Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Beaufort Books said late yesterday that it will publish O.J. Simpson's ``If I Did It'' after acquiring the rights to the controversial title.
The book is a supposedly hypothetical account of how Simpson, a former football star, might have murdered his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald L. Goldman in 1994. It was originally backed by editor Judith Regan and scheduled for publication last November by News Corp.'s HarperCollins.
Following a public outcry, publication was canceled, the printed books were destroyed, Regan was fired and her ReganBooks imprint was dropped by HarperCollins.
Beaufort, a small independent publisher in New York, said it expects the book to reach stores by Oct. 3. In the past, it has often operated as a ``vanity'' press, with the author and publisher splitting costs as well as any profit.
Beaufort spokesman Michael Wright said the company had reached a traditional publishing agreement and costs would not be shared. He wouldn't disclose whether or how much money was paid to the Goldmans for the rights.
Both the Goldman and Brown families originally protested publication of ``If I Did It,'' though earlier this year the Goldmans -- frustrated with the slow pace of payment on the $33.5 million owed to both families by Simpson following the 1997 wrongful-death judgment against him in a civil suit -- sued for rights to the book.
On July 30, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Miami awarded most of the potential proceeds from book sales to the Goldmans. The judge added that any publisher of the book ``must promise the court it will maximize the sale of the asset.''
Additional Commentary
Los Angeles literary agent Sharlene Martin of Martin Literary Management sold the rights to Beaufort on behalf of the Goldmans. The manuscript, according to Wright, will ``remain intact, with some additional commentary of a nature that's yet to be determined.''
Denise Brown, Nicole Brown's sister, issued a statement yesterday that derided the book as a step-by-step manual on how Nicole and her friend Ron were murdered, and she called for a boycott. Denise Brown is scheduled to debate Beaufort President Eric Kampmann today on NBC's ``Today'' show.
For his part, Kampmann said in a statement that the company ``will be working diligently to not only publish this book well, but to honor the memory of the victims of this terrible crime: Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.''
The statement said Beaufort, the Goldmans and Martin will contribute an unspecified portion of the proceeds to the Ron Goldman Foundation for Justice.
Booksellers are divided on whether they will carry ``If I Did It.'' McKenna Jordan, manager and book buyer at Murder by the Book in Houston, is put off by the idea.
``To be blunt, it's tacky,'' she said. ``Our customers would not appreciate seeing it in the store and would be offended.''
Yet Steve Bercu, owner of Book People in Austin, Texas, and a board member of the American Booksellers Association, says he would sell it despite personal reservations: ``The public will decide very quickly whether they're interested in it or not.''
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