MacKenzie Scott Announces Literary Comeback with Serial Novel Release

Philanthropist and novelist MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has announced her return to fiction writing after more than a decade. According to a report by Forbes, in a post on her blog, Scott announced that she will serially release an 80,000-word novel titled ‘Last Days in Two Nations (A History in Eighteen Minds)’ throughout the month of August. Scott published the book’s title page, table of contents, character list, and epigraphs over the weekend, but offered little else about the plot or characters, saying only that she hoped readers would "read and subscribe" to follow along as the novel unfolds serially over the coming weeks. For those unaware, Scott studied creative writing at Princeton University under Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, who supervised her 168-page thesis, “The Fathering Water.” Morrison later praised Scott as one of her best students and helped her secure a literary agent after graduation. The announcement marks Scott’s first major return to publishing in 13 years. Her debut novel, "The Testing of Luther Albright," came out in 2005 to strong critical reception, winning an American Book Award and landing a spot on the Los Angeles Times’ Best of the Year list. She followed it with a second novel, "Traps," in 2013, which she promoted through a series of interviews at the time. Since then, Scott has largely stayed out of public view, surfacing only occasionally through literary posts on her blog and personal website. Once ranked as the 22nd richest person in the world, Scott has given away more than $26 billion over the past seven years to over 2,500 organizations, including historically Black colleges and universities, environmental groups, and economic equity nonprofits. According to Forbes, her current net worth stands at $33.8 billion, stemming from the 4% Amazon stake she received following her 2019 divorce from Bezos. Recently, Scott donated $20 million to Active Minds, a US nonprofit that works with young people to change the culture around mental health. The donation is the largest in the organisation’s history and comes as Scott continues her large-scale charitable giving after selling a significant portion of her Amazon shares over the years. As stated in the Fortune report, the latest gift is unrestricted, allowing the nonprofit to decide how the money should be used to expand mental health programmes, support young leaders, and respond to community needs.