WSJ columnist signs $6.75 million book advance

Keith Kelly of The New York Post writes that Wall Street Journal columnist Jeffrey Zaslow has signed a $6.75 million book advance with Hyperion to write a book about a terminally ill college professor.

Kelly wrote, “Pausch, a computer science professor, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which is generally regarded as terminal. He’s expected to live just a few more months.

“He became a bit of a celebrity this fall after Zaslow wrote several columns about a moving and upbeat lecture Pausch gave in September. It was part of a ‘Last Lecture’ series taking place at several colleges in which professors impart life lessons to their students as if the lecture were the last they’d ever deliver.

“As part of the deal with Hyperion, there is believed to be some kind of payment to Pausch’s family. The professor is married with three young children.”

Read more here.

Zaslow’s column, “Moving On,” appears in the Personal Journal section and focuses on life transitions — whether losing a loved one, changing jobs, getting married, moving into retirement, or handling success or failure.