Barbaro Books Gallop Out of the Gate

by Lynn Andriani, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 2/5/2007

Following the January 29 death of beloved Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, three publishers are rushing to press with books that were initially scheduled to pub in April and May. The books—two adult titles and one for children—will now hit stores as early as February 26, all with print runs higher than initially planned.

The books won’t compete directly with each other, since one is a narrative nonfiction work for adults with some photographs, one a coffee-table book and one a children’s title. Collins’s narrative Barbaro: A Nation’s Love Story by Pamela K. Brodowsky and Tom Philbin was originally an April 1 pub, but will now go on sale February 26, with a first printing of 50,000 (up from 30,000). The Aladdin children’s book Barbaro: America’s Horse by Shelley Mickle was initially set for April 10, but now has a February 20 release date and March 13 on-sale date. Aladdin will also go to press for 50,000 copies. And Eclipse Press’s coffee-table book, Barbaro: The Horse Who Captured America’s Heart by Sean Clancy, had been set for a May 1 release, but will now be available in early to mid-March. The Lexington, Ky., house plans an initial print run of 7,000 to 10,000 copies.

Collins, Aladdin and Eclipse were all able to edit their books to reflect Barbaro’s death in forewords, afterwards, epilogues and final chapters.