New York – Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books & Media (HMH Books & Media) announced today it has acquired a memoir by former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch. The as yet untitled memoir will recount her long career in the U.S. foreign service, which took her from Mogadishu to Moscow to Kyiv and finally back to Washington, DC—where, to her dismay, she found a political system beset by many of the same challenges she had spent her career combating overseas.
In addition to tales from her eventful and accomplished life as a senior American diplomat, Yovanovitch’s book will deliver pointed reflections on the issues confronting America today, and thoughts on how we can shore up our democracy.
Sr. Editor Alex Littlefield acquired world rights to the book from Matt Latimer and Keith Urbahn of Javelin in a pre-empt hours after the HMH team met with the Ambassador. HMH plans to publish in spring 2021.
“Ambassador Yovanovitch has devoted her entire career to public service, fighting for freedom and democracy against the forces of corruption and authoritarianism around the globe. Little did she know that she would need to bring that same fight right here, to Washington. Her recent congressional testimony electrified the nation,” said Bruce Nichols, HMH SVP and Publisher. “We could not be more excited to publish her inspiring and urgently needed story.”
Until her retirement from the State Department in January 2020, Marie Yovanovitch was a senior American diplomat who served in multiple high-profile domestic and overseas posts, including Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, and U.S. Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, and U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine. A recipient of Georgetown University’s Trainor Award (conferred for “excellence in the conduct of diplomacy,” with past winners including Madeleine Albright and Kofi Annan), she currently is a Non Resident Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown.
About Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books & Media For nearly two centuries, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has published some of the world's most renowned novels, nonfiction, children's books, and reference works. As part of a leading global learning company, it is uniquely positioned to offer educational and entertaining content for all audiences. Its distinguished author list includes ten Nobel Prize winners, forty-eight Pulitzer Prize winners, fifteen National Book Award winners, and more than one hundred Caldecott, Newbery, Printz, and Sibert Medal and Honor recipients. Current and recent authors include Tim O'Brien, Natasha Trethewey, Paul Theroux, Alison Bechdel, Adam Hochschild, Tim Ferriss and a celebrated roster of children's authors and illustrators including Kwame Alexander, Lois Lowry, and Chris Van Allsburg. HMH is also home to The Best American series® The Whole30®, Weber Grill, How to Cook Everything®, and other leading lifestyle properties; books by J.R.R. Tolkien; and many iconic children's books and characters, including Curious George®, The Little Prince, and The Polar Express. HMH Productions develops and produces media and licensed products related to brands such as Carmen Sandiego and Oregon Trail. HMH Audio, publishes audio books of HMH front list and backlist titles.
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Lori Glazer
SVP, Executive Director of Publicity
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
(212) 420-5840