HarperCollins Ends
Its Relationship
With Judith Regan

In an unexpected development, Jane Friedman, CEO of News Corp.'s HarperCollins Worldwide book publishing unit, issued a statement announcing that the company has terminated its relationship with Judith Regan, the high-profile publisher responsible for the now-canceled O.J. Simpson tell-all book "If I Did It."

In its brief statement, HarperCollins also said it will continue to operate the Regan book publishing imprint. Calls to HarperCollins and Ms. Regan's office weren't returned.

It is unclear whether Ms. Regan's contract was terminated by Ms. Friedman or by News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch. When Mr. Murdoch announced Nov. 21st that the O.J. Simpson book would be canceled, a person close to him said that no one would be fired over the incident.

Most recently, Ms. Regan's imprint came under attack regarding an upcoming novelization of the life of the late baseball player Mickey Mantle, Peter Golenbock's "7: The Mickey Mantle Novel," which is scheduled for publication March 1. "It's possible that the reaction to that book suggested that the mess over the O.J. Simpson book was not going to die down," said one veteran book publishing executive.

The Regan imprint generates estimated revenue of about $50 million annually, out of HarperCollins's total revenue of $1.3 billion, said a person familiar with the situation. Ms. Regan has published many bestsellers, including such titles as porn star Jenna Jameson's "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star" and former baseball player Jose Canseco's "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big."

Write to Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg at jeffrey.trachtenberg@wsj.com