A secret posthumous memoir by Dolly Parton has sold for $13 million in a wild, heated bidding war, sources exclusively tell Page Six Hollywood.
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sources → sell → Page
The book by the music icon and Hollywood star who passed away at 80 in August has been snapped up by Grand Central Publishing, multiple sources tell us.
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sources → pass → us
It’s unclear when the tome was penned, or what it covers, but any posthumous book by beloved Parton would no doubt be a blockbuster.
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book → ’ → Parton
Sources say the book was sold by lit agency Folio, which previously repped Parton’s 2023 tome, “Songteller: My Life in Lyrics.”
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which → say → Lyrics
Sources say that when the agency told publishers it had a $12 million offer: “No one believed them, so they all stopped bidding [and] Folio went back to editors.”
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Folio → say → editors
One top book source says of the bidding: “They were all like, ‘WTF? You have $12 million, and we aren’t beating that.'”
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we → say → that
But then, “Grand Central did improve” the offer and “won the book.”
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Central → improve → book
Multiple sources tell us the final number in the deal hit $13 million.
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number → tell → million
Another source said the Grand Central deal was made for a lower amount — but involved a bigger cut of the royalties than usual with a 50/50 split.
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deal → say → split
By comparison, Britney Spears inked a $15 million book deal for her memoir in 2022, and Bruce Springsteen tuned up more than $10 million for his book in 2016.
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Springsteen → ink → 2016
Grand Central is home to best-selling authors including David Baldacci, Nicholas Sparks, Harlan Coben, Sally Field, Caroline Kennedy, Scott Turow and more.
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Central → sell → Baldacci
Reps for the publisher and Parton did not respond on Wednesday after we reached out about the deal.
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we → respond → deal
Parton wrote and collaborated on a number book projects during her life, including tomes on her style and live performances as well as a a number children’s book, a novel with James Patterson, a cookbook with one of her sisters, and a 1994 autobiography, “Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business.”
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Parton → write → sisters
It’s unclear if the new memoir might detail her private health struggles towards the end of her life.
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memoir → ’ → life
When Parton died, she was worth $450 million.
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she → die → ?
The icon had no children, but famously left behind a sprawling extended family since she grew up as one of 11 siblings.
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she → have → siblings
Parton’s longtime rep, Danny Nozell, last month filed a lawsuit against her nephew and former security head, Bryan Seaver, after Seaver announced the star’s death in August.
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Seaver → file → August
But two of Parton’s sisters then posted a message of family unity.
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two → post → unity
Last week, Parton’s niece, Danielle Parton, was named the new brand ambassador for the late music legend’s estate.
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niece → name → estate
After her death, Parton’s manager Nozell reportedly said: “Dolly worked up until the day she died.
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she → say → day
She loved seeing her dreams come to life, and loved knowing her work brought people joy.
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work → love → joy
Ever the planner, Dolly worked with the team that she handpicked, for the past several years to build a project roadmap that will guide us for decades to come.”
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that → work → decades
The rep added:“Many projects were in various stages of development, and we want to be transparent with her fans about this fact.
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we → want → fact
If you see unreleased music, products, books, experiences, and campaigns launched through official Dolly Parton channels, you can have confidence in knowing that she placed her personal stamp on it.”
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she → see → it
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