Hachette acquires Klim memoir
Hachette Australia has acquired the memoir of Australian Olympic swimming champion Michael Klim.
Klim, to be published by Hachette senior nonfiction publisher Scott Henderson, charts the life of the Polish-born Australian ‘as he excels on swimming’s greatest stages, founds multiple businesses, starts a family, and faces personal health battles’. The memoir follows Klim’s announcement in July 2022 that he had been diagnosed in 2020 with the auto-immune disorder chronic demyelinating polyneuropathy, which has affected his legs and feet and left him struggling to walk unassisted. ‘This is an inspirational memoir of Australia’s nicest hero’, said Hachette.
At 18 years of age, in 1995, Michael Klim was named Australian Swimming Rookie of the Year; he won a bronze medal in his first Olympic appearance in the 1996 Atlanta Games. He began breaking world records the following year. At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Klim won two gold and two silver medals. After retiring in 2007, Klim returned to swimming in 2011 with the hope of reaching the 2012 London Olympics and reached the semi-finals in both the 100m Freestyle and 100m Butterfly at the Australian Championships before again announcing his retirement. In 2020, Klim was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Said Klim: ‘I’ve been approached before to tell my story, but it didn’t seem like the right time. Now it does. I have had a period when I have been able to reflect a lot on my life because of events in the last two or three years. There have been Olympic anniversaries, the impact of Covid and my own health issues, and these have made me appreciate the life I have had. In some ways, I feel I am starting a new life with this disorder, and that has brought home to me that there is much more to my life than the athletic story. I have life experience and personal tribulations that have shaped me—as much as my swimming career—and I’m ready to share.’
Henderson said: ‘What Michael has achieved in his professional, philanthropic and personal lives has been a source of continuous inspiration for millions around the globe. Michael is the ultimate “good bloke”, achieving at the pinnacle of swimming, building business empires and conquering health challenges along the way. His natural gift for storytelling and untamed thirst for life have made for some incredible tales, and we look forward to sharing them upon the release of Klim.’
Klim will be published in September 2024.
Category: Local news Rights and acquisitions
