ReganBooks was an American bestselling
imprint or division of
HarperCollins book publishing house (parent company is
News Corporation), 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]
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]
Controversy and closure
In November 2006, ReganBooks announced plans to publish
O. J. Simpson's book If I Did It; publication was later cancelled by
News Corporationchairman 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, over
anti-Semitic comments.[7] The staff at ReganBooks were 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] Regan sued News Corporation for $100 million for defamation over the anti-Semitism charge, asserting that it was "completely fabricated"; in January 2008 News Corporation settled the lawsuit and publicly stated, "After carefully considering the matter, we accept Ms. Regan's position that she did not say anything that was anti-Semitic in nature, and further believe that Ms. Regan is not anti-Semitic."[9]