How President Barack Obama’s Book Was Rejected

In news that will cheer aspiring authors around the country, Barack Obama survived a missed deadline and rejection with his memoir, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.

The Daily Beast interviewed editor Henry Ferris about his work with Obama, exploring how the President’s critically-acclaimed memoir was written in 1995. The then-publisher of Times Books recounted how he received a call from Obama’s agent, Jane Dystel, after Simon and Schuster turned down the manuscript. Here’s an excerpt:

“The book missed its deadline, and when the first two parts did arrive, according to Ferris, the manuscript was rejected as too long and too late. Ferris says that Dystel called him and said, jokingly, ‘I am bringing you a book by the man who will be the first black president of the United States.’”

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