Bob Dylan Signs Six-Book Deal

Bob Dylan has signed a six-book deal with Simon & Schuster, according to Crain’s New York Business, encompassing two sequels to his acclaimed 2004 book Chronicles: Volume One as well as another book based on dialogue from his Sirius/XM radio show Theme Time Radio Hour.

It’s unclear what the other three books are going to be. According to Crain’s, Dylan’s literary agent Andrew Wylie was seeking an eight-figure deal for the books. (Dylan has not responded to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment).

In 2006 Dylan told Rolling Stone that he was stunned by the overwhelmingly positive response to the first volume of Chronicles. “The reviews of this book, some of ’em almost made me cry – in a good way,” he told writer Jonathan Lethem. “I’d never felt that from a music critic, ever….Most people who write about music, they have no idea what it feels like to play it. But with the book I wrote, I thought, ‘The people who are writing reviews of this book, man, they know what the hell they’re talking about.’ It spoils you.”

In that same article, he discussed his possible plans for Chronicles: Volume 2. “I think I can go back to the Blonde on Blonde album — that’s probably about as far back as I can go on the next book,” he said. “Then I’ll probably go forward. I thought of an interesting time. I made this record, Under the Red Sky, with Don Was, but at the same time I was also doing the [second] Wilburys record. I don’t know how it happened that I got into both albums at the same time. I worked with George [Harrison] and Jeff [Lynne] during the day — everything had to be done in one day, the track and the song had to be written in one day, and then I’d go down and see Don Was, and I felt like I was walking into a wall. He’d have a different band for me to play with every day, a lot of all-stars, for no particular purpose. Back then I wasn’t bringing anything at all into the studio, I was completely disillusioned.”

From RollingStone.com
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