Gallery Books to publish Hunter Biden memoir

The first book from new Simon & Schuster imprint Gallery Books UK is to be Beautiful Things by Hunter Biden, son of US president Joe Biden.

Holly Harris, publishing director of non-fiction, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Caspian Dennis at Abner Stein on behalf of Laura Nolan and David Granger at Aevitas Creative.

Gallery Books, a division of S&S US, will publish simultaneously, and will also publish the audio edition. To date, rights have been sold to France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Poland and Germany. Beautiful Things will be published on 6th April 2021.

The book is described as a memoir of addiction, loss and survival, with Hunter Biden detailing his descent into substance abuse and his torturous path to sobriety. He writes: "I come from a family forged by tragedies and bound by a remarkable, unbreakable love."

Commenting on the memoir, author Stephen King said: "In Alcoholics Anonymous, we say it doesn’t matter if you come from Yale or jail, all addicts are the same. In his harrowing and compulsively readable memoir, Hunter Biden proves again that anybody—even the son of a United States president—can take a ride on the pink horse down nightmare alley. There are plenty of memoirs about the Three Rs (rum, ruin and redemption), but there are sections in this one that stand out with haunting clarity. Biden remembers it all and tells it all with a bravery that is both heartbreaking and quite gorgeous. He starts with a question: 'Where’s Hunter?' The answer is he’s in this book, the good, the bad and the beautiful."

Harris said: "This book is an extraordinary accomplishment, as gripping as it is courageous. I cannot wait to publish it."

Ian Chapman, c.e.o. and publisher of S&S UK and International, said: "This will be our first global Gallery publication, and what an exciting start. Beautiful Things is a phenomenal achievement and we are honoured to be publishing it."