Elton John to Publish Memoir with
Henry Holt in the U.S. and Pan Macmillan in the U.K.
Macmillan Wins Global Deal to Publish Superstar’s Autobiography
NEW YORK, Oct.13, 2016 – Henry Holt announced today that the company has acquired Elton John’s autobiography alongside sister company Pan Macmillan in London, for publication worldwide in 2019. Stephen Rubin, President and Publisher, and Gillian Blake, Editor in Chief, at Holt, and MD Anthony Forbes Watson and Publisher Jeremy Trevathan at Pan Macmillan, jointly acquired World English Rights from Andrew Wylie of the Wylie Agency.
Elton John said, “I’m not prone to being a nostalgic person. I’m often accused of only looking forward to my next gig or creative project. It’s come as quite a surprise how cathartic I am finding the process of writing my memoirs. As I look back, I realise what a crazy life I have had the extreme privilege of living. I have grown up in a period of extraordinary change in our world – and have had the joyful honour of rubbing shoulders and working with so many of the people at the heart of these changes. My life has been one helluva rollercoaster ride and it’s still lumbering on. I hope readers will enjoy the ride too.”
The book, which will be the first and only official autobiography of this flamboyant, multiple Grammy-winning international superstar, is being written by Elton with writer and music critic Alex Petridis and will be a no-holds-barred account of Elton’s life and work as the most enduring singer songwriter of his generation.
“Elton John is an extraordinary pop culture figure whose celebrity transcends his music,” said Rubin. “Sure we know the lyrics to all his signature songs, but we love him just as much for his charity work, for his wide circle of friends, including royalty, for his supremely unforgettable outrageousness and sense of style and humor, and for his irresistible likability. To publish this fabulous story in his own singular voice is thrilling.”
The two companies bought World English, audio and first serial rights to the book. Holt will publish in the U.S. and Canada; Pan Macmillan in the U.K., EMEA, Australia and New Zealand, India and South Africa.
About Macmillan
Macmillan is a global publisher of books, magazines, textbooks, scientific information, and digital content and services. In the United States, the group includes Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Flatiron Books, Henry Holt and Company; St. Martin’s Press; Tor Books; Picador; Macmillan Audio; Bedford St. Martin’s; W. H. Freeman; Worth Publishers; i-clicker; Hayden-McNeil; Palgrave Macmillan; and Scientific American magazine.
Macmillan is a subsidiary of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, GMbH, a global media company based in Stuttgart, Germany.
