Former US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle have signed book deals with Penguin Random House.
“The company has acquired world publication rights for two books, to be written by President and Mrs Obama respectively,” the publisher said.
Titles and other details have not been disclosed but the deals are believed to be worth tens of millions of dollars.
It was reported by the Financial Times that bidding reached more than $60m, a record sum for US presidential memoirs.
By comparison, fellow Democrat and former President Bill Clinton earned $15m for rights to his 2004 memoir My Life after he left office, while Obama’s immediate predecessor, Republican George W Bush, reaped some $10m from his book Decision Points.
Mr Obama is the author of Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope bestsellers.
Mrs Obama has written American Grown – a book about food and gardening.
“With their words and their leadership, they changed the world, and every day, with the books we publish at Penguin Random House, we strive to do the same,” Penguin Random House CEO Markus Dohle said.
“Now, we are very much looking forward to working together with President and Mrs Obama to make each of their books global publishing events of unprecedented scope and significance.”
