Former Vice President Kamala Harris announced Thursday that she will publish a memoir about her 2024 presidential bid, giving an inside look at the 3 1/2-month sprint for the White House after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
The book, titled 107 Days, will be released on Sept. 23.
Harris, who ended speculation Wednesday about a possible 2026 California gubernatorial bid, announced the book in a video posted on social media.
“Just over a year ago, I launched my campaign for president of the United States,” Harris said. “One hundred seven days traveling the country, fighting for our future — the shortest presidential campaign in modern history. Since leaving office, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on those days, and with candor and reflection, I’ve written a behind-the-scenes account of that journey. I believe there’s value in sharing what I saw, what I learned, and what it will take to move forward.”
Publisher Simon & Schuster declined to offer any specifics to the Washington Examiner on what is in Harris’s 320-page book or the advance she received for writing it. Instead, CEO Jonathan Karp said the book “captures the drama of running for president better than just about anything I’ve read.”
Karp added in a statement that it was “one of the best works of political nonfiction” Simon & Schuster has ever published.
“It’s an eyewitness contribution to history and an extraordinary story,” he said.
Harris became the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee after Biden dropped out following a disastrous debate performance against President Donald Trump and a pressure campaign from senior Democrats to step aside.
Although Harris’s campaign debuted to a wave of enthusiasm, she lost to Trump after blowing through $1.5 billion in 15 weeks. The campaign dished out large sums of money on advertising, social media influencers, staff, celebrity concerts, drone shows, and a town hall featuring Oprah Winfrey.
For all the time, money, and effort, Harris had very little to show for it.
She became the first Democratic presidential candidate to lose the national popular vote in two decades. She also lost to Trump in every battleground state.
After her loss, there have been questions about how her messaging fell so short and about her campaign’s spending spree. Democrats have continued to defend her campaign, citing the difficulties that come with such a short run.
Since the election, Harris has mostly stayed out of the public eye, skipping out on large political gatherings such as the California Democratic Party convention but emerging to attend the Met Gala in New York and a high school graduation in Compton, California. She also spoke at an Australian real estate conference.
Publishing insiders told the Washington Examiner that Harris’s memoir could have netted her up to a $20 million advance. Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama inked a deal with Penguin Random House that was worth a reported $65 million advance in 2017. Former President Bill Clinton got a $15 million advance in 2001. One insider said the “real money” was in podcasts and movie rights tied to books.
Biden announced a book of his own this month. He secured an advance of $10 million from Hachette Book Group for his presidential memoir.
Simon & Schuster announced it had preemptively acquired world, audio, and first serial rights to Harris’s memoir. She has been working on the manuscript for “several months,” according to the company, and Karp edited it along with Dawn David, the publisher of 37 Ink.
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Simon & Schuster and its international companies in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and India will simultaneously publish 107 Days in hardcover, ebook, and audio. Harris will narrate the audiobook.
Separately, Harris will be on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday for her first post-election interview, and she is likely to promote her new book.
