Beirut, Lebanon (May 25, 2018)—Former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama revealed today on Instagram the book cover of her highly anticipated memoir, “وأصبحتُ” which is scheduled to be published globally on November 13, 2018. The book’s title in English is BECOMING.
Mrs. Obama selected the cover photo for her book jacket from a photo shoot that was done earlier this year in Washington, DC, by renowned portrait photographer Miller Mobley, with styling provided by Meredith Koop, Carl Ray, and Yene Damtew. Christopher Brand, Vice President, Creative Director, Crown Publishing Group, designed the book jacket.
In leading up to her book cover reveal, Mrs. Obama shared on her Instagram account four previously unpublished family photographs that illustrate moments in her personal journey of becoming the woman she is today.
Stated Mrs. Obama (@michelleobama), “I’m thrilled to share with all of you the cover for BECOMING. The process of writing this book has been so personally meaningful and illuminating for me. As I prepare to share BECOMING this fall, I hope you’ll also think about your own story, and trust that it will help you become whoever you aspire to be. Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own.”
Mrs. Obama’s book will be released in the Arab world in print and digital formats by the Lebanese publishing house Hachette Antoine / Naufal. It will also be published in 25 languages around the world.
In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, “وأصبحتُ” is an unusually intimate reckoning from a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.
At the time of publication, Mrs. Obama will embark on a U.S. and international book tour, with details to be announced at a later date.
An English-language edition of BECOMING will be published in the U.S. and Canada by the Crown Publishing Group/Penguin Random House, and in the UK and British Commonwealth territories by Viking/Penguin Random House UK. The book will be published in translation in 24 other languages, including Spanish (Plaza & Janés/Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial); German (Goldmann Verlag/Verlagsgruppe Random House); Portuguese Brazil (Objetiva/Companhia das Letras); Portuguese Portugal (Objectiva/Penguin Random House Portugal); Catalan (Rosa dels Vents/Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial); French (Editions Fayard); Albanian (Dudaj Publishing); Arabic (Hachette Antoine/Naufal); Complex Chinese (Business Weekly Group); Czech (Argo); Danish (Lindhardt og Ringhof); Dutch (Hollands Diep); Finnish (Otava Publishing Company); Greek (Athens Bookstore Publications); Hebrew (Yedioth Books); Hungarian (HVG Publishing Co.); Italian (Garzanti); Japanese (Shueisha); Korean (Woongjin Think Big Co., Ltd.); Lithuanian (Alma Littera); Norwegian (Cappelen Damm); Polish (Agora Publishing House); Swedish (Bokförlaget Forum); and Vietnamese (First News – Tri Viet Publishing Co., Ltd.).