Sarah Ferguson‘s reputa tion may be taking a hit from being caught on tape demanding $750,000 to provide access to her ex-husband Prince Andrew, but her publisher sure is delighted.
Sterling Publishers, an imprint owned by Barnes & Noble, is seeing dollar signs of its own, betting the scandal will drum up even more interest for the former Duchess of York’s upcoming book.
Indeed, Sterling has upped the print run of illustrated children’s book “Ashley Learns About Strangers” from an original 25,000 to a higher figure — though it won’t say how much.
It looks like it might be a smart move.
Despite the controversy, Ferguson drew a long line of people waiting to get her to sign their copies of her latest book, which is one of the four “Helping Hands” books that is part of her 12-book deal with Sterling.
Keith’s life
Keith Richards * of The Rolling Stones wined and dined about 50 influential booksellers at a cocktail party this week in an attempt to fan the flames for his long-awaited memoir entitled “Life,” which is due out this fall.
While the legendary guitarist stayed away from the convention floor of this week’s Book Expo America at the Javits Center, Richards loomed large in publishing circles.
His literary agent, Ed Victor, and longtime manager, Jane Rose, were making the rounds at the Thompson Hotel Wednesday night with Indiana Pacers owner Herbert Simon, who became a hero to the literary set when he saved the Kirkus Reviews from extinction last year after Nielsen Business Media announced it was shutting down the title.
The English rights to Richards’ autobiography were sold for close to $8 million in 2007 and Little, Brown CEO Michael Pietsch* told us that the first printing will be “at least 1 million. It is going to be huge, huge, huge.”
It is slated to hit with a one-day lay down on Oct. 26, and will include a major publicity tour and heavy promotion by Richards himself.
The book, which was co-written with James Fox, is said to be a true tell-all, including details about the infamous drug bust at Redlands, where a drug-tripping Richards calmly invited the cops who came to raid him into his home.
Pitesch is promising a $500,000 marketing campaign, which in the book world is the equivalent of a big budget movie mar keting push.
All celebs
While perennial best selling authors Michael Connelly, John Gri sham, who is due out with his first children’s book, and Mary Hig gins Clark were on hand for autograph- signing sessions at Book Expo, it was the celebri ties like Barbra Streisand and Ferguson who generated the most press attention.
“This year, it’s all about celebrities,” noted HarperCollins Executive Editor Jonathan Burnham.
Some booksellers were grumbling that Streisand’s coffee table book, “My Passion for Design,” would be tough to sell because of its $60 price tag. But during her keynote address, during which she was interviewed by Oprah pal Gayle King, Streisand seemed to fuel more interest in the book, which will get a first printing of 300,000 when it hits this fall.
Soccer great Pelé also created a stir with his autograph signing to promote a children’s book, “For the Love of Soccer,” which chronicles his life and is aimed at children 9-12.
“It was a Pelé melee,” said Stephanie Lurie, editorial director of Disney Hyperion, the children’s book division that is publishing 50,000 copies of the book.
Pals
Jon Stewart, the popular host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” who has made a career out of skewering right-leaning politicians, gave a glowing introduction to former Secretary of State Con doleezza Rice during one early morning Book Expo panel he hosted.
Rice has a book out this fall in which she dis cusses her hardscrabble childhood titled “Ordin ary, Extraordinary Peo ple: A Memoir of Fam ily” due out this fall from Crown Publishers.
After introducing Rice, Stewart quipped, “Aah, don’t make me like you.”
Meanwhile, Stewart’s next book, “Earth (The Book): A Visitor’s Guide to the Human Race,” is going to get a 1 million-copy first printing from the Grand Central imprint of Hachette Books in September.
Semi Demi
There was still no word on who, if anyone, had stepped up to pay big bucks for a memoir from Demi Moore.
Moore two weeks ago made the rounds of publishers with Luke Janklow, son of super agent Mort Janklow at Janklow & Nesbit. And, according to sources, she was seeking an advance of more than $2 million.
One publisher said she had been told a book deal had been inked, but another theorized that the long silence may have indicated that “they didn’t get the money they were looking for.”
Janklow declined to comment.
New dish
Frank DiGiacomo is no longer a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, but he has apparently, found refuge as a new gossip columnist at the Daily News.
His hiring comes just as an estimated 30 employees today wrap up their final hours at the Mort Zuckerman-owned paper as part of voluntary buyout packages.
Among those taking buyouts are George Rush, the former gossip man and half of the husband-and-wife team of Rush & Molloy. Joanna Molloy remains at the paper.
DiGiacomo was a longtime editor and scribe at the New York Observer when he was lured to Vanity Fair in 2004 as a contributing editor.
Orla Healy, features editor at the Daily News, declined to comment on his new gig at the paper.
And another
The who-will-buy-Newsweek guessing game has a new entrant: TV Guide owner Open Gate Capital.
When asked this week if Open Gate was eyeing the Washington Post Co.-owned newsweekly, Principal Andrew Nikou said, “We definitely are.”
But he added, “No way is there immediate profitability. It will take a lot of heavy lifting. It’s probably two or three years away.”
Allen & Company is handling the Newsweek auction. Letters of interest are due by June 2.
Beverly Hills-based Open Gate famously bought TV Guide for just $1 and convinced the seller to lend it more than $9 million to boot. That was followed by the naming of publishing veteran Jack Kliger as acting CEO. Kliger then cut staff and replaced some full-time employees with consultants.
Moving on
John Veronis, the 82-year-old co-founder and chairman of boutique media investment firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson yesterday said he has “withdrawn” from the firm.
The company, co-founded with John Suhler, began as a deal broker but entered the more lucrative world of buying and selling media properties through a series of funds.
In a brief announcement, the company said that Veronis’ ownership stake “has been redeemed by the firm,” but added he would continue to fulfill his invest ment in the VSS funds.
He is not retiring, however, and is said to be interested in going his own way.
He did not return a call seeking comment.
A spokesman for Veronis insisted, “It was a very amicable de parture.” keith.kelly@nypost.com