Amanda Knox signs $4m book deal to tell all about trial and arrest

London, Feb 17 (ANI): Amanda Knox, the American student who had been convicted and then cleared of murdering her British room-mate, has reportedly signed a 4 million dollars (2.5 million pounds) book deal for a "full and unflinching" account of the events surrounding her arrest and trial.

Following what was described as a "heated" bidding war, publishing giant HarperCollins announced that the as-yet untitled memoir would go on sale in the United States early next year.

Knox and her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were sentenced to 26 and 25 years respectively for the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher in the Italian city of Perugia, serving four before being freed in October.

Prosecutors this week launched a high court appeal against their release - they maintain that the couple murdered Kercher, 21, slitting her throat and stabbing her multiple times when she refused to take part in a sex orgy. A third defendant, Rudy Guede, remains in prison.

"Knox will give a full and unflinching account of the events that led to her arrest in Perugia and her struggles with the complexities of the Italian judicial system," the Telegraph quoted Harper Collins as saying.

"Aided by journals she kept during her imprisonment, Knox will talk about her harrowing experience at the hands of the Italian police and later prison guards and inmates.

"She will reveal never before-told details surrounding her case, and describe how she used her inner strength and strong family ties to cope with the most challenging time of her young life," Collins said.

HarperCollins refused to confirm how much 24-year-old Knox will be paid for the book, but insiders suggested it was at least seven figures, and probably close to 4 million dollars.

Twenty publishers had expressed an interested in the memoir before her representatives held an auction this week. Knox met with seven executives - all of whom bid for the book.

Jonathan Burnham of HarperCollins said that Knox had studied creative writing in college, and would be writing the book herself with the help of an unnamed collaborator. Her editor is Claire Wachtel, who has worked with the crime novelist Dennis Lehane.

Since her return from Perugia, Knox has kept a low profile, spending much of her time working on the memoirs in her home town of Seattle.

She retained the services of Robert B. Barnett, a Washington lawyer who has brokered book deal for a number of big names, including President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. (ANI)

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