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Jenna Bush Hager is celebrating a new career milestone outside of Today.
“This week, I am publishing my first book through Thousand Voices: Conform by Ariel Sullivan!” Bush Hager wrote in a Monday, October 13, Substack post. “As a little girl who kept a flashlight in the drawer by my bedside just to stay up reading, this is a dream realized. I know that for Ariel (who publishes her debut novel TOMORROW 10/14!!!), who worked tirelessly—writing in carpool lines and coffee shops until close, who was rejected by agents over and over again—this is a dream beyond her wildest dreams.”
Describing the book, Bush Hager continued, “What’s ironic is this book is partly about dreaming. Emeline, the protagonist, dreams about life in the clouds. She envisions a different life—surrounded by fine dresses and balls, a life void of gray and filled with COLOR! Then, as the novel continues, she dreams of a new world entirely—one we currently take for granted—filled with books and music and art, and most of all, love.”
Bush Hager went on to recall pursuing her own dream of teaching elementary schoolers in Washington, D.C. “It was long hours, only to dream of my students at night. It was cleaning and organizing and lesson planning. It was staying late for Ms. Jenna’s book club (yes! I had one way back in the day!) so my kids could finish third grade on reading level,” she shared. “It was frozen pizzas and dressing up as the Cat in the Hat for Read Across America Day. It was comforting a student who witnessed violence on the way to school. It was the most dynamic magic—no day the same. And it was brutally difficult.”
Bush Hager attributes her role on Today to her experience as a teacher, which she described as “a dream I never even thought to have.”
Bush Hager concluded her post by stating that “dreaming is not linear,” adding, “It has been about fifteen years since I left the classroom, and still, at night, when I close my eyes, I dream about a full classroom—my kids behind their desks, books in hand. I dream of recess on the roof of my small school, the sounds of their laughter. And when I wake, I still think of my students almost daily and pray their dreams are big and beautiful.”
Earlier this year, Bush Hager expanded her production company, Thousand Voices, by launching her own book imprint with Random House Publishing Group, titled Thousand Voices Books. “I do feel like literature and reading — and I’ve always felt this way — can bring you into different worlds, can show you different perspectives,” she announced on a January episode of Today With Hoda & Jenna (now Today With Jenna & Friends).
“But what I’m really excited about is that we’re working with emerging authors,” Bush Hager added. “We’re working with debut writers, one of whom is in her 20s, one of whom is 61 years old and just published a book. So, we have six books that we are publishing over the next year.”
Announcing Conform as the imprint’s first release, Bush Hager said she “finished it at 5:30 in the morning on a treadmill, so you know that’s good.”
Today fans know that Bush Hager is a big reader, as she launched her book club, Read With Jenna, in 2019, and highlights her monthly book picks on the NBC morning show.
Today With Jenna & Friends, Weekdays, 10 a.m. ET, NBC
