of 2.75 million copies. Becoming has sold more than 17 million worldwide.