Barnes and Noble Refuses to Carry O.J. Simpson Book
Barnes and Noble is refusing
to carry the O.J. Simpson book If I Did It.
Citing a perceived lack of customer interest, the chain said the book would only be available by special order or for purchase online through Barnes & Noble.com.
"Our buyers don't feel there will be enough of a demand to carry it in our stores," Barnes & Noble spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
A rival chain, Borders Group Inc., said Tuesday that it would stock "If I Did It," a ghostwritten, fictionalized account of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. But spokeswoman Ann Binkley said Borders "will not promote or market the book in any way."
"We think it will have some interest in the first week or two, then die down," said Binkley, who added that Borders, which for the original book had planned to donate profits to charity, will not do so this time.
Simpson's book was first scheduled for publication last November by ReganBooks, an imprint of HarperCollins, with an announced printing of 400,000. But "If I Did It" was dropped in response to widespread outrage. ReganBooks founder Judith Regan was later fired and her imprint disbanded.
"It is Barnes & Noble's decision, not my decision, and the marketplace will determine whether they are right or not," Eric Kampmann, the owner and president of Beaufort Books, the new publisher of "If I Did It," told the AP. "But I think it's sad if they're making their decision based on the HarperCollins experience, which was a totally different situation."
We certainly won't be reading a copy. We just have no interest whatsoever in reading it. Although that could partly be because we're just so sick of reporting on this story that refuses to die.
