Copycat Contract News, In Brief

Staking out their claim of the exponentially-expanding Michael Jackson book market, Simon & Schuster will release a 500,000 copy first printing of Michael Jackson, Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson on July 14.


Hoping to ape the surprise success of Seth Grahame-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Pocket Books has entered into a seven book, zombie-themed, co-publishing venture with genre publisher, Permuted Press. The first title, Day By Day Armageddon, will be released in October with a 50,000 copy first printing. The second book will be released in February.


Counting on continued controversy to further fuel interest in Alaska's one-time governor, there are at least five Sarah Palin books being prepped by major publishing houses at this very moment -- six, if you count her autobiography. Among the quickie cash-ins are a book by Santa Cruz blogger Geoffrey Dunn, one from NBC/National Journal embed Matthew Berger, and Scott Conroy's extravagantly titled Sarah From Alaska: Inside the Political Arrival That Rocked American Politics — What Really Happened, What It Means, and What’s Next for Sarah Palin.