Rich Paul to Release Debut Memoir, ‘Lucky Me’ (Exclusive)
Rich Paul, the sports superagent and the founder and chief executive officer of Klutch Sports Group, is set to release a memoir.
Roc Lit 101, the publishing division of Roc Nation — the entertainment company founded by Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter — and an imprint of Random House, announced Wednesday that it has acquired Paul’s coming-of-age story, Lucky Me.
In his book, Paul, who represents some of the NBA’s biggest names including LeBron James, Anthony Davis, John Wall, Ben Simmons and Draymond Green, introduces who he was prior to becoming a leading figure in sports. The memoir will chronicle his upbringing in Cleveland, Ohio, his relationships with his family and community, and the lessons he learned while navigating the challenges the city faced at the time.
“Lucky Me is more than my story,” Paul said. “Lucky Me is the story of every young Black man who grew up like me. I want to use my story to uplift and inspire those who lived this and educate those who didn’t. I cannot tell you what it means to partner with my friend and mentor Jay-Z on this project. Lucky Me was the name of the book before I even spoke with Jay because his music was my life’s soundtrack.”
Of the upcoming book, Jay-Z said in a statement, “Rich has always been wise beyond his years, with a wealth of knowledge gained by his inimitable curiosity. To no one’s surprise, Rich has built a phenomenal business with Klutch Sports. This book is an American tale of ‘against all odds’— and I believe young people in similar environments will see themselves in Lucky Me. My long friendship with Rich aside, he has one of the greatest stories of growing up in America’s ghettos and overcoming adversity. On a personal note, the fact that I’m able to release this book with someone who inspires me and I’ve watched grow is most rewarding!”
North American, open market rights were acquired by Roc Lit 101 publisher Chris Jackson from Byrd Leavell of UTA, who has worked with an array of award-winning and best-selling authors, including Bryan Stevenson, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Trevor Noah, Ibram X. Kendi and Valarie Kaur.
“Rich Paul is one of the most influential figures in professional sports today but, to his credit, that’s not the story he wants to tell,” says Jackson. “Instead, it’s a story of the people who shaped his life on a humble corner of Cleveland, Ohio, and ultimately a story about how we take care of each other. This will be a pivotal project for the Roc Lit 101 program and we couldn’t be more excited to have Rich join our team.”
Paul’s Klutch became a powerhouse sports agency after being founded in 2012, representing some of the biggest athletes across the NBA and NFL. Last year, he was appointed to the UTA board of directors.
Random House announced the launch of publishing imprint Roc Lit 101 with Roc Nation last year. The imprint is devoted to publishing books at the intersection of entertainment and genre-defying literature, including work on a range of subjects such as music, sports, pop culture, activism and art.