Dame Jacinda Ardern confirms book deal, former Prime Minister expected to receive $1 million-plus advance

Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern has confirmed she is writing a book – but it is unlikely to be a tell-all political expose.

As the Herald revealed earlier this month, Ardern has signed with Penguin for the New Zealand and Australian book rights, in a deal believed to be worth more than $1 million.

Ardern told her followers on the Instagram today that she had been asked a lot of questions since leaving Parliament, including whether she’d write a book.

“At first my answer was no. I didn’t want to write a book that hauled over the internal politics of the last five years, and then someone convinced me that I didn’t have to. That maybe it might be worth expanding on some of things I talked about in my valedictory instead – like the idea you can be your own kind of leader and still make a difference.

“And so that’s what I’m planning to do. I’ve seen a bit of speculation about me writing, but there’s not too much more to say other than I’m planning on doing it and will be working with a lovely team of publishers (including Penguin in NZ and Australia, Macmillan in the UK and Crown in the United States.)”

She said there was no set date for its completion.

“The Christchurch Call work on violent extremism and terrorism online is keeping me pretty busy – but I hope when it’s done, it’s the kind of book that would have made a difference to my 14-year-old self.”

Ardern is expected to receive an advance of between $1 million and $1.5 million for the New Zealand and Australian rights.

The only other Kiwi previously in that ballpark has been former All Black Sonny Bill Williams, whose New Zealand, Australian and UK autobiography rights were reportedly sold for A$1m (NZ$1.1m) in 2021.

Publishing experts say most advances in New Zealand are generally between $5000 and $10,000 - perhaps fetching up to $20,000 for the memoir of a well-known politician.

It is understood - if the $1m advance speculation is confirmed - a publisher would likely need to sell more than 100,000 books in Australia and New Zealand to break even.

Former All Black captain Richie McCaw sold more than 120,000 copies, worldwide, of his biography, Open Side, following its release in 2012. At the time, that surpassed the previous long-standing New Zealand bookselling record - for Sir Colin Meads’ 1974 biography, which sold 55,000 copies.