Michelle Obama's memoirs sell for more than 10 million copies | American News

Michelle Obama's autobiography, Becoming, is set to become the most successful memoir in the history of modern publishing, with over 10 million copies sold to date, while life after home Blanche continues to prove the commercial gold of the Obama brand.

Thomas Rabe, director of the German media group Bertelsmann, parent company of Penguin Random House, publisher of Becoming, said the title was the biggest success of the book giant last year. "We think these memories could become the most successful memories of all time," he said.

Penguin Random House won the battle for the rights of Barack and Michelle Obama's autobiographies in 2017, paying over $ 65 million, a record for US presidential memoirs, beating rivals like HarperCollins of Rupert Murdoch and Simon & Schuster , from CBS.

Becoming is a heavyweight sales since its simultaneous launch in 31 languages ​​in mid-November of last year. The audiobook, read by Obama, has become the fastest seller ever launched by Penguin Random House.

Obama promoted his memoir during an extremely popular world tour. Tickets for his first live appearance in the UK, at the Royal Festival Hall in December, were sold in minutes. She will return on April 14 to The O2 in London, a place of 20,000 seats, a place more accustomed to hosting concerts of world pop stars.

His tour also took place in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Paris and Amsterdam, as well as numerous events in the United States and Canada.

Overall sales of the Obama book in the UK are currently growing to more than 600,000, placing it in 11th place among the best-selling memoirs and biographies since the start of sales, in 1998, according to Nielsen BookScan.

Although Becoming a modern bestseller, he still has a way to go to equal the lifetime performance of The Diary of Anne Frank, first published in English in 1952 and sold for more 35 million copies in 65 languages.

Life beyond the US presidency has proven to be lucrative for Obama. Last year, the former president and the first lady reached an agreement with Netflix for the production of television series and films for the streaming service.

The Obama's are not the only former White House residents to take the train-book to the Penguin Random House. The publisher said The President is Missing, a thriller of former US President Bill Clinton and James Patterson, has also proved to be a bestseller.