Pan Mac bags former FBI director Comey

Pan Macmillan will publish a book from former FBI director James Comey on "ethical leadership", a year after he was dismissed by US president Donald Trump.

Publisher Jeremy Trevathan acquired UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada to A Higher Loyalty from Macmillan Books imprint Flatiron Books in New York, and described each page as like a scene from the US political drama “West Wing”. It will be published by Pan Macmillan in the UK, Australia and South Africa on 17th April, the same day Flatiron will publish the book in the US. The American deal, reportedly worth $2m (£1.5m) was announced in August.

A Higher Loyalty will explore “what good, ethical leadership looks like and how it drives sound decisions” featuring examples from some of the highest-stakes situations in the past two decades of American government. The book promises to share “previously unheard anecdotes from Comey’s long and distinguished career”.

Comey served as FBI director from 2013 to 2017 after being appointed by president Barack Obama. He previously served as US attorney for the Southern District of New York, and the United States deputy attorney general in the administration of president George W Bush.

A Pan Mac spokesperson said: “From prosecuting the mafia and Martha Stewart to helping change Bush administration policies on torture and electronic surveillance to overseeing the Hillary Clinton email investigation as well as ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, Comey has been involved in some of the most consequential cases and policies of recent history.”

The president has repeatedly criticised the investigation into his campaign's alleged ties with Russian officials and Comey was fired by Trump in May, allegedly because of “this Russia thing”, according to Trump.

Flatiron revealed earlier this month that it was moving the publication date from May to April because of an “urgent conversation" about the FBI according to USA Today.

Trevathan said: “This is an extraordinary look at what leadership under pressure, in the highest of public offices, means from the point of view of someone who has experienced the best and the worst aspects of both.”

He added: “Each chapter reads like a scene from the 'West Wing', except this is for real. It's unusual and riveting to read a book that takes you inside key moments of recent history in such detail.”