*NEWSBITES
The trial in Perugia is over, but the battle for the truth is only just beginning. Amanda Knox has already signed a $2.5 million book deal with publishing house Harper Collins. With the help of ghost writers, the former American exchange student in Perugia, Italy will write a memoir to be published in 2013, offering her story of being accused of sexually assaulting and murdering her British flatmate, Meredith Kercher.
Knox and her boyfriend were convicted and jailed in 2007, but cleared in 2010.
But John Kercher, the father of the slained student, will have his say first. On April 26, Kercher will publish a book about his daughter, focusing on her life rather than her horrendous death. In the 304-page-long book, he tells the story of their travels around the world — as well as how he coped with the murder.
A freelance journalist, John Kercher remains convinced that Amanda Knox is “unmistakably guilty” of his daughter’s death, despite an Italian court clearing the American woman and her Italian boyfriend of sexual assault and murder charges. Kercher says Knox’s “publicity stunt” is making it “much harder” for his family to grieve.
On top of that, Rafaelle Sollecito, Amanda Knox’s former boyfriend, has also signed a book deal to tell his version of the story. The Italian signed a contract with Gallery Books to publish Presumed Guilty: My Journey to Hell and Back with Amanda Knox. The publishing house advertises the book as “the story of an involuntary protagonist,” victim of a hasty trial despite the lack of evidence. The book is written with the help of British journalist Andrew Gumbel, author of a book on the 1995 Oklahoma City bombings.
Amanda Knox may also sign a deal for a film adaptation of her story, and Sollecito is hoping to sign deals with local and national TV channels in the US for a series of “exclusive” interviews.
Ivory Coast national Rudy Guede, who was convicted in a separate trial of sexually assaulting and stabbing Kercher, is serving a 16-year prison sentence. No word yet on any book deals for him.
Read the original Italian article in full by Maurizio Molinari
Photo – Wikipedia
*Newsbites are digest items, not direct translations