 Those that read or enjoy literature probably know of Judith Regan, a long time editor and book publisher. Her work is throughout the pages of many books and to this day she is regarded as one of the most outspoken minds of literature in her realm. That being said, her work has nearly always been of the controversial nature.
Editor and book publisher, Judith Regan, began life on Long Island where she graduated from Bay Shore High School in 1971. She proceeded to Vassar College where she graduated with n A.B. degree in 1975. She was working as a secretary at Harvard in 1978 when she responded to a classified advertisement as a reporter for The National Enquirer and was hired. This was her first big break that would serve to provide necessary experience to keep her moving throughout the field over the next years. She moved to New York City in the 1980s. Throughout her career, Regan has been involved in many controversies, but her tendency to get right in your face makes her a continual favorite of gossip columnists throughout New York City.
What could have been a failure started her career in an upward direction when she approached Simon and Schuster in 1987 with a book idea focused on a study of a typical American family, Ozzie and Harriet style. She was banking on getting into the field with this book idea, but it would prove to be not the right moment to accomplish this. Although the editor of Pocket Books was not interested in her proposal, the President hired her as a consultant-Editor-at-Large. This step by the President was a key turning point in her life and would serve to provide her with success for many years to come. From there she started to have a string of successes that helps to get her name everywhere. In 1994 she reached a higher level of success when News Corporation gave her a subdivision of HarperCollins called ReganBooks. She also had her own television show for a while called Judith Regan Tonight. These were successes in their own right, allowing her to become even more of a well known figure.
As controversy is something that has followed Judith Regan most of the her, her next and perhaps most shocking story was yet to unfold. A crucial decision here was to be expected and she left no room for question about her stance on the topic. Her decision in 2006 to publish O.J. Simpson's book, If I Did It was based upon her claims that she was a battered wife, and she felt a need to reach out to victims of domestic violence. She reported being abused by a boyfriend when she was younger and felt that even a hypothetical confession by Simpson would allow other victims to heal. Her intention was not to help Simpson financially but for all profits to go to his children, thus the reason she gave the cash to an outsider. The News Corporation had originally planned an interview with Simpson on the FOX Network, but it received so much criticism over the decision that both the publication and the interview were cancelled to appease the public. This was a large and outspoken attention that was not appreciated by many.
Another controversy arose for Regan when the New York Daily News announced ReganBooks planned to publish a fictional account of Mickey Mantle's life. Not to leave anyone wondering about her ability to publish books that were controversial, this book came to the plate just as surprisingly. The book was written by Peter Golenbock and included unverifiable information such as an affair with Marilyn Monroe while she was dating Joe DiMaggio. In spite of the fact that the book was fiction, controversial information angered some people including the Mantle family in spite of the fact that Whitey Ford, a former teammate called any possibility of intimacy between Monroe and Mantle as "the stupidest thing I ever heard." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Regan#_note-5)
Regan faced another career setup in December of 2006 when HarperCollins terminated her employment based on some anti-Semitic comments that she is accused of making. The decision was made based on a telephone conversation with Harper Collins lawyer, Mark Jackson and includes handwritten transcriptions. Her own lawyer denies the charges, and since the firing, other witnesses have come forward to back Regan. HarperCollins, however, still stands by their lawyer and his detailed notes. Perhaps this would be one of the largest and most difficult set backs to happen to Judith Regan, but it is surely not the last that the publics will hear from her.
Though Regan has faced some setbacks in her career, it doesn't hold her down by any means. She's a strong woman with an agenda of her own. She doesn't let anything stand in the way of her success. She is a success because she doesn't dwell on her losses but rather gets back in the field with another game to play. Those in the media field tell young people interested in entering that field to see Regan because she knows the way to make them successful. She's been there from the start, from secretary to editor and book publisher—who better to teach young entrants than someone who has already been there? Perhaps Judith Regan will remain one of the most controversial publishers going forward. Her skills show her as a formidable stance in the publishing world even today.
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