Publishing Giant Signs Bitcoin Book Deal

Publishing giant Penguin Random House has closed a deal with journalist Brian Patrick Eha for a book on bitcoin and Silk Road to be published next year. Eha is a former Assistant Editor at Entrepreneur.com and has been writing about bitcoin since mid-2012.

The book’s working title is Walking the Silk Road and it will feature a narrative account by Eha with Silk Road at its core. It further promises to explore bitcoin’s global growth and its impact on the world economy.

“Bitcoin is one of the hottest topics in business today, and its connection with Silk Road makes for a fascinating story,” the book’s editor, Niki Papadopoulos, said in a press release.

Eha will be leaving his job at Entrepreneur.com to write the book, according to the press release. He started writing about bitcoin with a piece on BitInstant for CNNMoney in August 2012 and went on to write about the digital currency for Entrepreneur.com and other titles, including two pieces for the New Yorker online.

“[Bitcoin] is such a big subject that it deserves a comprehensive book-length account that will stand the test of time,” Eha said in the press release.

Eha’s book has been acquired by Portfolio, a business book imprint of Penguin Random House. Portfolio publishes 65 titles a year. Titles in its stable include The Smartest Guys in the Room by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, The Search by John Batelle, and several titles by marketing guru Seth Godin.

Penguin Random House controls 26% of the global publishing market. It was formed in July 2013 after a merger between Bertelsmann’s Random House and Pearson’s Penguin Books. Bertelsmann now owns the majority of the combined entity.

Check out thisinteractive timelineof the Silk Road story, including the Charlie Shrem arrest in January.