Sanders Has Book Deal; Will Reflect on Campaign

Just days after ending his campaign and endorsing Hillary Clinton for president, Sen. Bernie Sanders is preparing to take his message to the printed page.

Thomas Dunne Books told The Associated Press on Thursday it will publish Sanders' "Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In." The book is scheduled to come out Nov. 15, a week after election day. It will include both his policy ideas for the future and reflections on his surprisingly strong run in the primaries.

The 74-year-old Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats in the Senate, attracted millions of voters with his blunt rhetoric and progressive agenda of raising taxes on the rich, overhauling campaign financing and providing universal health care and free college education.

"Bernie Sanders quickly became the leader of the progressive movement within the Democratic Party," Dunne said in a statement. "Garnering over 13 million votes, winning 23 primaries and caucuses, and receiving more than 7 million individual donations to his cause, he energized the party as he fought for the average American with unrelenting energy and passion. (The book) will be an inside account of this extraordinary campaign, and will also provide a blueprint for future political action. Its message: the fight has just begun."

Financial details were not disclosed. Books on presidential campaigns are an established publishing genre, but it's unusual for a candidate to reach a deal so soon after the race and to have the book come out soon after the election. In a statement to the AP, Thomas Dunne said a Sanders book was first suggested to him earlier this year by the Washington-based agent Ronald Goldfarb, with whom the senator has mutual friends. Sanders was initially too busy to consider the project, but decided "a book about his philosophy and ideas coming out after the election was a good idea."

The publisher said he and Sanders reached an agreement a few weeks ago.

"Throughout the year, both Bernie and his wife, Jane, kept records and notes. Sanders is using these as the basis for much of the text," Dunne said, adding that Sanders will write the book himself.

"He will write about his early life as well as the campaign and the issues he cares so passionately about. Moreover, the final section, presently called 'Where Do We Go From Here?' will outline a program of progressive activism for the coming years, a cause he is passionately committed to. "

The book could well offer a critical take on Clinton, as Sanders often challenged her on her ties to Wall Street and questioned her willingness to take on wealthy special interests. It's not uncommon for copies of a book to leak a week or more before the release date, raising the possibility that any negative comments on Clinton could be seen before Election Day.

Sanders is co-author of a previous book, "Outsider in the White House."