O.J. robbery boosts confessional book

PW reports that our friend Eric Kampmann of Beaufort Books is printing another 50,000 copies of the O.J. Simpson book, If I Did It. Earlier this summer, Kampmann acquired the manuscript rights from Ron Goldman, who was awarded them by the courts, and the two agreed to repackage it into a confessional tome that would condemn the killer.

O.J. evidently gave the book an unintentional PR boost by committing armed robbery and kidnapping to coincide with the book's launch. If I Did It is currently #3 on Amazon and #2 on B&N, and the murderer just had his bail set at $125,000 by a Nevada court.

New publisher of O.J. book revealed

It turns out I actually know the previously secret publisher of the O.J. book! It's Eric Kampmann at Beaufort Books, who appeared on the Today Show and spoke with Publishers Weekly yesterday to explain his decision. Kampmann is also the president for Midpoint Trade Books, the distributor for World Ahead's titles to the retail trade.

While Denise Brown tore into Kampmann on Today and called the book "a manual on murder," my opinion is that this project is now very different than the slimy deal Judith Regan was trying to pull off last year. For one thing, O.J. no longer owns the rights to it and will not financially benefit. For another, Ron Goldman's family is the new owner and they've said they intended to repackage the manuscript in a way that turns it into Simpson's confession. So instead of a PR stunt that puts money into the pocket of a murderer, this book will now use his own words to establish his guilt in the court of history while also benefiting his victims' families.

O.J. Simpson book is back -- with a twist

PW reports that the O.J. Simpson book If I Did It -- which helped cost Judith Regan her job last year -- is back on track to be published, but in a more tasteful form. The Goldman family obtained the rights through a bankruptcy court ruling, and the repackaged will contain additional commentary representing their point of view. The publisher has not yet been identified.