A secret memoir written by Dolly Parton before her death has reportedly sold for an astonishing $13 million (approximately €11.2 million) following a fierce bidding war between publishers.
The deal, which comes just two months after the country music legend died aged 80, will see Grand Central Publishing acquire the rights to the previously undisclosed book.
According to Page Six, the memoir was represented by literary agency Folio, which also handled the publication of Parton's 2023 book Songteller: My Life in Lyrics.
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Sources told the publication that the bidding process became particularly intense after Folio informed publishers that it had already received an offer of $12 million.
However, the announcement reportedly caught several publishers off guard, with some questioning whether the figure was genuine.
'No one believed them, so they all stopped bidding [and] Folio went back to editors,' one source told Page Six.
Another publishing insider described the reaction from competing editors, saying: 'They were all like, "WTF? You have $12 million, and we aren't beating that."'
Grand Central Publishing eventually returned with an improved offer and reportedly secured the rights to Parton's book for $13 million.
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However, there are conflicting reports about the final value of the deal. While several sources put the figure at $13 million, another insider claimed the actual upfront payment was lower, with a more generous royalty arrangement making up the difference.
The deal reportedly includes a 50/50 split in royalties, giving Parton's estate a larger share of the book's future earnings than is usually agreed in publishing deals.
It is not yet known when the memoir will be released, or exactly what readers can expect to find inside.
There is also speculation about whether Parton addressed some of the more private aspects of her life, including her health struggles, in the book.
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The singer died on August 25, aged 80, following a brief battle with cancer. Her death was confirmed by her representative, with her family and management subsequently beginning to oversee the many projects she had been developing during her lifetime.
Indeed, her longtime manager Danny Nozell previously revealed that Parton had spent several years putting plans in place to ensure her work would continue reaching fans after her death.
In a statement following her passing, he said: "Dolly worked up until the day she died. She loved seeing her dreams come to life, and loved knowing her work brought people joy.
"Ever the planner, Dolly worked with the team that she handpicked, for the past several years to build a project roadmap that will guide us for decades to come."
He added that several projects were already at different stages of development, including unreleased music, books, products and experiences.
The reported memoir deal is another indication of the amount of work Parton had been preparing behind the scenes.
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The singer was no stranger to publishing, having released her first autobiography, Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business, in 1994.
The book explored her childhood growing up in a poor family in rural Tennessee, her journey into the music industry and her rise to become one of the world's biggest country music stars.
She later released Songteller: My Life in Lyrics in 2020, offering fans a closer look at the stories and inspiration behind 175 of her songs, spanning more than six decades.
Parton also collaborated with author James Patterson on the novel Run, Rose, Run, published in 2022, which told the story of a young woman pursuing a career in country music.
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Despite her extraordinary success, the singer was famously private about certain aspects of her personal life, particularly her marriage to Carl Dean, whom she married in 1966 and who died in March 2025.
Grand Central Publishing has not yet announced a publication date for the book, and representatives for Parton's estate have not publicly confirmed the reported details of the deal.
