Former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern may be about to sign a massive book publishing deal. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Dame Jacinda Ardern is set to sign a massive new book deal, which has the publishing industry abuzz with speculation of a possible $1 million-plus record advance.
Penguin is believed to be the frontrunner for the New Zealand and Australian rights to Ardern’s official biography following a major bidding war involving international publishing houses.
But Penguin won’t confirm it has won the contract for Australasian rights, or any of the book details.
“I don’t think I can talk about that. Who’s suggested that you get in touch with me about this?” Penguin Random House New Zealand head of publishing Claire Murdoch said.
“I’m not in a position to comment on this. I don’t think I can say anything about it. Presumably, there’s one very obvious person to talk to about this.”
Ardern is in the United States and could not be reached by phone on Friday; she is yet to respond to a text message.
Her EA said she could not comment.
The publishing industry is abuzz with speculation the former Prime Minister could receive an advance of anywhere between $1m and $1.5m.
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 $A1 million ($NZ1.1m) 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.
Several major books have previously been written about Ardern, but none have been her authorised biography.
In 2020, The Spinoff’s Madeleine Chapman wrote Jacinda Ardern, A New Kind of Leader while fellow journalist Michelle Duff penned Jacinda Ardern: The Story Behind an Extraordinary Leader.
In 2021, activist and journalist Supriya Vani and writer Carl A Harte published Jacinda Ardern: Leading with Empathy.
That book was the subject of controversy when Ardern and her office claimed that interviews for the book were conducted in 2019 under a different pretext.
Ardern told reporters at the time that she had been approached on the basis that “the author was writing a book on women and political leadership”.
“I was told there were roughly 10 other female political leaders involved,” she said.
Ardern said she had made it clear she would be interviewed “on that basis, given it was not specific to me”.
“[T]he claim that it was an exclusive interview for the purpose of writing a book of that nature [a biography] is not true so I think I will certainly ask that that be clarified,” she said.
Among other books have been Taking the Lead, How Jacinda Ardern Wowed the World - also published by Penguin, and targeted at children.
Following her departure from Parliament, Ardern is understood to be working out of a central city Auckland office. She has been seen frequently in the office, and at nearby cafes at lunchtimes.
Whether the office is also a bolthole for writing her biography remains to be seen.
Later this year, she will head to Harvard for dual fellowships - as 2023 Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Fellow and as a Hauser Leader in the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership.
“Jacinda Ardern showed the world strong and empathetic political leadership,” said Kennedy School dean Douglas Elmendorf in April.
“She earned respect far beyond the shores of her country, and she will bring important insights for our students and will generate vital conversations about the public policy choices facing leaders at all levels.”