Ketanji Brown Jackson, the most recent justice and the first Black woman to join the Supreme Court, reported $2 million in revenue from her best-selling memoir, Lovely One, which was published last year. After announcing the book deal just three months into her first term, the justice also embarked on a wide-ranging promotional tour, including 15 paid speaking engagements. Jackson’s judicial writing has been praised as “uniquely powerful” by the Washington Post (though the outlet also critiqued her memoir for lacking her usual wry wit). Of the handful of public records of the justices’ finances, the annual report is among the most illuminating. Jackson’s financial report far exceeds the values reported by her peers on the Court, including the other justices with book deals. Neil Gorsuch reported $250,000 in royalties from his book, published last year, and Sonia Sotomayor reported $134,000 in royalties, with an advance, for her upcoming book. Brett Kavanaugh reported $340,000 for his memoir, which has yet to be released. Clarence Thomas set a precedent when he received a $1.5 million advance when he signed his book deal for his 2007 memoir, My Grandfather’s Son, though he hasn’t reported any royalties on the book since then. In 2022, Amy Coney Barrett reported receiving $425,000 for an advance for her upcoming book. Justices Samuel Alito, Elena Kagan, and John Roberts do not have book deals. Jackson’s reported income from outside her Court duties this year is more than the sum of all other justices’ outside incomes combined.
