Tom Petty Signs Deal for Authorized Biography

Posted on November 19, 2004

Tom Petty, one of the great songwriters of American rock 'n' roll, has signed a publishing contract with Omnibus Press. The imprint will release the first authorized book to focus solely on the life and work of the man responsible for multiple memorable rock anthems, including: "American Girl," "Breakdown," "Refugee," "The Waiting," "Don't Come Around Here No More," "I Won't Back Down," "Free Fallin'," "Runnin' Down a Dream," "You Don't Know How It Feels," and "Mary Jane's Last Dance." He was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 and his work with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, as well as his solo albums and those with the Traveling Wilburys, have earned numerous Platinum-status awards from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), as well as Grammys and other major awards. Conversations With Tom Petty will be published in November 2005.

Andrea Rotondo, acquisitions editor for Omnibus, said, "The aptly titled, Conversations With Tom Petty, is being written by Paul Zollo. Tom and Paul are in the middle of a series of in-depth discussions about Tom's career, with special focus on his songwriting. The conversations will be reprinted with little or no editorial comment and will therefore represent a unique perspective on Tom's entire career. Omnibus plans to release the book in time for the 2005 holiday season and the band's 30th anniversary in 2006. Fans will revel in rare photographs and a first-hand account of Tom's unprecedented career."

Music Sales Group, founded in 1935 by the Wise family, is an international company with interests in four main areas of music publishing: Copyright ownership and promotion of standard and popular music, classical music, printed music, and book publishing. Book imprints include Omnibus Press, Schirmer Trade Books, Amsco, and others. The company maintains offices in New York, London, Sydney, Copenhagen, Madrid, Tokyo, Helsinki, and Paris.