Randi Zuckerberg, the entrepreneur, investor, author of Dot., and sister of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, has self-published Missy President, a children's book about a fourth-grade girl whose homework assignment about the 2016 presidential election goes viral.
Zuckerberg chose to self-publish the book in order to rush it out in time for the election, explained her agent, Andrew Blauner of the Blauner Books Literary Agency. The book was published on CreateSpace, according to Zuckerberg Media COO Jim Augustine, and the title is available on Amazon as a Kindle e-book. It is also the first entry in what Zuckerberg hopes will be a forthcoming series that will, she said, "introduce children to different facets of politics, government, and technology."
"As a parent, I've struggled with how to speak to my children about the election amid a sea of vitriol and negativity, especially around women and girls," Zuckerberg said. "I wanted to write a story that would encourage girls to dream big when it comes to politics, elections and serving our country—all while learning about how to be good digital citizens in the process. That's how Missy President was born."
Blauner, who met Zuckerberg through his girlfriend, Broadway theater producer Jill Furman, acknowledged that this project is not a typical one for him. He has not sold Zuckerberg's previous books and he focuses almost entirely on adult titles—this deal marks only the second time he's represented a children's book in his more than 20 years working as an agent. Nonetheless, he said he felt it "made sense" for him to take on Missy President.
"As soon as I met Randi, I was endeared by her—her authenticity, her engagement, her passion," Blauner said. "Then, when she mentioned the book, the circumstances, the timing, I reckoned that that would be a challenging and gratifying project on which to work."
