Publishers pine for, bid on Amanda Knox book
Feb 13, 2012, 11:32 AM | Updated: 1:16 pm
Amanda Knox hasn’t stepped in front of a non-paparazzi camera since she returned from Italy in October, holding a tearful press conference at Sea-Tac International Airport.
Despite intense interest from national media outlets to get her side of the story, in her own voice, it sounds like a memoir may be first. Apparently, Knox has been meeting with publishers, who will bid on her tale in a silent auction, according to the New York Times.
Robert Barnett, who has represented the literary interests of Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, is representing Knox in discussions with publishers and is helping her evaluate other opportunities.
Most recently, Knox’s Italian lawyer filed an appeal of her slander conviction in Italy. It’s the same court that overturned her murder conviction in the death of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher. Italian authorities say she falsely accused bar owner Diya “Patrick” Lumumba of involvement in the slaying.
Aside from the slander conviction, Knox is mostly off the hook, free to tell her side of the story, which she kept accounts of in diaries she kept while in prison.
Although she has been cleared of murder in Italy, it was her trial in the media which has kept the rapt attention of the public: In Kercher’s native Britain, Knox was nick-named “Foxy Knoxy” and was known as a femme fatale capable and guilty of murder, despite her angelic face.
The New York Times reports her book offer will likely include a 7-figure advance; and that it’s been a dream of hers to become a writer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
