A major publisher canceled a planned book by Alex Thompson on Joe Biden’s presidency due to lackluster sales of other Biden-related books.
Simon & Schuster pulled its contract for Thompson’s book, originally scheduled for early 2022, after determining there was little public interest.
“In another sign of the soft Biden book market, Simon and Schuster has withdrawn its contract with Axios’ Alex Thompson for a book about the Biden administration, two sources told me. The book was originally scheduled to be published early this year,” Daniel Lippman wrote on X.
Sales of books about Biden have been poor in comparison to those about Donald Trump, with Biden titles selling in the low thousands compared to over a million for Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury.”
Biden’s dismal approval ratings on key issues are likely contributing to the weak book sales.
“It’s true. But still writing it and aiming for 2025 to tell the story of the Biden presidency. If you’re a publisher and interested, email/number in bio,” Thompson wrote.
Polling data shows Biden is faring much worse than Barack Obama or Donald Trump at the same point in their presidencies.
His declining support across demographic groups suggests more than a typical “presidential slump” and points to a potential “complete collapse” politically.
Pollster Richard Baris wrote, “The Suffolk/USAToday Poll is showing what we’re all seeing, which is NOT a normal weak showing 1-year out for an incumbent president seeking re-election.”
“Historically, he’s far below Barack Obama at this point (who won) and significantly lower than Donald Trump (who lost). H.W. Bush was higher, but his approval was falling RAPIDLY from far higher than Biden has ever been,” he added.
SCOOP: In another sign of the soft Biden book market, Simon and Schuster has withdrawn its contract with Axios’ Alex Thompson for a book about the Biden administration, two sources told me. The book was originally scheduled to be published early this year. https://t.co/IC0pMnDxKj pic.twitter.com/qKy1vr8IoC
— Daniel Lippman (@dlippman) March 27, 2024
