June 29, 2009

By By Philip Jones, The Bookseller

Macmillan is rushing through a reprint of 85,000 copies of J Randy Taraborrelli's "Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness" in anticipation of a surge in demand for Jackson products following the pop star's death last week.

The book, published in paperback in 2004, is currently in Amazon.co.uk's bestseller chart, despite being listed as 'out of stock'. The publisher, which said late Friday that it was still waiting orders and assessing quantities, is expecting delivery of the ?8.99 [$14.90] paperback on Tuesday (June 30).

There have been numerous reports that sales of Jackson's albums, and DVDs, have gone through the roof since news of his sudden death emerged last Thursday (June 25). However, no new book on Jackson appears to have been commissioned since Taraborrelli's book, and this is the only title on the singer in Amazon.co.uk's top 100 list.

The Bookseller reported on Friday (June 26) that independent publisher John Blake has commissioned a new biography of Jackson. "Michael Jackson - King of Pop: 1958-2009" is being written by Emily Herbert. It is scheduled for release on 24th August and will be a B-format paperback.

Omnibus Press is also looking into the possibility of creating a special 'memorial' edition of its "Michael Jackson: The Visual Documentary of Jackson." Richard Hudson, sales director, said the publisher was "in discussions" with the author, Adrian Grant, about updating the book. The fourth edition of the title was published in 2005. Hudson added Omnibus was considering reissuing "two or three" other books on the singer.

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