A collection of Amy Winehouse’s previously unseen journal entries, handwritten lyrics and personal photos will be made public this summer.
The late singer’s personal ephemera will be shared for the first time in Amy Winehouse: In Her Words, a new book published on 31 August by HarperCollins.
Her parents Mitch and Janis Winehouse, who provided the foreword for the book, said in a statement: “This beautiful new collection of Amy’s notes and musings shows another side of Amy – her fun and witty side.
“We wanted to share this with Amy’s fans so that they too can enjoy Amy, in her words.”
The publication date is scheduled for two weeks before what would have been Winehouse’s 40th birthday. She died by an accidental alcohol overdose in July 2011, aged 27, after a string of public struggles with addiction and poor mental health.
“To fully understand Amy Winehouse on what would have been her 40th birthday, this extremely personal and revealing book, filled with her private thoughts and emotions, uncovers the heart of the artist who dreamed big and cared deeply,” said Lisa Sharkey of HarperCollins. “We could not be prouder to publish this cherished keepsake and are grateful to her parents Janis and Mitch for sharing their daughter in this sensitive beautiful book.”
All of the book’s royalties will be donated to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, with a promised minimum donation of £70,000. Since its establishment by Mitch Winehouse in 2011, the charity has supported vulnerable or disadvantaged young people through the provision of recovery housing, resilience training and music therapy workshops.
In 2012, a year after the singer’s death, Mitch Winehouse published a memoir detailing his daughter’s life. Amy, My Daughter featured exclusive extracts from his own diary as well as unseen photos from their family album. All proceeds went towards the Foundation.
A new film biopic of Winehouse’s life, Back to Black, is in production, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. While official promotional material has not yet been circulated, behind-the-scenes paparazzi images shared on Twitter sparked a backlash earlier this year, with some calling the project insensitive and exploitative.
