Publishers woo Palin for book deal Allen-Mills, New York | November 17, 2008
Article from: The Australian
SHE failed to save John McCain from presidential election doom, but Sarah Palin, the losing Republican senator's controversial running mate, may yet emerge as an unlikely saviour of the US publishing industry.
Literary agents are queueing to sign Ms Palin to a book deal that could earn her up to $US7 million ($10.8 million).
With Barack Obama's election victory expected to generate dozens of books from politicians, strategists and journalists - and with another shelfload of memoirs expected from outgoing members of President George W.Bush's administration - Ms Palin's personal account of her tumultuous introduction to US politics is widely regarded as the tale most likely to repay a multi-million-dollar advance.
"She's poised to make a ton of money," said Howard Rubenstein, New York's best-known public relations adviser.
And Jeff Klein of Folio Literary management said: "Every publisher and a lot of literary agents have been going after her."
Ms Palin's profile shows no sign of diminishing, despite Senator McCain's defeat and embittered Republicans making her the scapegoat for the party's collapse. She is now in a position similar to Mr Obama's in 2004, when the then relatively unknown Chicago politician delivered a mesmerising speech to the Democratic convention, was elected to the Senate and swiftly wrote a bestselling book - The Audacity of Hope - which proved to be the springboard for his presidential launch.
Like Mr Obama, Ms Palin has come from obscurity - in her case Wasilla in Alaska. She is considered a likely candidate to move to Washington as Alaska's senator if one of the state's two seats falls vacant next year.
Undaunted by her poll defeat, Ms Palin was in fighting form last week, inviting cameras into her home, serving visiting interviewers home-cooked moose chilli, and haddock and salmon casserole. She scoffed at claims that she thought Africa was a country and did not know the members of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
She said much of the criticism levelled at her came from "bloggers in their parents' basements just talking garbage".
At a meeting of Republican governors late in the week, Ms Palin's celebrity far outshone her more experienced colleagues.
Frank Luntz, a prominent Republican consultant, called her a "rock star", but Tim Pawlenty, the governor of Minnesota, warned that she would be only "one of the voices" leading the party forward.
Yet there are already signs that conservative Republicans, thrilled by Ms Palin's right-wing views, are manoeuvring to keep her in the public eye with a view to the 2012 elections and beyond.
One group, Our Country Deserves Better, has collected tens of thousands of dollars to pay for television commercials to run over the forthcoming Thanksgiving holiday for ads to thank Ms Palin for her efforts.
Despite polling evidence that Ms Palin failed to make much impact on any of the groups that Senator McCain's strategists hoped she might deliver - women, independent voters and suburbanites - her supporters insisted she should not be blamed for either Senator McCain's defeat or the legacy of the Bush administration's failures.
Ms Palin noted that in view of the Bush record, "it's amazing we did as well as we did".
Although anonymous McCain aides had variously described her as a "diva" and a "whack job", and Maureen Dowd of The New York Times derided her last week as "Eliza Knowlittle", she has earned plaudits from a surprising range of friends and former foes for keeping her cool under fire.
Camille Paglia, the radical feminist, said she had "heartily enjoyed her arrival on the national stage". Ms Palin had been subjected to "an atrocious and sometimes delusional level of defamation", Paglia said.
And Joanne Bamberger, the liberal author of the popular PunditMom blog, praised Ms Palin for not "fading into the Alaskan woodwork", saying: "She's got some serious chutzpah." Ms Palin "has taken charge of this moment ... and she's making the most of the notoriety that was offered her".
The Sunday Times
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,24660345-26397,00.html
Article from: The Australian
SHE failed to save John McCain from presidential election doom, but Sarah Palin, the losing Republican senator's controversial running mate, may yet emerge as an unlikely saviour of the US publishing industry.
Literary agents are queueing to sign Ms Palin to a book deal that could earn her up to $US7 million ($10.8 million).
With Barack Obama's election victory expected to generate dozens of books from politicians, strategists and journalists - and with another shelfload of memoirs expected from outgoing members of President George W.Bush's administration - Ms Palin's personal account of her tumultuous introduction to US politics is widely regarded as the tale most likely to repay a multi-million-dollar advance.
"She's poised to make a ton of money," said Howard Rubenstein, New York's best-known public relations adviser.
And Jeff Klein of Folio Literary management said: "Every publisher and a lot of literary agents have been going after her."
Ms Palin's profile shows no sign of diminishing, despite Senator McCain's defeat and embittered Republicans making her the scapegoat for the party's collapse. She is now in a position similar to Mr Obama's in 2004, when the then relatively unknown Chicago politician delivered a mesmerising speech to the Democratic convention, was elected to the Senate and swiftly wrote a bestselling book - The Audacity of Hope - which proved to be the springboard for his presidential launch.
Like Mr Obama, Ms Palin has come from obscurity - in her case Wasilla in Alaska. She is considered a likely candidate to move to Washington as Alaska's senator if one of the state's two seats falls vacant next year.
Undaunted by her poll defeat, Ms Palin was in fighting form last week, inviting cameras into her home, serving visiting interviewers home-cooked moose chilli, and haddock and salmon casserole. She scoffed at claims that she thought Africa was a country and did not know the members of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
She said much of the criticism levelled at her came from "bloggers in their parents' basements just talking garbage".
At a meeting of Republican governors late in the week, Ms Palin's celebrity far outshone her more experienced colleagues.
Frank Luntz, a prominent Republican consultant, called her a "rock star", but Tim Pawlenty, the governor of Minnesota, warned that she would be only "one of the voices" leading the party forward.
Yet there are already signs that conservative Republicans, thrilled by Ms Palin's right-wing views, are manoeuvring to keep her in the public eye with a view to the 2012 elections and beyond.
One group, Our Country Deserves Better, has collected tens of thousands of dollars to pay for television commercials to run over the forthcoming Thanksgiving holiday for ads to thank Ms Palin for her efforts.
Despite polling evidence that Ms Palin failed to make much impact on any of the groups that Senator McCain's strategists hoped she might deliver - women, independent voters and suburbanites - her supporters insisted she should not be blamed for either Senator McCain's defeat or the legacy of the Bush administration's failures.
Ms Palin noted that in view of the Bush record, "it's amazing we did as well as we did".
Although anonymous McCain aides had variously described her as a "diva" and a "whack job", and Maureen Dowd of The New York Times derided her last week as "Eliza Knowlittle", she has earned plaudits from a surprising range of friends and former foes for keeping her cool under fire.
Camille Paglia, the radical feminist, said she had "heartily enjoyed her arrival on the national stage". Ms Palin had been subjected to "an atrocious and sometimes delusional level of defamation", Paglia said.
And Joanne Bamberger, the liberal author of the popular PunditMom blog, praised Ms Palin for not "fading into the Alaskan woodwork", saying: "She's got some serious chutzpah." Ms Palin "has taken charge of this moment ... and she's making the most of the notoriety that was offered her".
The Sunday Times
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,24660345-26397,00.html
