{
  "id": 7056740,
  "title": "Prosper and Martine Assouline, editors: ‘Our next book will weigh 176 pounds, cost €20,000 and sell out in two minutes’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/prosper-and-martine-assouline-editors-our-next-book-will-weigh-176",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-13T04:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "El Pais English",
    "slug": "el-pais-english",
    "url": "https://english.elpais.com/culture/2026-09-13/prosper-and-martine-assouline-editors-our-next-book-will-weigh-176-pounds-cost-20000-and-sell-out-in-two-minutes.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Prosper and Martine Assouline, editors of Assouline Publishing, reveal their ambitious plans for their next book. The Assoulines, a couple with Moroccan-Jewish and French aristocratic backgrounds, have been creating unique and luxurious books for over 30 years. Their latest creation, a book about Colombian artist Fernando Botero, will be a masterpiece to behold.\n\nThe book, which will stand an impressive 3.6 feet high and 6.5 feet wide when open, will weigh a staggering 176 pounds. Assouline Publishing aims to create books that are not only a visual delight but also a sensory experience. Each book is designed to be left on a living room shelf and admired, rather than consumed from cover to cover.\n\nThe Assoulines' latest project features a guided tour of the Palace of Versailles, with a special edition bound in Fortuny fabric from Venice, costing $1,000 alone. For the Formula 1 book, they even created the smell of rubber to enhance the reading experience. The Assoulines take pride in their books' high prices, stating that their publishing house does not accept sales or returns, ensuring the utmost quality.\n\nTheir most expensive book to date was a special edition of Jay-Z's biography, released last August, featuring five volumes, each sold for $100,000. The fifth volume was auctioned at Christie's for a remarkable $163,000. Their upcoming book, dedicated to Fernando Botero, is expected to cost €20,000 and will sell out in just two minutes.\n\nThe Assoulines' vision extends beyond the realm of books, as they aim to bring the same luxury and uniqueness to other domains, such as art, fashion, interior design, travel, and sports. They have successfully transformed their passion for the corner of the world represented by La Colombe d’Or hotel into an empire of over 2,500 titles and 18 stores worldwide, with flagship locations in London and Riyadh.",
  "summary": "Last summer, the couple released a volume dedicated to Jay-Z that was auctioned off for over $150,000. ‘Our books are for people who already have it all,’ they explain",
  "key_points": [
    "The Assouline book will weigh 176 pounds and cost €20,000",
    "Book about Fernando Botero to sell out in two minutes",
    "Assouline Publishing specializes in luxury, unique books"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The Assoulines' plan to release a 176-pound, €20,000 book that will sell out in two minutes cements their reputation for creating luxurious, high-end publications that command top dollar.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}