Hillary Clinton's Next Chapter--Her Book--Almost Done
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| photo: Cameron Blaylock | |
Hillary Clinton gave a simultaneously amusing and heartfelt keynote at the annual meeting of the Association of American Publishers yesterday in New York City, discussing her publishing experience, her upcoming book and publishing in general.
In an introduction, S&S CEO Carolyn Reidy noted that, including the forthcoming book, she has published four books by Clinton, all of which have been "much anticipated, much discussed and, I'm happy to report, much purchased." Clinton writes all her books, including revisions, Reidy said, and as for the upcoming one, "I can tell you the world will be happy again."
Clinton praised editor Jonathan Karp and Reidy, who, she said, has with this project shown "the kind of care and passion she brings to everything she does, including working with prickly, stubborn authors."
The new book, which Simon & Schuster is publishing in June, is about her experiences as Secretary of State. Clinton hopes, as she intends with all her books, to "captivate, educate and inspire all at once," she said. The book deals with a range of subjects, "from the Crimea to climate change" and is, she joked, "just another light summer read."
At the moment, she's mulling over titles. Possibilities include one that "plays off my love of all things Tina Fey: Bossy Pantsuit." But because of "one of those words," that title will not be used. A contender is 120 Countries and It's Still About My Hair.
She described a kind of idyllic existence "at our farmhouse in Chappaqua" that she imagined following her resignation as Secretary of State, but "it hasn't worked out that way. If you saw my study at home, you'd think it was an episode from Hoarders." Clinton still writes longhand and keeps all her drafts. "I have barrels and barrels of old drafts."
Clinton noted that besides Karp and Reidy, she has "two fantastic editors: Bill and Chelsea." Her husband and daughter "encourage me to keep going, to put things on page, to provide context."
In conclusion, she urged publishers to support First Book, the program that seeks to place books in homes of low-income families. Reading and singing to children is so important, she continued. "It fuels brain development and puts them on the path to developing their potential… Without access to books, kids have substantially lower vocabularies, which creates an achievement gap down the road."
She also praised publishers, saying that "as an old-fashioned reader who loves books, thank you all very, very much." While she didn't mention a possible run for president in 2016, she did exit the room with a very campaign-like wave. --John Mutter
In remarks opening the annual meeting of the Association of American Publishers yesterday, Carolyn Reidy, CEO of Simon & Schuster and outgoing AAP president, recounted achievements during the past year. These included:
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