HarperCollins Acquires Justin Bieber's Official Illustrated Memoir

NEW YORK and LONDON, Aug. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- HarperCollins announced today the acquisition of the official illustrated memoir from multi-platinum selling superstar Justin Bieber. JUSTIN BIEBER: FIRST STEP 2 FOREVER: MY STORY will reveal Justin's amazing journey to superstardom.  This beautifully designed hardcover book contains exclusive, never-before-seen photos -- a must-have for fans afflicted with Bieber-fever. The book will be published this October in both the United States ($21.99) and in the UK (16.99 pounds Sterling).

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100802/NY43533 )

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100802/NY43533 )

"Every day I wake up and count my blessings. My fans have played such a large part in all of this and they help me live my dreams every day. I'm excited to share just a little bit more of my world with them through this book," says Justin Bieber.  "Between the behind-the-scenes pictures and the story I think this is going to be something they can all enjoy. This is just another way for me to say thank you to my fans."

Born in Stratford, Ontario, Justin Bieber is a multi-talented pop/soul singer and self-taught musician on drums, guitar, piano, and trumpet. As an amateur he posted renditions of his favorite hip-hop and R&B songs on YouTube.com, to the tune of 50 million views. Now, Bieber's video for "Baby" is the most-watched music video in YouTube history with more than 250 million views. Justin Bieber is the first solo artist in history to send four songs from a debut album into the Billboard Hot 100's Top 40 prior to the album's release. He is also the youngest male solo artist in the history of the Billboard 200 to chart a #1 album since 13-year-old Stevie Wonder did so in the summer of 1963. These accolades have resulted in total record sales to date exceeding 5 million.

In 2007, his manager Scooter Braun introduced Justin to the music industry in Atlanta. Scooter Braun formed the RBMG joint-venture label with Usher and signed the 13-year-old Bieber to his first professional deal. RBMG in turn signed a deal with Antonio 'L.A.' Reid, Chairman of the Island Def Jam Music Group. Now, Braun and Creative Artists Agency have sold the rights to JUSTIN BIEBER: FIRST STEP 2 FOREVER: MY STORY to Anna Valentine, Harper Non-Fiction Senior Commissioning Editor (UK), and Emily Brenner, Vice President and Publisher of HarperFestival (US).

"Justin's adoring and devoted fan base that started on YouTube now follows him to packed concert halls around the world," says Susan Katz, President and Publisher of HarperCollins Children's Books.  "He is a force in the music industry and we are incredibly excited to be publishing this photographic memoir of his amazing journey."  

Valentine added, "This is a real coup for us and we are very excited about adding Justin to our autumn program.  Justin is the hottest star of the moment and this book will be the perfect gift for his millions of fans worldwide."

About HarperCollins Publishers

HarperCollins, one of the largest English-language publishers in the world, is a subsidiary of News Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). Headquartered in New York, HarperCollins has publishing groups around the world including the HarperCollins General Books Group, HarperCollins Children's Books Group, Zondervan, HarperCollins UK, HarperCollins Canada, HarperCollins Australia/New Zealand and HarperCollins India. HarperCollins is a broad-based publisher with strengths in literary and commercial fiction, business books, children's books, cookbooks, mystery, romance, reference, religious and spiritual books. With nearly 200 years of history HarperCollins has published some of the world's foremost authors and has won numerous awards including the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Newbery Medal and the Caldecott. Consistently at the forefront of innovation and technological advancement, HarperCollins is the first publisher to digitize its content and create a global digital warehouse to protect the rights of its authors, meet consumer demand and generate additional business opportunities. You can visit HarperCollins Publishers on the Internet at http://www.harpercollins.com.

SOURCE HarperCollins