October release for O.J. Simpson's If I Did It
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 15, 2007 | 10:39 AM ET
CBC Arts
Beaufort Books has come forward as the publishing house that will print O.J. Simpson's If I Did It, the infamous hypothetical account detailing the killing of the former football star's ex-wife and Ron Goldman.
The terms of the deal the small New York-based publisher made with the Goldman family were not disclosed.
"We will be working diligently to not only publish this book well, but to honour the memory of the victims of this terrible crime: Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson," Eric Kampmann, president of Beaufort Books, said in a statement Tuesday.
The company has Oct. 3 slated as a release date for the book, which will include the original manuscript as well as commentary.
Proceeds of the book will go to the Ron Goldman Foundation for Justice, a newly created charity to benefit victims of violent crime. Simpson will not receive any share of the profits.
Denise Brown, the sister of Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, said she was "shocked and horrified" to learn of the deal to publish the book.
She lamented in a statement on Tuesday that her sister's children "will have to be subjected to this step-by-step manual on how their mother and her friend Ron were murdered."
Brown also criticized the Goldman family for moving forward with the book.
However, an attorney for the Goldmans denounced Brown's comments, noting that she and her family have also sought a share of the book's possible profits.
The book project has been controversial since it was first publicized last fall. HarperCollins, a division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., made a deal with Simpson for the book — written with the help of a ghostwriter — and a subsequent TV special.
However, both were scrapped in November after a massive wave of public outrage against the project. The 400,000 printed copies of If I Did It were reportedly recalled and destroyed.
Since then, Goldman family members — who are owed more than $30 million US in damages from Simpson — have been fighting for all rights to the manuscript, which they won in a federal court ruling in July.
Though acquitted of Brown Simpson and Goldman's killings in 1995, Simpson subsequently lost a wrongful death civil suit brought by the Goldman family and was ordered to pay damages of $33.5 million US — little of which the family has recovered over the past decade.
With files from the Associated PressShare Tools
- Spider-Man trailer: fresh take or more of the same?by Arts Online Feb. 7, 2012 5:15 PM Spider-Man? Yes. Amazing? Maybe. The first full-length trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man -- the reboot of the comic-turned-movie trilogy -- has been released. But considering the previous movie franchise ended a mere five years ago and that we've been bombarded with stories about the troubled Broadway musical adaptation since then, this reboot does beg the question: Do we really need to revisit Spider-Man?
Top News Headlines
- Markets gain after Greece approves austerity plan
- World stock markets rise after Greece's parliament approves a new set of austerity measures that were required by international lenders in exchange for an emergency bailout. more »
- Hit and run victim's family fears accused will walk
- The family of a young mother killed in a hit and run is outraged that the case against the alleged driver is among thousands in B.C. at risk of being thrown out because of a huge court backlog. more »
- CBC launches digital music service
- CBC is diving into the world of online music with the goal of providing listeners access to their favourite tunes and a way to discover new artists and connect with fellow music fans. more »
- Neil Macdonald: The death penalty debate America isn't having
- Texas's death row archive is a troubling document, not the least for what it doesn't say about those who may be wrongfully convicted, Neil Macdonald writes. more »
Latest Arts & Entertainment News Headlines
- Britain's BAFTAs honours The Artist
- Silent movie The Artist dominated the British Academy Film awards, the U.K. equivalent of the Oscars, winning seven awards, including best picture. more »
- Houston autopsy results withheld by police
- Whitney Houston was found in a hotel bathtub but it'll take weeks to determine precisely how she died, a Los Angeles coroner's official says. more »
- Whitney Houston's death sparks chorus of grief
- Regular music fans and superstar performers joined together in a chorus of grief upon hearing that Whitney Houston had died at age 48 on the eve of the Grammy Awards. more »
- CBC launches digital music service
- CBC is diving into the world of online music with the goal of providing listeners access to their favourite tunes and a way to discover new artists and connect with fellow music fans. more »
Q Blog
Enter our Six-Word Modern Love Story Contest! Feb. 10, 2012 2:54 PM The goal is simple: tell a full and rich modern love tale in just six words. Funny. Sad. Sexy. Or futuristic sexy, the kind with spaceships. Winners announced on Q's February 14th Modern Love special.
CBC Books
The web celebrates 200 years of Charles Dickens Feb. 10, 2012 7:13 PM The revered English novelist turns two centuries-old this week! See the online tributes and leave your birthday message for a chance to win a copy of Charles Dickens: A Life.
- Adele wins best album, best record Grammys
- Houston autopsy results withheld by police
- Quebec town 'heartbroken' after killing of woman, sisters
- Pop queen Whitney Houston dies at 48
- Greece passes new austerity deal amid rioting
- Northern lights viewed from space
- Manitoba man dies after falling off moving SUV
- Doors blocked in fatal Manitoba trailer blaze
- Former Stanley Park petting zoo goats feared slaughtered

