Publishers are courting Tina Fey to write a book, offering her $5 million advance

Publishers are courting Tina Fey to write a book, offering her $5 million advance
With the success of “30 Rock,” which she created and still co-writes, along with her spot-on Sarah Palin impersonation, Tina Fey is hotter than ever at the moment. In addition to film and movies, it looks like Fey’s self-deprecating wit is in demand with book publishers, too. She’s currently being pursued by a publishing house who has offered her a $5 million advance for her memoirs. But does Tina have time to be an author, with everything else she’s working on?

But now that the “30 Rock” and former “Saturday Night Live” star is the doppelganger to Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, her celebrity status has turned white hot - and her book prospects are even hotter.

With very little prodding, Richard Abate, who left ICM to head up the East Coast operation at rival talent agency Endeavor, has begun sounding out publishers on their interest and - surprise, surprise - the lit set is panting for the chance to publish Fey.

One publisher out of the gate offered to pay a $5 million advance. Others jumped in, which, according to our sources, triggered a bidding war and sent the price tag to toward the $6 million range.

Abate declined to comment.

A source said that there is no proposal and that Fey, who has made two return appearances on SNL to satirize Palin, has been too busy to meet with publishers face to face.

One source familiar with the talks said that her book is not being pitched as a memoir, but instead as nonfiction humor, more in the style of author, screenwriter and film director Nora Ephron.

[From New York Post]

Since Fey started her career as a writer on Saturday Night Live, becoming an author is a natural extension of her abilities. But I wonder if she’s even interested, given her television and film opportunities. I’d love to read a book about her experiences as a female head writer at SNL, which was notoriously a men-only club for many years.

Tina Fey is shown at the Primetime Emmy Awards on 9/21/08. Credit: Juan Rico/Fame Pictures

Published 10/2/08 by


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