New book of Bob Dylan lyrics to sell for $200 -- and $5,000

Even if Bob Dylan doesn’t win the Nobel Prize in literature tomorrow (and let’s face it, at 25 to 1, his odds aren’t great), the legendary singer-songwriter has found a way to make himself the talk of the publishing industry anyway.

In November, Simon & Schuster will publish “The Lyrics: Since 1962” edited and annotated by a team led by Christopher Ricks — it’s a 960-page, 13-pound collection of Dylan’s words from “Song to Woody” to “Roll on John.” Only 3,500 copies will be printed, and Dylan fans will have to pony up $200 to buy one. (Unless they want to opt for the autographed version, which will set them back $5,000.)

“Bob Dylan is one of the most important artists of our time,” said Jonathan Karp, Simon & Schuster’s publisher. “His work is sometimes compared to Shakespeare’s, and when I held this book in my hands, I couldn’t help thinking that what Christopher Ricks and his colleagues have produced will come to be regarded as the First Folio of Dylan studies. This is an extraordinary work — truly a collector’s item.”

This won’t be Dylan’s first book. In 1971, he published “Tarantula,” a volume of prose poetry that was widely reviled by critics. More recently, he wrote “Chronicles: Volume One,” the first book in a planned three-volume memoir. That book was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award but later attracted controversy after allegations of plagiarism.

Dylan is perpetually mentioned as a possible Nobel Prize in literature winner, but mostly on the strength of his song lyrics. While it’s still unlikely he’ll win, his current odds, according to the British betting house Ladbrokes, are better than American writers Don DeLillo, Richard Ford, and Cormac McCarthy.