The former president and fiction titan foisted a surprise on readers Monday, announcing they’ll be releasing a novel named The President Is Missing in June 2018.
James Patterson has a long history of collaboration. Of his dozens of books, the blockbuster thriller writer has written at least 50 — yes, — with the name of a co-author emblazoned on the cover. Still, it’s fair to say none of them has the resume of the fiction novice he’s teaming up with now: former President Bill Clinton. « Working with President Clinton has been the highlight of my career, and having access to his first-hand experience has uniquely informed the writing of this novel, » Patterson released by publisher Penguin Random House. « I’m a story-teller, » Patterson continued, « and President Clinton’s insight has allowed us to tell a really interesting one. It’s a rare combination — readers will be drawn to the suspense, of course, but they’ll also be given an inside look into what it’s really like to be President. » The former president, for his part, said he drew on his experiences in office for the book, called, naturally. « Working on a book about a sitting President — drawing on what I know about the job, life in the White House, and the way Washington works — has been a lot of fun, » Clinton said. « And working with Jim has been terrific. I’ve been a fan of his for a very long time. » that the book, which will be released in June 2018, came together after Washington, D. C., mega-attorney — who has represented both men — suggested they collaborate on a project. Clinton and Patterson had already met about a decade ago during a round of golf, according to the news service. Despite Clinton’s relative inexperience in fiction, his post-presidential memoir sold over a million copies. It’s partly the sales success of both men that their publishers have decided on a rather unusual arrangement. The rivals Alfred A. Knopf, which is Clinton’s publisher, and Little, Brown and Co., Patterson’s publisher, have agreed to make the forthcoming novel a joint release. That said, the arrangement is not unprecedented —: « A political release from the 1990s had a similar arrangement: Random House and Simon & Schuster jointly published the nonfiction by husband-and-wife campaign consultants James Carville and Mary Matalin. » Publishers have not released details yet on either the upcoming book’s plot or financial arrangements.
