So Judith Regan got hers. The publisher of Regan Books has been gassed by Rupert Murdoch’s HarperCollins following the withdrawal of her O.J. Simpson book If I Did It. But a U.S. National Book Critics Circle blog contributor wonders if Regan is the victim of typecasting.
“Often seen as a right-winger, Regan in fact was something other: someone who tweaked the culture wars to her own ends,” writes Art Winslow. “Lost amid the notoriety of the O.J. flap and publishing chaff such as Jenna Jameson’s How to Make Love Like a Porn Star is recognition of that: Regan’s imprint published Michael Moore and Ralph Nader as well as Dick Morris and Peggy Noonan; General Tommy Franks and Trent Lott but also Arianna Huffington and Xaviera Hollander. Are her hands bloodied? Sure. Is it unfair to tar her broad-brush? Yes. There’s a lot of joy in Mudville after this news, I’m sure, but is publishing really left any purer?”