Simpson Writes Book in Response to Deluge of Mail Since His Arrest

A book written by O.J. Simpson, in which he declares that he did not kill his ex-wife, is scheduled to be published next month.

The book, “I Want to Tell You,” is Simpson’s response to the more than 300,000 pieces of mail he has received since he was charged with murder in June, said Lawrence Schiller, who collaborated with Simpson on the project.

“One of the things O.J. said to me in my first meeting with him about the book was, ‘This is not my biography; this is my response to the public’s response to me, to my pain, to my suffering,’ ” Schiller told the New York Times.

A source close to the Simpson defense team said Simpson’s “business lawyers conceived of the idea” as a means for Simpson to address the public.

The book also will discuss allegations of spousal abuse during the Simpsons’ marriage.

Simpson is on trial for the June 12 slayings of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman outside her Brentwood condominium.

The book’s publisher, Little, Brown & Co., is said to be planning an initial press run of 500,000 copies.

Nobody involved with the book would discuss how much Simpson was paid.

“It is confidential between the publisher and ourselves,” said Robert Kardashian, Simpson’s longtime personal lawyer and business associate. “I can elaborate a little bit to say the funds he is receiving are all going to his defense fund.”

Kardashian, who brought Simpson and Schiller together, said Simpson receives 2,000 to 3,000 pieces of mail daily from people all over the world, including children who enclose their allowances in an effort to help him.

California recently adopted a law that prevents criminals from profiting from their crimes, but the Simpson defense team source said the law would not apply to the book unless Simpson were convicted.

“If he is convicted, there is the possibility that there will have to be an accounting of the profits,” the source said.

Schiller, a former neighbor of Simpson’s, is better known as a producer/director than as a writer. He directed the television movie “The Executioner’s Song,” based on Norman Mailer’s book about Utah murderer Gary Gilmore. He also produced and directed the television movie “Plot To Kill Hitler.”

Little, Brown has a reputation as one of the country’s more literary publishing houses, with past authors including Louisa May Alcott, C.S. Forester and Herman Wouk. Company president Charles Heyward said he had no qualms about publishing Simpson’s book.