(FiveNation.com)- Former Vice President Mike Pence hasn’t officially announced whether he’ll be running for president in 2024, but he’s certainly preparing a media blitz leading up to it.
On Wednesday, Pence announced that he reached a book deal with Simon & Schuster. He’ll be writing an autobiography, which doesn’t have a title just yet, and it is currently scheduled to be released in 2023.
In a statement Wednesday, Pence said:
“I am grateful to have the opportunity to tell the story of my life in public service to the American people, from serving in Congress, to the Indiana Governor’s office and as Vice President of the United States. I look forward to working with the outstanding team at Simon & Schuster to invite readers on a journey from a small town in Indiana to Washington, D.C.”
Simon & Schuster was just one company that fought for the rights to publish the book. In fact, David Vigiliano, Pence’s agent, said “all major publishers” wanted to sign Pence up to a deal. In the end, Simon & Schuster’s deal is worth “well into seven figures,” Vigiliano said.
The company also announced Wednesday that they were signing Pence to a second book deal. No details on that were released this week.
It’s not uncommon for former political heads to write books and memoirs after their time in the White House. Pence is the first former Trump administration official to announce a definite book deal, though others such as Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state, and Kellyanne Conway, a former advisor, are both apparently writing books as well.
To this point, many major publishing executives told The Associated Press that they wouldn’t be interested in signing up for a memoir by former President Donald Trump. Those executives cited the attacks on the U.S. Capitol building on January 6 by supporters of Trump as one of their main reasons.
In a release, Dana Canedy, the vice president and publisher of Simon & Schuster, said Pence’s book would be “revelatory.” He didn’t mention whether the book would discuss the attacks on the Capitol building. As he said:
“Vice President Pence’s life and work, his journey as a Christian, the challenges and triumphs he has faced, and the lessons he has learned, tells an American story of extraordinary public service during a time of unrivaled public interest in our government and politics. His revelatory autobiography will be the definitive book on one of the most consequential presidencies in American history.”
It may be somewhat of a surprise that Simon & Schuster was the company that took on the conservative Pence for a book deal. Only months ago, the publisher dropped a book deal with Josh Hawley, the Republican Senator from Missouri.
The company dropped Hawley after the senator challenged the Electoral College results of two states during the certification process. Many people believe that his actions at least partially led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol building, since it happened on the same day of the attacks.
