This page provides a list of the largest deals for books and book series to date. It differentiates from the
list of best-selling books in that book deals are secured before the book is released, and often before the book is completed. The books are listed according to the highest book deal estimate as reported in reliable, independent sources.
American authors hold the record for the largest book deals made for individual books (
Bill Clinton and
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
), and for book series (
James Patterson and
Barack
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
and
Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...
). While Patterson's book deal with
Hachette Book Group is by far the largest for a book series, Patterson has disputed the reported amount.
Contrary to popular belief,
J. K. Rowling's advances for the individual ''
Harry Potter
''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
'' books or series overall do not appear on this list. For the first two books in the series (1997's ''
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' and 1998's ''
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets''), she received an advance of
£2,000 apiece.
Rowling's later book ''
The Casual Vacancy'', released in 2012 and not affiliated with the ''Harry Potter'' series, does appear on this list.
List of largest deals for individual books
These book deals share some facts in common: The top five book deals have been memoirs and their authors have all been American.
Note: book deals are listed at the time the book deal was made and not adjusted for inflation.
List of largest deals for books series
Note: book series deals are listed at the time the deal was made and not adjusted for inflation.
See also
*
List of best-selling fiction authors
*
List of bestselling novels in the United States
*
List of literary works by number of languages translated into
*
Lists of books
This is a list of book lists (bibliographies) on Wikipedia, organized by various criteria.
General lists
* List of 18th-century British children's literature titles
* List of 19th-century British children's literature titles
* List of Ameri ...
Notes
References
{{Books
Literature records