BECOMING: Penguin Random House to Mark Release of Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Memoir With Donation of One Million Children’s Books to First Book in Obama Family’s Name

Former First Lady of the U.S. Michelle Obama Reveals the Book Cover for her Memoir, “BECOMING,” Scheduled for November 13, 2018, Global Publication 

New York, New York (May 24, 2018)—Former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama revealed today on Instagram the book cover of her highly anticipated memoir, BECOMING, which is scheduled to be published globally on November 13, 2018.

Mrs. Obama selected the cover photo for her book jacket from a photo shoot that was done earlier this year in Washington, DC, by renowned portrait photographer Miller Mobley, with styling provided by Meredith Koop, Carl Ray, and Yene Damtew. Christopher Brand, Vice President, Creative Director, Crown Publishing Group, designed the book jacket.

In leading up to her book cover reveal, Mrs. Obama shared on her Instagram account four previously unpublished family photographs that illustrate moments in her personal journey of becoming the woman she is today.

Stated Mrs. Obama (@michelleobama), “I’m thrilled to share with all of you the cover for BECOMING. The process of writing this book has been so personally meaningful and illuminating for me. As I prepare to share BECOMING this fall, I hope you’ll also think about your own story, and trust that it will help you become whoever you aspire to be. Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own.”

Mrs. Obama’s book will be released in the U.S. and Canada in print and digital formats by the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House. An audio edition of the book, read by Mrs. Obama, will be simultaneously issued in digital and physical formats by Penguin Random House Audio. BECOMING will also be published in 25 languages around the world. Information about the book is available to consumers at www.becomingmichelleobama.com.

In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, BECOMING is an unusually intimate reckoning from a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.

At the time of publication, Mrs. Obama will embark on a U.S. and international book tour, with details to be announced at a later date.

The print edition will carry a suggested list price of $32.50 in the U.S. and $40.00 in Canada and the digital edition will be priced at $14.99 in the U.S. and $18.99 in Canada.

In support of the mission of The Obama Foundation and Penguin Random House’s own commitment to social responsibility, the Publisher will donate in the Obama family’s name, one million children’s books published by Penguin Random House to First Book, a longstanding Penguin Random House nonprofit partner and the Washington, DC–based partner for the 2016 White House digital education initiative, Open eBooks. First Book is dedicated to promoting equal access to education by providing new books, learning materials, and other essentials to children in need in the U.S. and Canada.

An English-language edition of BECOMING will be published in the UK and British Commonwealth territories by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Books at Penguin Random House UK. The book will be published in translation in 24 other languages, including Spanish (Plaza & Janés/Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial); German (Goldmann Verlag/Verlagsgruppe Random House); Portuguese Brazil (Objetiva/Companhia das Letras); Portuguese Portugal (Objectiva/Penguin Random House Portugal); Catalan (Rosa dels Vents/Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial); French (Editions Fayard); Albanian (Dudaj Publishing); Arabic (Hachette Antoine/Naufal); Complex Chinese (Business Weekly Group); Czech (Argo); Danish (Lindhardt og Ringhof); Dutch (Hollands Diep); Finnish (Otava Publishing Company); Greek (Athens Bookstore Publications); Hebrew (Yedioth Books); Hungarian (HVG Publishing Co.); Italian (Garzanti); Japanese (Shueisha); Korean (Woongjin Think Big Co., Ltd.); Lithuanian (Alma Littera); Norwegian (Cappelen Damm); Polish (Agora Publishing House); Swedish (Bokförlaget Forum); and Vietnamese (First News–Tri Viet Publishing Co., Ltd.).

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Crown is an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, the world’s largest trade book publisher, which is dedicated to its mission of nourishing a universal passion for reading by connecting authors and their writing with readers everywhere. The company, which employs 10,000 people globally, was formed on July 1, 2013, by Bertelsmann and Pearson, who own 75 percent and 25 percent, respectively. With more than 250 independent imprints and brands on six continents, Penguin Random House comprises adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction print and digital English- and Spanish-language trade book publishing businesses in more than 20 countries worldwide. With 15,000 new titles, and more than 600 million print, audio, and ebooks sold annually, Penguin Random House’s publishing lists include more than 60 Nobel Prize laureates and hundreds of the world’s most widely read authors.

Media Contact:
Carisa Hays
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