Paper shortage delays Britney Spears’ tell-all memoir – media

The pop star was paid $15 million in one of the biggest book deals of all time

A shortage of paper has delayed the publication of Britney Spears’ memoir, celebrity gossip site TMZ reported on Saturday. After being released from her father’s conservatorship, Spears landed one of the largest book deals in history.

Spears recently wrapped up work on the book, but its anticipated January release date has been pushed back, said TMZ, citing “sources close to Britney.” These sources also claim there’s no indication when publisher Simon & Schuster will be able to get the book to print.

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According to a report by Publishers Weekly in March, supply chain issues, inflation, and employee resignations at paper plants had driven the US’ printing capacity to “historic low levels,” with publishers at the time planning around delays of between six and 12 months.

Spears’ memoir has been in the works since February, when Simon & Schuster gave her $15 million for the book. The deal was agreed several months after a Los Angeles judge terminated a 13-year conservatorship agreement that had seen the singer’s father, Jamie Spears, control her finances, medical decisions, and much of her personal life.

Spears’ father placed her under this agreement citing concerns about his daughter’s mental health, while Spears herself called the arrangement “abusive.”

The $15 million deal is one of the largest payouts for a single book in history. According to figures published by The Guardian, it beats deals offered to UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Pope John Paul II, and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 

According to TMZ, Spears’ memoir will detail her early life, her rise to pop superstardom, and her eventual falling out with her family over the conservatorship. Spears’ younger sister, actress Jamie Lynn, wrote a memoir of her own in January, which has been criticized by Spears as containing “crazy lies.”