Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson reports $2 million payment for her memoir 'Lovely One' in 2024
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson reported receiving over $2 million from Penguin Random House, which published her book, "Lovely One: A Memoir," in 2024.
Jackson’s financial disclosure report indicated that Penguin Random House paid her a $2,068,750 book advance in 2024. The company also provided reimbursements for transportation, food, and lodging to promote her book at events across the country.
"Lovely One," whose title references her West African birth name's meaning, was published in early September, and is described by Amazon as "tracing her family’s ascent from segregation to her confirmation on America’s highest court within the span of one generation."
Her book tour spanned the country with stops in major cities including San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Miami and Atlanta.
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This is not the first time Penguin Random House has sent her a massive payment, as a similar disclosure report revealed the company paid her a $893,750 book advance in 2023, bringing the total over two years to almost $3 million.
The Supreme Court recently adopted a formal ethics code for receiving free travel and other gifts. However, there is no current cap on how much justices may earn from book deals.
"Last month, Barrett, Jackson, Gorsuch and Sotomayor recused themselves from a decision over whether to hear a case involving the parent company of the book publisher Penguin Random House," the Washington Post reported. "The justices did not explain their reasoning for sitting out the discussion, but an ethics expert said it was probably because the case involved the German company Bertelsmann, which owns the publishing house that has published or will be publishing their books."