Topline<\/p>\n
Philanthropist and Amazon billionaire MacKenzie Scott said Saturday she will self-publish a new novel, her third, on Substack throughout the month of August, but has so far provided few details on what the book is about. <\/p>\n
MacKenzie Scott on Jan. 6, 2018 in Hollywood, California. <\/p>\n
Getty Images for for J\/P HRO GalaKey Facts<\/p>\n
Scott, who was once the 22nd richest person in the world before giving away<\/a> $26 billion over the last seven years, said on her blog she’ll publish an 80,000-word novel called \u201cLast Days in Two Nations (A History in Eighteen Minds)\u201d serially throughout August.<\/p>\n Scott published the title page, table of contents, character list and epigraphs for the book Saturday but said little else, other than to encourage her followers to \u201cread and subscribe.\u201d <\/p>\n Scott’s debut novel, “The Testing of Luther Albright,” was published in 2005 and critically well-received, winning an American Book Award and earning a spot on the Los Angeles Times Best of the Year list. <\/p>\n She published another book, \u201cTraps,\u201d in 2013 and promoted it with a series of interviews but, since then, has communicated with the public only through rare literary posts to her blog<\/a> and website<\/a>. <\/p>\n FORBES VALUATION<\/p>\n Scott<\/a>, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has an estimated net worth of $33.8 billion as of Saturday. Scott was married to Bezos for 25 years and received a 4% stake in the online retailer as part of her 2019 divorce. Since then, she has given away<\/a> upwards of $26 billion to more than 2,500 groups, including historically Black colleges and universities, environmental groups and economic equity nonprofits. <\/p>\n Key background<\/p>\n Scott studied creative writing under Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison at Princeton University. Morrison served as supervisor for Scott\u2019s 168-page thesis project, “The Fathering Water,” and the pair reportedly kept in touch after Scott graduated in 1992. <\/p>\n