The book about the famed Rolling Stone publisher will be written by Joe Hagan, a contributing editor at New York magazine.
Updated:
Jann Wenner, the founder and publisher of Rolling Stone, and an influential figure in the history of rock and roll, will soon have his own tale told. Joe Hagan, a contributing editor at New Yorkmagazine, will write a biography of Mr. Wenner for the Knopf imprint of Penguin Random House.
Knopf is paying $2 million for world English language rights to the book, according to a person familiar with the deal. It will be published in time for Rolling Stone’s 50th anniversary in 2017.
Mr. Hagan—who was a former contributing editor at Rolling Stone and its sister title Men’s Journaland began his career as an intern at Rolling Stone—will have access to Mr. Wenner and all of his archives, the spokesman said. The biography will be unauthorized, however, meaning that Mr. Wenner will not have control over its content.
Asked about the acquisition price, the spokesman declined to comment on the figure. “It’s a good pay day for Joe,” he said.
The book, as yet untitled, was kept under lock and key throughout the sale process. Instead of taking the usual route of submitting a proposal to publishing houses, Janklow & Nesbit agent PJ Mark invited editors to read the 100-page proposal in the agency’s office in midtown.
The chairman and one of the founders of the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame Foundation, Mr. Wenner has a reputation as a mercurial manager of his publications, which also include celebrity title Us Weekly. But he also made Rolling Stone into an influential and groundbreaking publication in the areas of culture and politics as well as popular music.
Writers whose careers Mr. Wenner furthered include Hunter S. Thompson—whose classic, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, first appeared in Rolling Stone—and Tom Wolfe, whose book about the early days of the space program, The Right Stuff, grew out of articles in the magazine. Bonfire of the Vanities, Mr. Wolfe’s celebrated novel about New York in the 1980s, was first serialized in Rolling Stone.
Mr. Wenner made front-page news in 1995 when he left his wife of nearly 30 years, Jane Schindelheim, for a 28-year old former male model, Matt Nye. Mssrs. Wenner and Nye have three children. Mr. Wenner and his wife—with whom he also has three children—finally divorced in 2011.
Correction: Joe Hagan, a contributing editor at New York magazine, was a former contributing editor at Rolling Stone and its sister title Men’s Journal. His roles were misstated in the summary and text of an earlier version of this article published March 19, 2014.