Book versions of the Mueller report are coming very soon

Political observers who want to get their hands on a print version of the Mueller report won’t have to wait too much longer.

An assortment of publishers are rushing special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s report on alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election — publicly released Thursday — to print, hoping to land them on bookstore shelves within the next several days.

The version of the report released to the public contains redactions. The Times reports that one-third of the report’s pages contain at least one blacked-out word. That hasn’t deterred three publishers who plan to print the report in book form.

Among those publishers is Scribner, which plans to release the report with analysis by Washington Post journalists as an e-book and a paperback version. Scribner publicity director Brian Belfiglio told Publishers Weekly on Tuesday that the publisher expected to release the electronic version on Friday, with the print book following later this month.

Two independent presses are also gearing up for their versions of the report. Melville House, a New York publisher, is planning a mass market version of the report. Dennis Johnson, the publisher’s co-founder, told Publishers Weekly, “Good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, we’ll be shipping to bookstores in no more than 10 days.”

Skyhorse Publishing, whose version of the report will feature an introduction by Alan Dershowitz, the attorney and defender of President Trump, says it hopes to ship its books to retailers on April 25.

As of Thursday morning, Skyhorse’s version of the report was the No. 46 bestselling book on Amazon, with the Scribner edition at No. 86.

Bookstore chain Barnes & Noble has also gotten in on the action, announcing on Wednesday that it’s offering a free download of the report to readers with Nook tablets or apps.

“We’ve received strong demand from our customers for this report, and want to make it as easy as possible for them to access it for free as soon as possible,” Barnes & Noble chief merchandising officer Tim Mantel said in a news release.

Audible, the Amazon-owned online audiobook producer and retailer, was planning to release a free audio version of the report shortly after the document’s official release.