People News

Sarah Silverman bidding war ends: $2.5 million for comic tome

By April MacIntyre Nov 17, 2008, 15:23 GMT

Sarah Silverman is set to rake in $2.5 million for a book about her funny life, and comic essays about things that matter to the comedian. Abortions, dirty Mexicans, farting, rape are part of Sarah Silverman's repertoire EPA/PAUL BUCK

Abortions, dirty Mexicans, farting, rape are part of Sarah Silverman's repertoire EPA/PAUL BUCKHarperCollins publishers Gillian Blake at Collins, and Laurie Chittenden at William Morrow are reportedly interested in the book.The New York Observer writes that HarperCollins' Michael Morrison will help team Silverman "decide" who to go with inside the company.Recently Silverman toured and performed in London to abysmal reviews.From the IndependentIt might surprise Silverman to learn that her Jewish Princess persona – who jokes that Hispanic people smell, black people don't tip, vaginas stink of fish and sings "You're going to die" to her grandmother – is rather inoffensive to a British audience used to the high-cringe factor of Ricky Gervais and Sacha Baron Cohen. Over the pond, South Park has been brilliantly toying with this brand of meta-bigotry for more than a decade, and took it further than Silverman does. It's old news, done badly. Silverman is known for taking big swipes at pop celebrities like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Back in September 9, 2007, she hosted the MTV Video Music Awards, and following a performance of Spears, Silverman deadpanned, "Wow, she is amazing. I mean, she is 25 years old, and she has already accomplished everything she's going to accomplish in her life. It's mind-blowing." Silverman called Spears' children "the most adorable mistakes you will ever see."Silverman's book, according to the NY Observer, "will be a collection of comedic essays, just like the Tina Fey book that Endeavor agent Richard Abate recently sold to Little, Brown for a reported $6 million."