J.D. Vance has become a big name again in the publishing and film worlds.
After former President Donald Trump named Ohio’s junior senator as his running mate on the 2024 Republican ticket, Vance climbed to the top of Amazon’s bestsellers list AMZN, +0.23% for the paperback edition of “Hillbilly Elegy,” his 2016 book that that describes his hardscrabble upbringing in Ohio.
Earlier in the day, “Hillbilly Elegy” ranked 220th on that list, according to the Associated Press.
Also, the 2020 Netflix NFLX, -0.05% film based on the book is gaining viewers. The picture, which stars Glenn Close and Amy Adams, now ranks as the sixth-most popular movie on the Netflix streaming platform.
At least one book-industry expert predicts this is just the start of what’s to come for the 39-year-old author-turned-politician, who is also a former venture capitalist and protégé of tech investor Peter Thiel.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Vance outsells Stephen King this year,” said Allen Salkin, an author and co-owner of the New Books Network, a podcast production company that focuses on the publishing world.
Salkin noted that Harper, the publisher of “Hillbilly Elegy,” is in a comfortable position to promote the title, since it’s already made a sizable profit on it. Sales of the book have topped 1.6 million copies.
Harper “is playing with house money now, the best possible position to profit more,” Salkin said, noting that he could see copies being purchased and held out for Vance to sign at rallies in the days and weeks ahead.
Harper is the flagship imprint of publisher HarperCollins, which is part of News Corp NWS, +2.93% NWSA, +2.49%, the parent of MarketWatch publisher Dow Jones.
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Vance has already reportedly made a sizable sum from “Hillbilly Elegy.” In 2021 — five years after the book’s publication date — Vance earned nearly $ 500,000 in royalties, according to published reports. And there’s no word as to what he may have collected for the Netflix film rights.
Perhaps just as important, the book made Vance a national name and propelled him to his current political career.
On social media, many commenters said they were eager to learn more about Vance. A few noted they had watched the film version of “Hillbilly Elegy” upon learning of Vance’s appointment by Trump or were planning to read the book.
Vance explained why he thought “Hillbilly Elegy” became so popular in a 2016 interview with the Wall Street Journal: “I think it speaks to a couple of things: first, that people are really curious about the anger and frustration of the white working class; second, that members of the white working class have been hungry to have someone tell their story.”