Janis Ian Unveils Revised Edition of Her Acclaimed Memoir, Society’s Child: My Autobiography
Published
Janis Ian Unveils Revised Edition
Of Her Acclaimed Memoir,
Society’s Child: My Autobiography
Society’s Child: My Autobiography
Updated Edition Arrives with New Cover and Afterword by Author,
Edited with New Annotations
All But One Name From the Original Publication
Adjusted to Reflect the Parties’ Real Names
Award Winning Book Available Today
Via Ian’s Own Rude Girl Press
In eBook, Trade Paperback, and Audiobook Formats
At Booksellers Internationally
New Documentary Film Inspired by The Book,
Janis Ian: Breaking Silence,
Qualifies For Oscar Submission and is Now Streaming
NEW YORK – Legendary singer-songwriter, author, and activist Janis Ian is proud to announce a newly revised edition of her acclaimed memoir, Society’s Child: My Autobiography, available now in ebook and paperback formats via her own Rude Girl Press at store.janisianstore.com as well as other online outlets. Trade Paperback formats will follow via IngramSpark’s global distribution.
The inspiration for last year’s award-winning documentary Janis Ian: Breaking Silence, the book features a new cover with new annotations, expanded with a new afterword by the author, and sees all but one of the names changed in the original publication adjusted to reflect the parties’ real names. With conscious intent, a single name remains unaltered out of respect for the surviving family. In addition, the classic Grammy Award-winning audiobook edition of Society’s Child: My Autobiography is available on Audible with the book’s updated cover and an exclusive attachment of the new afterword.
The inspiring story of one woman’s unbreakable spirit, Society’s Child: My Autobiography offers a deeply personal look at the music business and Janis Ian’s own remarkable path through it, told with relentless honesty and unyielding integrity. Ian first entered the spotlight in 1966 at the age of 15 with “Society’s Child,” a revolutionary song about interracial relationships that proved a sensational hit despite many radio stations refusing to play it because of its controversial subject matter. Caught in the political maelstrom of a divided country, she made the conscious decision to walk away. However, the power of music soon drew Ian back and in 1975, she returned to the top of the charts with her classic No. 1 hit, “At Seventeen,” earning her worldwide fame, RIAA Platinum for sales exceeding 1 million, and a Grammy Award for “Best Female Pop Vocal Performance” (along with nominations for “Record of the Year” and “Song of the Year”). A string of international Gold and Platinum hits followed, but a troubled marriage and sudden illness that nearly cost Ian her life cast a dark shadow over her many successes. Ian took charge of her life and career, ending her marriage and starting her own Rude Girl Records, once again breaking new ground as an entrepreneur and independent artist.
Told with great heart, emotion, and Ian’s singular gift as a dexterous, fearless writer, Society’s Child: My Autobiography expertly captures the glorious highs and tragic lows of a truly remarkable life’s journey, spanning encounters with legends like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, sold-out tours around the world, and a wide-ranging body of work as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist that has continued to influence and inspire fans and fellow artists for generations.
Hailed by Amazon as “a relentlessly honest account of the successes and failures – and the hopes and dreams – of an extraordinary life,” Society’s Child: My Autobiography was met by universal critical acclaim upon its original 2008 publication, as was Ian’s multiple award-winning audio version. In addition to its 2023 GRAMMY® Award for “Best Spoken Word Album,” the audiobook was the recipient of the Audio Publishers Association’s 2013 “Audie Award for Narration by the Author or Authors” and named by the American Library Association’s Booklist as one of 2013’s “Top 10 Biography – Audiobooks.”
PRAISE FOR SOCIETY’S CHILD: MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY BY JANIS IAN
“The hugely readable autobiography of an artist who has lived through success and crushing hardship but knows that ‘you can’t sing and cry at the same time.’ Sing on!”
– O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE
“Downbeat yet oddly rollicking and compulsively readable…Ian is a natural prose stylist with a real knack for pacing and the telling detail…A juicily entertaining look at an unusual life in show business.”
– KIRKUS REVIEWS
“Fans will love the book, of course, but many nonfans, too, should find this painfully candid memoir hard to put down.”
– BOOKLIST (starred review)
“Fans will appreciate the candor with which Ian discusses these hardships and her gradual path to happiness.”
– PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“Harrowing and inspiring by turns, Society’s Child is as relentlessly honest as (Ian’s) lyrics, and engrossing from first page to last. A fascinating look at the music business as it was then and as it is now, and at the life of a singer and songwriter whose music helped shape our dreams and define our times.”
– GEORGE R.R. MARTIN, author of the bestselling Song of Ice and Fire series
“Janis lan’s remarkable life, told with unfiltered honesty in Society’s Child, inspired my documentary, Janis Ian: Breaking Silence. The book not only reveals who Janis Ian truly is but also illuminates hidden aspects of ourselves. It goes far beyond what a single film can capture.”
– VARDA BAR-KAR, filmmaker
Buy the revised edition of Society’s Child: My Autobiography by Janis Ian in ebook format, now available at store.janisianstore.com in ebook and paperback formats.
Trade paperback and eBook formats are available at Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org (links below), and at more booksellers via IngramSpark’s distribution in the U.S., and retailers in the UK, E.U., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with global printing partners in Brazil, China, Germany, Italy, India, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, and Singapore.
Links to Buy Society’s Child: My Autobiography
Direct from Janis Ian’s Store
eBook format
https://store.janisianstore.com/products/societys-child-my-autobiography-e-book-new-2025-edition
paperback format
https://store.janisianstore.com/products/societys-child-my-autobiography-paperback-new-2025-edition
Paperback
Barnes & Noble: (paperback)
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/societys-child-janis-ian/1100361197?ean=9798993747705
Bookshop.org (paperback)
https://bookshop.org/p/books/society-s-child-my-autobiography-janis-ian/2912b3d516cc4ad4?ean=9798993747705&next=t
Amazon (paperback) BAM! Books-A-Million: (paperback) Booktopia (paperback – Australia) Saxo (paperback – Denmark) Bol (paperback – The Netherlands) Hugendubel (paperback – Germany) eBook Barnes & Noble: (eBook) Bookshop.org (eBook) Rakuten Kobo (eBook) Booktopia (eBook – Australia) BOL (eBook – The Netherlands) Hugendubel (eBook – Germany) Amazon (ebook) Audiobook Audible (audiobook) # # # Connect with Janis Ian JanisIan.com| Facebook | YouTube For Information and how to stream documentary film, Janis Ian: Breaking Silence, go to:
https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Societys-Child/Janis-Ian/9798993747705
https://www.booktopia.com.au/society-s-child-janis-ian/book/9798993747705.html?srsltid=AfmBOopwsqRLXy3YJaAntcSktueZnEc7ImYxWQUF6gKtcr7ijE7yTgKh
https://www.saxo.com/dk/societys-child_bog_9798993747705?srsltid=AfmBOorQq6PYUhG3prvS6QSqgGqfZyz71G3Ec2JydbhxHakpzsS8UeLm
https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/society-s-child-my-autobiography/9300000247896990/?cid=1764248099987-8337653350005&bltgh=2ed0abb9-3b40-436f-a66a-0208a651112c.ProductList_Middle.0.ProductImage
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/societys-child-janis-ian/1100361197?ean=9798993747712
https://bookshop.org/p/books/society-s-child-my-autobiography-janis-ian/2912b3d516cc4ad4?ean=9798993747712&digital=t
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/society-s-child-1?sId=d5800e28-1716-448c-8ddb-f08b3bebc44c&ssId=SW4g1el5nDCwH_RrErwZ7
https://www.booktopia.com.au/society-s-child-janis-ian/ebook/9798993747712.html?srsltid=AfmBOoolBOgWwYlkAcdowK8dDvYoC6cW7Im_WRy8Uf00A-K6zRds8M8N
https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/society-s-child/9300000247474620/
https://www.hugendubel.de/de/ebook_epub/janis_ian-society_s_child-52118271-produkt-details.html?srsltid=AfmBOoo0NktODSYBQh4RVnQzYcu9nhtf2HvCvs3C4Xv18AGpMUQ_Qn9s
Coming Soon
https://www.audible.com/pd/Societys-Child-Audiobook/B00890O9SW?qid=1764874603&sr=1-1&ref_pageloadid=not_applicable&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=V5374DS8QJPK056CF7MB&plink=3G2gZZfgrZ8pRADE&pageLoadId=Og1XTjgdSdPIqgz9&creativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A multi-Grammy Award-winner, with 10 total nominations and two landmark recordings – “Society’s Child (Baby I’ve Been Thinking)” and “At Seventeen” – inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame, Janis Ian is a truly groundbreaking artist whose songs and performances have resonated with a diverse group of worldwide fans for more than six decades. Raised by activist Jewish parents on a New Jersey farm and currently based in Florida with her partner and wife of 36 years, Ian has created a landmark body of work that includes such highlights as 1975’s RIAA Platinum-certified Between the Lines, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 and now boasts total sales approaching 2 million in the United States alone, and her final studio album, 2022’s The Light at the End of the Line, a Grammy Award-nominee for “Best Folk Album” that places her one of among just a small handful of artists who have received nominations in eight completely different categories. Never one to rest on her laurels, in May 2025 Ian shared “One In A Million,” a previously unreleased duet with her great friend, Joan Baez, recorded live at 1994’s Fight the Right Rally in San Francisco, CA. 2025 also saw the release of From Me To You: Live In Bremen 2004, Ian’s first album of a complete live performance in close to 50 years.
Ian’s extraordinary life and career were celebrated with the full-length documentary, Janis Ian: Breaking Silence. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Varda Bar-Kar (Big Voice, 9-1-1, Fandango at the Wall), the film – which features interviews with friends including Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Lily Tomlin, Jean Smart, Laurie Metcalf, and others – made its broadcast premiere on PBS’ famed American Masters in June 2025 having previously debuted as an Official Selection at 2024’s DOC NYC, where it was named as one of the prestigious festival’s “Top Ten Films.”
Among its long list of honors and accolades, Janis Ian: Breaking Silence was named among the “Best of Fest” at the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival, has received the “Audience Choice for Best Documentary Feature” Award at the 35th Annual San Diego International Jewish Film Festival, the 2024 Jewish International Film Festival (Australia)’s “Audience Award for Best Documentary,” the “Audience Award for Best Documentary” at the Sacramento Jewish Film Festival 2025, and was a “Jury Award” nominee at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival as well as a 2025 Anthem Awards “Silver Winner” in the “Education, Art & Culture: Documentary or Film” category.
A 2025 Women Songwriters Hall of Fame honoree, Ian’s lasting influence as a songwriter is reflected in the wide range of fellow artists who have covered her work, spanning such icons as Bette Midler, John Mellencamp, Celine Dion, Roberta Flack, Joan Baez, Nanci Griffith, Nina Simone, Mel Torme, Cher, and Glen Campbell to British folk-punk Frank Turner’s recently released rendition of “Better Times Will Come” (written the day after John Prine died and originally recorded by Ian for The Light at the End of the Line) and blues legend Eric Bibb’s upcoming version of “One Mississippi.”
