If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer

If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer
2007 print cover
AuthorO.J. Simpson
Pablo Fenjves (ghostwriter)[1]
Dominick Dunne
The Goldman family
Original titleIf I Did It
PublisherBeaufort Books (Regan Books/HarperCollins, before cancellation)
Publication date
September 13, 2007
Publication placeUnited States
Media typeHardback
Pages210
ISBN978-0-8253-0588-7
Preceded byI Want to Tell You: My Response to Your Letters, Your Messages, Your Questions 

If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer is a book by O.J. Simpson and Pablo Fenjves, in which Simpson puts forth a hypothetical description of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. According to Fenjves, the book is based on extensive discussions with Simpson.[2] Simpson was acquitted of the murders in a criminal trial (People v. Simpson) but later was found financially liable in a civil trial.[3] Although the original release of the book was canceled shortly after it was announced in November 2006,[4] 400,000 physical copies of the original book were printed, and copies of it had been leaked online by June 2007.[5]

The book was originally due to be published by ReganBooks, an imprint of HarperCollins, which was headed by editor and publisher Judith Regan. The television network Fox, a sister to HarperCollins via News Corporation at the time, was to also broadcast an interview special with Simpson to promote the book, O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened. However, following objections to the special by several Fox station owners, the special was also canceled. Footage from the interview was aired for the first time during a Fox special, O.J. Simpson: The Lost Confession?, in March 2018.

In August 2007, a Florida bankruptcy court awarded the rights to the book to the Goldman family to partially satisfy the civil judgment. The book's title was changed to If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer, and this version was published by Beaufort Books, a New York City publishing house owned by parent company Kampmann & Company/Midpoint Trade Books. Comments were added to the original manuscript by the Goldman family, Fenjves, and journalist Dominick Dunne.[6] The new cover design printed the word "If" greatly reduced in size compared with the other words, and placed inside the word "I", so unless looked at very closely, the title of the book appears to read "I Did It: Confessions of the Killer".[7][8]

  1. ^ Murr, Andrew (March 3, 2008). "A Friendly Ghost". Newsweek. Archived from the original on January 15, 2010. Retrieved February 27, 2008.
  2. ^ Burghart, Tara (September 13, 2007). "Goldman family discuss reasons for publishing Simpson book". San Francisco Chronicle. Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved September 15, 2007.
  3. ^ "Index of Civil Trial Reports". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  4. ^ Simpson, O.J.; Fenjves, Pablo; Tobiassen, Kris (2006). If I Did It (First ed.). Regan Books/HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-123828-4.
  5. ^ "OJ 'Did It' Manuscript Leaked Online". TMZ.com. June 19, 2007. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  6. ^ "If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer". Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  7. ^ The Goldman family (September 13, 2007). If I Did It Confessions of the Killer (1 ed.). Beaufort Books. ISBN 978-0-8253-0588-7.
  8. ^ "O.J. Simpson Trial: Where Are They Now?". ABC News. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2017.