ReganBooks
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ReganBooks was a controversial American bestselling imprint or division of HarperCollins book publishing house (parent company is News Corp), headed by editor and publisher Judith Regan, started in 1994 and ended in late 2006. During its existence, Regan was called, by LA Weekly, "the world's most successful publisher".[1] The division reportedly earned $120 million a year.[2]
ReganBooks focused on celebrity authors and controversial topics, sometimes from recent tabloids.[3][4] Prominent titles include Jenna Jameson’s How to Make Love Like a Porn Star, biographies by General Tommy Franks, professional wrestler Mick Foley, and radio talk show host Howard Stern, and three different books on the Scott Peterson case. Though ultimately owned by politically active Rupert Murdoch, ReganBooks disavowed any political agenda, publishing, for example, books both supportive of and critical of George W. Bush.[5]
In August 2004, ReganBooks had three books on the New York Times best-seller list, including the top two non-fiction positions, and the highest profit ratio at HarperCollins.[6]
In 2005, ReganBooks announced plans to move from Manhattan to Los Angeles, making it one of the first major book publishers to move from the east to the west coast.[1][3][4]
In November 2006, ReganBooks announced plans to publish O.J. Simpson's book If I Did It; publication was later cancelled by News Corporation chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch.[2] After the public fallout Newsweek reported, "Regan's meddlesome-free days are almost certainly over" and Murdoch will be "clamping" down on control.[2]
On December 15, 2006 Regan was fired from HarperCollins allegedly over anti-Semitic comments[7] and the staff at ReganBooks reassigned within the HarperCollins General Book Group.[8] The New York Times reported that ReganBooks' offices were closed and "a stunned Ms. Regan was confronted by security guards who arrived with boxes and ordered her to leave."[7]
[edit] Books published
- Boortz, Neal; Linder, John. The FairTax Book. (ReganBooks, 2005) ISBN 9780060875411
- Canseco, Jose. Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big. (ReganBooks, 2005) ISBN 0-06-074640-8
- Dickinson, Janice. No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel. (ReganBooks, 2002) ISBN 0-06-000946-2
- Foley, Mick. Foley is Good: And the Real World is Faker Than Wrestling . (ReganBooks, 2002) ISBN 0-06-103241-7
- Gibson, John. Hating America: The New World Sport. (ReganBooks, 2005) ISBN 0-06-076051-6
- Hannity, Sean. Deliver Us From Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism (ReganBooks, 2004) ISBN 0-06-058251-0
- Hannity, Sean. Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty Against Liberalism (ReganBooks, 2002) ISBN 0-06-051455-8
- Jameson, Jenna. How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale. (ReganBooks, 2004) ISBN 0-06-053909-7
- Payne, Patricia. Sex Tips from a Dominatrix. (ReganBooks, 1999) ISBN 0-06-039287-8
- Simpson, O.J. If I Did It. (Cancelled in November 2006)
- Taormino, Tristan. Down and Dirty Sex Secrets. (ReganBooks, 2003) ISBN 0-06-098892-4
[edit] References
- ^ a b "The Gathering Storm" by Brendan Bernhard, LA Weekly, June 2, 2005
- ^ a b c Roberts, Johnnie (December 2006). "Publishing: No More Free Rein For Regan". Newsweek. Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
- ^ a b "Trend-Setting Publisher Plans To Move to and Go Hollywood" by Edward Wyatt, New York Times, April 12, 2005
- ^ a b "ReganBooks Moving to Hollywood", The Book Standard, April 12, 2005
- ^ "Political but Not Partisan: A Publisher Has It Both Ways", by Edward Wyatt, New York Times, October 13, 2004
- ^ "The Devil and Miss Regan" by Judith Newman, January 2005, Vanity Fair
- ^ a b "Fired Editor’s Remarks Said to Have Provoked Murdoch", New York Times, December 18, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-12-18.
- ^ Wyatt, Edward. "Judith Regan Is Fired After O. J. Simpson Book", New York Times, December 15, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-12-16.
[edit] External links
- ReganBooks from HarperCollins Publishers - official site
