$4 million book deal reported for Amanda Knox

(October 2011 photo of Amanda Knox and mom Edda Mellas, by STEVE RINGMAN/Seattle Times, used with permission)
Four months after her West Seattle family and friends welcomed her back from four years in prison in Italy, the number four seems to have resurfaced in the saga of Amanda Knox. The long-expected announcement of her book deal is out; here’s the Associated Press story published by our partners at the Seattle Times. It quotes an unidentified source as saying the book deal is worth $4 million. The book is expected to be published by HarperCollins early next year. While local media has kept their promise to keep their distance since her return after the Italian courts overturned her murder conviction, national/international tabloids have been publishing sightings and gossip, and (in case you wondered) most would seem to indicate she is not living in West Seattle.

Peter February 16, 2012 (12:49 pm)

Interesting. She single?

Mike February 16, 2012 (1:06 pm)

She sure looks Happy about the deal!

Diane February 16, 2012 (1:22 pm)

Mike, I’m sure she is happy, but the photo is from day she returned home

Cait February 16, 2012 (1:24 pm)

Ugh.

DF February 16, 2012 (1:47 pm)

Bono bono!!

Bill February 16, 2012 (1:53 pm)

Good for her

transplantella February 16, 2012 (1:55 pm)

Murder trials create millionaires.

The great American Dream.

a February 16, 2012 (1:55 pm)

In the book will she admit she knows something?

Petunia February 16, 2012 (2:11 pm)

Ick

B-squared February 16, 2012 (2:25 pm)

sad.

Kayleigh February 16, 2012 (2:46 pm)

What?! The Young Attractive Victimized White Girl narrative was wrong?! I’m so shocked! /sarcasm off

Jiggers February 16, 2012 (2:53 pm)

How did I know…lol

A February 16, 2012 (2:54 pm)

I saw recent photos of her with a reported boyfriend leaving a West Seattle restaurant so why does it appear as though she doesn’t live here anymore?

Claudia February 16, 2012 (2:55 pm)

Congratulations to Amanda. Boy she deserves it! She was railroaded from the get go. I’m thrilled for her and her family after what they’ve been through! Justice at last.

Dan February 16, 2012 (3:00 pm)

This society is sick.

Joe the Plumber February 16, 2012 (3:06 pm)

Laughing all the way to the bank. Who buys this trash?

Rick February 16, 2012 (3:11 pm)

Who says crime doesn’t pay?

W Seattle rez February 16, 2012 (3:20 pm)

Im happy for Amanda. I hope after she pays her family back and plenty will go to taxes she will actually have something left for herself. She lived an unthinkable nightmare and so did her family here in West Seattle.

Mn February 16, 2012 (3:32 pm)

Disgusting

WsBoB February 16, 2012 (3:58 pm)

Well said Rez! She and her family have been to Hell and back and deserve whatever they can get. I hope she can find peace and happiness…

wside ROB February 16, 2012 (4:29 pm)

I SEE A WRONGFUL DEATH SUIT IN HER FUTURE.

clark5080 February 16, 2012 (4:37 pm)

my guess after she repays her parents and grandmother and the agent and gov get their part there won’t be much left at all

mrsB February 16, 2012 (4:37 pm)

So if you’re so disgusted, don’t buy the book…

Stacy February 16, 2012 (4:51 pm)

Wow. Such mean-spirited people in West Seattle. Who knew?

ohthehorror February 16, 2012 (5:00 pm)

“Justice at last”? How does a $4M book deal = justice? If she is innocent, it seems like justice would only come in the form of another person admitting to the crime, being punished for the crime, and receiving an admission of wrongdoing and apology from the Italian authorities. If money = justice, shouldn’t it come from those who committed the wrong against her?

The Shadow February 16, 2012 (5:39 pm)

This case left a LOT of unanswered questions. If you think the book will answer any of those, I’ve got a bridge in West Seattle to sell you. By the time this thing comes out, it may be ‘old news’ to the point that it may not necessarily be the bestseller it needs to be to cover the advance & the marketing costs.

Amanda knows a lot more about this case than she’s told, and we’ll probably never know what really happened that night.

“The weed of crime bears bitter fruit
Crime does not pay
The Shadow knows!”

cj February 16, 2012 (5:43 pm)

I’m really happy for her she has been though a lot. I hope in the end all this will help Italy clean up their justice system.

RG February 16, 2012 (5:57 pm)

They do have the murderer in prison. Guede did it and he did it alone.
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For those of us who have studied this case for the last four years and know her to be innocent, some of us are looking forward to her side of events, we had everyone else’s warped versions so now it’s her time and opportunity to explain her side of the international circus that Mignini imaginatively and wildly created (I hope he gets jail time).
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RS and AK deserve to have a life now. How is AK going to fit back into society? She’ll need all the financial help she can get, not that there will be much left over once the debts are paid off. (personally I think she should change her name).
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The Kercher family deserves to have the real killer, Rudy Guede, tell the truth. That said, locking up two innocents would not have brought them justice. Maybe, just maybe, the Kercher family will one day feel some semblance of peace.
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Rest in Peace Meredith Susanna Cara Kercher

marty February 16, 2012 (6:03 pm)

Gee whiz Kayleigh, you are insulting her because she is “young, attractive, victimized and white”? Sounds like you have a personal problem…

impratial February 16, 2012 (6:06 pm)

OhTheHorror,

All I know is that Amanda does not have any control over someone else confessing to a crime that she probably did not commit. Money does not equal justice, certainly not for the victim, and even for Amanda and her family who went through hell the last few years. What is the price of being deprived of a normal life? I don’t know whether Amanda is a sinner or saint, but for her family’s sake I think this provides a measure of recompense. As for Meredith’s family, there is nothing that ever will make up for their loss.

Aman February 16, 2012 (6:18 pm)

Amanda Knox will need EVERY after tax penny available to pay her legal bills, related costs, and future litigation & living expenses. Want to help a West Seattle neighbor who has been through a devastating ordeal? Buy the book.

ws jen February 16, 2012 (7:06 pm)

My guess is after she refunds her parents and grandparents and pays taxes there won’t be much left. If fact, my guess is that if she wasn’t driven by the need to get her family out of the financial hole they dug while defending her, there would be no book deal. Its a deal to make things right for her family. And I, for one, am totally okay with that.

Velo_nut February 16, 2012 (7:48 pm)

Good for her.

sbre February 16, 2012 (7:51 pm)

Amanda waved at me a couple weeks ago.

She’s even more beautiful in person.

David L February 16, 2012 (8:12 pm)

She Was at the wrong place at the wrong time is all. She is very strong for getting through all this. Her Family has been amazing. Enjoy your life Amanda……….You deserve it. :)

NotMe February 16, 2012 (8:13 pm)

If she is not living in West Seattle, then why are we wasting time with this? Seems to me there are better and much more positive things to report on… hey, when is the next Casper Babypants show?

OP February 16, 2012 (9:07 pm)

Thank you, Stacey. One sane comment among 25 (at this writing).

denbol February 16, 2012 (9:11 pm)

I wish you were all this worked over THE TRAFFIC!

KD February 16, 2012 (9:50 pm)

To all you negative one worded responders; get over your mean sarcasm. I was hoping she would get an even higher sum, but either way to pay back all those family and friends who mortgaged their homes to bring her back on safe soil, which I’m sure is her intention. You may think big bucks to her, but it’s probably already ‘earmarked’ to those who supported her. Also to get her college education back on track. Your jealousy is rearing it’s ugly head. Would YOU like to trade the last four years/places with her? Very weak to be sarcastic.

Jiggers February 16, 2012 (9:52 pm)

I’d love to take her out..

Kayleigh February 16, 2012 (9:55 pm)

Marty, I’m young, attractive, female, and white. I’m never victimized, though, and I wouldn’t turn cartwheels when my roommate was brutally murdered. Sounds like you have a personal problem.

argonautter February 16, 2012 (10:13 pm)

After enduring abhorrent treatment by the media (thank you local media for leaving her to rebuild her life without having to live under a microscope once she returned home, I’m impressed by your willingness to do this!) and blogosphere, Amanda will get to tell HER story. She did not participate in the murder of her friend and room-mate and now has a 4-year story of her own. This is not capitalizing on Meredith’s murder, this is sharing her own personal experience as a victim of a prosecutor bent on conviction without a shred of credible evidence. If by purchasing the book I am helping Amanda and her family rebuild, then I will do so willingly.

NotMe February 16, 2012 (10:27 pm)

Hey KD, take it easy. I think people have a right to their opinion, even if their opinion is crafted with one word. May I ask, How do YOU know she is going to pay anyone back?
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She isn’t the 2nd coming of the Madonna. She is just a person that was doing SOMETHING, and now she is home, or not living in West Seattle, or who gives two poops, really? I sure don’t, but I love being entertained by people that are disgusted by all this attention and pampering she gets. Especially by people that don’t even know her!

B-Check February 17, 2012 (1:07 am)

I really did not follow this case at all, since I hate the way media sensationalizes events like this. By that token I have no personal opinion about Ms. Knox’s guilt – but since she was released, the presumption should be she is innocent and has the freedom to pick up and pursue the rest of her life. I also respect the fact she and her family should be afforded privacy and a return to normalcy. From that perspective, I am disappointed to hear about a huge book deal, even though I am sure the family has a significant financial burden – but moreso by the readers who buy these types of books. You really can’t blame someone for taking a big check to tell their story if someone is willing to pay it. I think perhaps a few of the sarcastic comments are targeted at our society’s bizarre current trend to cash in on media sensationalism – that was my gut reaction when I saw this headline, nothing against the Knox family.

forrealtho February 17, 2012 (5:33 am)

She could just be visiting her family but she seems to turn up at Westwood a lot. I’ve seen her at QFC a few times, Target too. I am happy to see people are leaving her alone. She could has a story and bills to pay – what else did we expect you her to do? Considering other ridiculous amounts offered to less interesting people (think reality tv “stars”) I think 4M sounds modest.

Jiggers February 17, 2012 (7:52 am)

Where does she live now? inquring minds wants to know.

RG February 17, 2012 (8:15 am)

The reach of the audience for this book is international; it’s not only for the US market.
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I think it’s the dollar amount of the book deal that bothers most people, as well as the timing of the deal.
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For her psychologically I think it’s a good decision to get this book written and to the market as soon as possible because until she can tell her side of the ordeal it’ll always be the sensationalistic media who had the last word – based on lies and conjecture. Those lies will follow AK for the rest of her life, and her family’s life, and the conjectures could only continue to mount. AK was internationally demonized and this a chance for her to show her humanity. Thus allowing her to get on with her life. RS and AK are normal average people and their book deals can validate that.
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For me, one of the greater lessons to come out of this ordeal is the power of the media and the role we play as citizens that perpetuate the media news wheels.

pjmanley February 17, 2012 (8:55 am)

Everyone is entitled to their opinions. But boy-o-boy are some folks lightning-quick to judge another whose shoes they’ve never walked in. How many here have ever been arrested, interrogated and/or tried for a brutal crime in a foreign country? Or here in the US? Do y’all know how many people confess to crimes they didn’t and couldn’t have committed in the first place, because of lack of sleep, interrogation, and emotional breakdowns while in custody? Lots. It’s called coercion. None of us think we’d ever confess to a crime we didn’t commit, but we do, all the time.

There’s a reason hundreds of convicted murderers in high profile cases are set free by DNA evidence in the US, let alone foreign countries. Passion, anger, and the strong desire for justice and vengeance put the wrong people behind bars all the time, because so many in law enforcement and the community are so mightily sure they know what happened.

I don’t pretend to know the truth, but I know a witch hunt when I see one.

ws_s February 17, 2012 (9:37 am)

Jiggers: The more I read of your comments, the more concerned I am for her safety. I think it would be more appropriate for Amanda to know where you live so she can stay far away.

sun*e February 17, 2012 (9:49 am)

@W Seattle rez – I concur.

Westside J. February 17, 2012 (12:11 pm)

I had a brief conversation with her at Costco a few weeks back. Very polite girl.

Jiggers February 17, 2012 (3:52 pm)

I live everywhere…

RJB February 17, 2012 (3:52 pm)

This is the great thing about America, she can write a book and everyone else can have/give/write their opinions. Do whatever it is you need to do Amanda as you are now free. And someone GPS jiggers.

Dunno February 18, 2012 (3:00 pm)

Hey Amanda,

Hope you know the by far and away the majority of us in West Seattle and greater Seattle support you and don’t think like some the people posting on here that don’t know the truth. Not saying I do, but I know a heck of a lot more than many of you, and the 4 million will barely cover all the bills and taxes paid on it.
Good luck on ever getting a dime from those in Italy that have wronged her!

WTF February 18, 2012 (10:45 pm)

People! Get off her @$$. She was NOT guilty of anything but being naive, and sadly prosecuted by an ego-maniac (who has been sanctioned twice, by his own government, for being overzealous). The “book deal” is to help pay her parents back after they gave everything to help their child. Get off your high horses, you would have done the same thing.

There is nothing igh, ugh, sad, or wrong about what she’s chosen to do.

Stop judging, look in the GD mirror, and get over yourselves.

P.S. Jiggers, it’s none of your, or anyone else’s business where she lives. LEAVE HER ALONE.

Sorry, comment time is over.