With no other major releases about or by Palin, the audience for "Sarah" is quickly expanding. As of Friday evening, the book had jumped into the top 25 on Amazon.com, where shoppers now have to wait 1-3 weeks for shipment. Publisher Kent Sturgis says digital printing will be used to fill orders for the hardcover and that a paperback will be hurried out, with an expected printing of 50,000.
"I was happy as a clam even before today," Sturgis told The Associated Press on Friday. "This is all unbelievable."
Published by Epicenter Press, Inc., based in Kenmore, Wash., and specializing in books about Alaska, "Sarah" was written by Anchorage author Kaylene Johnson and released in April. The Republican governor enjoys high approval ratings in her state and a small first printing of around 7,000 had sold out before Friday's announcement.
Epicenter was founded 21 years ago and publishes 10 or fewer books a year, Sturgis says. Its most popular book is Velma Willis' "Two Old Women," a 1993 release, based on an Athabascan Indian legend, that has more than 500,000 copies in print.
